It is not my first time in Bariloche- I came here 10 years ago, on my first trip to South America (Argentina & Peru). It has definitely grown, especially the centre from what I can remember. The masses of holiday makers also take away from the “village feel”. So what are the masses here to do? Well, Bariloche is a Swiss style town known for its ice cream and chocolates…mmmmm… oh yes, and for those who want to work off all those calories, also hiking and skiing in the winter!
I did all the above- and happy to say that the chocolates and ice cream are totally delicious!! A few nights I enjoyed some Malbec wine and chocolates… while updating and catching up on the blog J .
I also spent two full days out and about. The first hike I did was to Cerro Campanario. It is a fairly steep and dusty 30-minute hike to a lookout and top of a ski lift (yes you can just take the ski lift!). The view is great though. Once back down I jump onto another bus- further out to the peninsula – Llao Llao. Here there are several walking options and I take a walk through the forest and down to the lake.
I have been looking forward to the Refugio Frey hike- it is after all the most popular hike in this area. Popularity comes at a price though- crowds- so to try and avoid them I took the first bus out -07h00 and arrived at 08h00 at the start of the trail with 5 other hikers only. It was great when we all spread out you felt all alone. There were few people who actually passed me on the whole 3 hours up- just some trail runners. The hike is pretty pleasant, until the last hour or so- where it’s pretty heavy going. Yes- this is a definitive trend with all the hikes I am going- when you are half dead, and not at the top yet then you have to push a hell of a lot more!! After some good huffing and puffing I finally got site of the Refugio, and upon arrival had a pleasant view of the area.
I took a different route down- along the Lago Gutierrez – though it was somewhat disappointing as the path is far from the lake and has little to no view of it, for most of the trail. I did get to soak my feet in the lake when I eventually reached the end of the 24km hike.
It was really pleasant, and having left early I missed all the crowds. Walking through the forest I saw many pretty birds and saw my first woodpeckers “in action”. It was both a female and male magellanic woodpecker. The male has a crested red head, the female only a little red at the beak. That male woodpecker was hammering so hard; it took that tree from all angles- it was amazing.
4 replies on “Bariloche”
I’ve spent a most enjoyable time catching up on your travels, Joanne. If you were not fit to begin with, you must be by now. You seem to have ‘clocked up’ many kilometres with all the hikes you have done. I admire you.l Your bonus has been the fantastic things you have seen and photographed. Indelible memories to savour in the years to come.
I am definitely fitter than I was…but still have a fair bit to go in terms of fitness! Hiking is a great scenic way to increase the heart rate though!
Fajna sprawa wrocic do tego samego miejsca po 10 latach. To juz ostatni raz? Piekna okolica.
Wonderful adventures in the south! Love you pics …thanks for sharing