Bariloche Take 2

Tuesday: Our second day in Bariloche was by far the best of the whole trip. We went white water rafting! Everything about the trip was awesome. The guides picked us up from our hostel at 9am, and drove us 2 hours into the mountains. Our guides, Nico and Martín were great. They were very cool and had a great sense of humor. During the ride, they prepared mate for everyone and pointed out all the landmarks in the region. We arrived to a site along a river, with mountains in the background, where we had a small breakfast and then changed into our gear. We then hopped back in the van and drove to the drop off area. The river had ten rapids total. They were pretty intense at some parts, but I wish it had been a little more powerful. We did get stuck between rocks on the first rapid, and our guide had to maneuver us out. It was actually pretty funny because we all had to move to one side of the raft. We also got to jump into the river and swim two times. The water was freezing! The scenery along the river was surreal. We were surrounded by the Andes Mountains, and the water was a beautiful blue. There was one point along the river where the rocks had been carved away by the water. It looked really cool because there were holes in the rocks and all these neat shapes. One of the coolest parts about the trip was that the river floated into Chile! So after the last rapid, we climbed out of the raft and our guide took us to the Argentina-Chile border. We only got to stay for about 30 minutes, but I can still say I have been to Chile! We took some pictures and changed into dry clothes in Chile, and then we headed back to the same place we had breakfast for an asado (bbq)! It was delicious. We had steak, potatoes, wine, and banana tart.

After we got stuck

Rafting through the Andes, NBD

We're in 2 different countries!!

Wednesday: Our third day in Bariloche was successful only by luck. Jay and I had awoken early that morning to make a reservation for horse back riding, but we forgot to mention it was for four people. By the time we realized our mistake the trip was full, until 2 people luckily dropped out. We were picked up at our hostel in the morning and driven to a beautiful ranch right on a lake in the mountains. They prepared us an asado right away that was just as delicious as any I have had so far in Argentina. Then we walked to the barn to pick out our horses. I, naturally, got a shorter brown horse. Tara got a beautiful white one that was probably one of the biggest. Kelsey got a black one that didn’t listen, wouldn’t gallop, and only wanted to eat. Haha. It was Jay’s first time on a horse, so luckily he got a nice gentle one. We rode through the forest and into a beautiful meadow right next to the mountains. The view was amazing because the mountains were right there in your face. Then we rode along a lake until we ended back on the ranch.

Frolicking in the meadow

Along the lake

Thursday: The weather was not so great on Thursday. It was colder and windy, with a little rain, so we decided to do Canopy to become a little closer to nature. We zip-lined from tree to tree in the top of the forest. I am really afraid of heights but this was really fun. There was only one tree I had to hold on to for dear life. I am pretty sure it was swaying in the breeze at one point. For our last night in Bariloche we decided to go out in style at a local Parilla, or steak house. A guy in our hostel recommended El Boliche, so we took his advice. He told us the locals love it when Americans eat there because they like to see the look on our faces when we see the portion sizes. Let me tell you, they don’t mess around. I ordered a pequena bife de chorizo, which is pretty much a sirloin, and it was massive. The pile of mashed potatoes that came with it was larger than my head. The best part? Throw in a bottle of wine and it only cost me $15 USD. Cha ching! Needless to say we were all pretty satisfied that night.

Weee

Then I got stuck

Feasting at El Boliche

The next day we headed back to BA. I was a little sad to leave Bariloche because I had such an awesome time doing so many cool and new things. However, I was feeling a little homesick for BA, and couldn’t wait to return “home”.