Hiking and Head-Banging

Ola amigos! It´s been a great final week in Argentina, featuring great food, great landscapes, and even better music...cryptic, I know, but read on.

From Mendoza, Jess and I took our best bus ride ever to Bariloche, down south. Best because, along with impeccable service, we played a rousing game of Andesemar Bus Bingo with the other passengers. It was a great way for me to practice my Spanish numbers and it was also just funny. But more importantly, Bariloche is a beautiful town. It sits on Lago (Lake) Nahuel Huapi, in Nahuel Huapi National Park and is surrounded by mountains. It feels a bit like Banff or a Swiss ski town or something like that. On our first afternoon, we explored the town and sampled the local chocolate, which is a big deal in Bariloche. The streets are lined with countless chocolate shops and it is truly amazing and delicious. For dinner that night, we went out with the two Argentinian girls who were sharing our hostel room and had a really great time.

The next day, we took a bus to the Campanario, which is a ski lift that goes up a mountain just outside the town. We decided to tough it out and hike up, which was not so bad, and the views at the top were truly incredible. Next, we took another bus a bit further away from the city to Llao Llao Municipal Park. We checked out the very posh Llao Llao hotel and got a drink and some dirty looks. But it was worth it for the beautiful views from the terrace overlooking the lake. After that, we did a short hike through the park before heading back into town. It was a wonderful and exhausting day, which ended perfectly with cooking dinner in the hostel.

On our third day in Bariloche, we went to Nahuel Huapi National Park, where we did a few short hikes and saw some beautiful landscapes, lakes, and waterfalls. The best part of the day was seeing the Black Glacier and the glacial valleys, which were VERY cool and extremely impressive. It was a great final day in what is now one of my favourite spots in Argentina.

The next day, we took the bus back to Buenos Aires. This would not have been so bad, had there not been a traffic accident along the way, causing a 6 hour delay. After spending a whopping 25 hours on the bus, we finally returned the sweltering heat that is Buenos Aires. But we didn´t have long to complain because we had a big night ahead...at the Metallica concert. No, I´m not joking and no, I don´t listen to Metallica. But some old traveling friends were going and we thought it would be good for a laugh, so we decided to join them. The concert did not disappoint. Despite the fact that I couldn´t identify a single song, I was endlessly entertained by the head-banging, 90´s grunge-clad crowd. The only difficult part was finding a suitable metal-head outfit (failure: I ended up in a striped onesie) and avoiding the mosh pits in my flip flops (success: it involved running). It was definitely a unique experience and one that I won´t soon forget.

This morning, struggling to recover from last night´s festivities, we caught the ferry from Buenos Aires to Colonia, Uruguay. We spent the afternoon walking around the charming, but tiny, city, which brings me to the present. Tomorrow, on to Montevideo.

Hasta luego!

Sarah