Beautiful Bariloche

It has been a while since I have been blown away by the beauty of a landscape. It has happened about 10 times in the last three days. Destination Bariloche.

This is the lake district of Argentina- where snow-capped mountains frame every landscape, deep blue lakes are never more than a stones-throw away, and the air is so crisp and clean that you wonder why they don't bottle it and sell it to depressed people.

After dropping almost £100 on a bus ticket (bus travel is ridiculously expensive over here), I was happy to find that the seats were the squashy full cama reclinable bed seats. 22 hours is a long time to spend in what is essentially a chair so by the time we arrived in Bariloche I was practically jumping around like a
kid on his first trip to Disneyland. "I wanna go hiking, I wanna go hiking"!

My first climb was Cerro Campanario, a short but extremely steep hill. By the time I'd got to the top I wondered whether I'd suffered some kind of cardiac arrest, but felt a great sense of achievement that I'd made it up there. This was short-lived when I met a load of old aged pensioners leisurely sipping on some tea...and realised that there was a chairlift on the other side. Well, the view out across the countryside put a smile back on my face :)

In the afternoon I visited Lago Gutierrez, a beautiful lake with a rubbish waterfall but wonderful views.

The following day a few of us set off for a 40km bike ride in a particularly beautiful stretch of countryside called Circuito Chico. This took us past Colonia Suiza (an area colonised by Swiss settlers), along a few scenic ridges and across some white-sand lake beaches.

We also passed the super-exclusive golf resort Hotel Llao llao.

At the end I was ready for a sleep!

I was joined the next day by my buddy Simon, who I'd met in Buenos Aires. I'd been saving the good long hike up to Refugio Frey for when he arrived and couldn't wait to dust off the hiking boots again. The refugio (mountain hut) is at the base of some wonderful climbing routes and slap-bang in the middle of some snow-capped Andean mountain goodness.

It was a tough four-hour hike to the hut but the place is magical. Huge spire-like chimneys of solid rock spike out from the powdery white snow and the small glacial lake shimmers in the sun.

It may have been slightly tougher than Simon had been expecting. His first words when we reached the top were "you've killed the lil fat Danish guy", before smoking three cigarettes in quick secession. He came around after we broke out some summit beers.

We returned to the hostel for a soak in the jacuzzi (whoever said backpacking was without its perks!). Bariloche is one of the most beautiful places I've ever had the pleasure of visiting so I'm sad to be moving on. On the plus side, I'm off to the hippy community of El Bolson, which should mean good food and chilled out times. Chao for now!

The view from the hostel out over Lago Llao Llao.

I walked in as far as my knees and instantly wished I didn't - it was soooooo cold!

More stunning views from the bike ride.

A Catholic group dancing in the main square.

A lake beach half way round the bike circuit - perfect for a picnic!

The main cathedral in Bariloche.

Cycling action shot from Ed.

Views from the top of Cerro Llao Llao.

Lago Gutierrez in all its glory.

A monument outside the cathedral in town.

Another deep-blue lake (I dunno the name) and another picturesque town!

Halfway up the hike to Frey we found this. It's a church. Staffed by a die hard reverend who trips up every week to hold short sermons. It looks like Bilbo Baginns' house.