Ruta 40 and Bariloche

November 9-14, 2007

We caught the first bus of the season up Ruta 40 from El Chalten to Bariloche. The road closes during winter due to snow, mud and undrivable conditions on the gravel road. It´s a two day bus trip stopping overnight in Perito Moreno, an isolated town twelve hours north of El Chalten and twelve hours south of Bariloche. The journey gets talked up a fair bit by locals and tourists. We think it was just a bit bumpier, slower and more boring than our other bus trips through Patagonia. There´s no doubt however that the scenery is magnificent.

On the second day of the trip the scenery which we were getting quite used to in Patagonia began to change. The endless bleak desert terrain, mostly uninhabited (except for sheep and guanacos) slowly became the green and lush Lake District. Many farms, poplar trees, paved roads and civilization. The one aspect of the scenery that remained constant were the Andes. The massive snow capped mountains out our left hand side window.

Bariloche is a very popular holiday destination for Argentinians and foreigners. Popular activities include skiiing in the winter, fishing, horse riding, white water rafting, bike riding, canyoning, trekking and camping. We chose not to do any of these things and just chill for a few days.

Bariloche is also famous for it´s chocolate. This is one activity we didn´t avoid! There is a strong Swiss influence in the area, including a small townn called Colonia Suiza and perhaps this has something to do with the chocolate fad. One day we planned to have a chocolate fondue. That is until we realised we could buy a kilo of chocolate for the same price. The chocolate shops work by having all sorts of assorted chocolates on display and you can pick and choose any that you like and pay by the kilo. Some of our favourites were the alcohol filled chocolates (baileys, cointreau, johhnie walker black label), the orange twists (strips of real orange covered in dark chocolate), rama (like flakes but better) and the dulce de leche balls. Dulce de leche is everywhere in Argentina. It´s basically caramel and you either love it or you don´t. Davo loves it. Fi doesn´t.

We did manage to get ourselves into gear for one day and did a bit of walking in the bush. We also climbed a popular chairlift which gives some of the best panaramic views of the Lake District.

For any backpackers who plan to go to Bariloche, Marcopolo Inn is a good place to chill and we were stoked to get good free dinners which helped get our budget back on track.