San Carlos de Bariloche

Semana Santa is a celebratory week in Spain and all of Latin America. For students, it translates to..no school, no obligations and a break from reality. In reality, it translates to Holy Week. Semana Santa is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter. There are a number of Christian holidays observed within the week that excuse class attendance. So, my friends and I decided to embark on yet another journey. When thinking of travel in Argentina, there are many things to consider. Decisions take time because there are so many fantastic choices. Would you rather visit penguins or baby seals? Would you rather tour Mendoza's infamous wineries or take photos of Patagonia's natural landscapes?

You can see by the title and picture that I didn't choose seals, penguins or grapevines. I chose Bariloche- land of breathtakingly natural sights! San Carlos de Bariloche is situated in the province of Río Negro, Argentina..right below the province of Neuquén, where my friend Gabby was born!  It's the largest city located in the the Lakes District of Patagonia and offers a wide range of activities for every tourist. I chose the destination because of the diversity of excursions available.

Bariloche sits at the foothills of the Andes and on the southern shores of Lago Nahuel Huapi.

Lago Nahuel Huapi

I'd never vacationed in a group of seven before! Six friends and I traveled by bus, el Rápido Argentino (turned out to be not so rápido). The trip took about 23 hours total. Once we arrived, exhausted and dirty, we found our hostel, Hostel Pudu. This hostel took my breath away solely because each room had an enormous view of Lago Nahuel Huapi.

View of Bariloche from our room

We had the best vacation together. I hiked up a mountain for 6 hours! Cerro Catedral is a mountain that has one of the biggest ski centers in all of South America. We hiked Refugio Frey, a trail which ends very close to the Torre Principal, the mountain's highest point. So proud of myself, because I felt like collapsing every 30 minutes or so. Luckily, I walked with Linette, aka the funniest person in the world! She kept me giggling and the view atop the mountain was well worth my pain and suffering.

Tonček Lagoon, atop Cerro Catedral

Giant chocolate egg!..being built for La Pascua (Easter)

As you'll see in my photos, the next day we went to a chocolate museum/factory. Bariloche is the Chocolate Mecca of Argentina. Though I despise the taste of that creamy substance, I was interested in why barilochenses (people from Bariloche, Patagonia) love their chocolate! 

We did many things during our long 8 day vacation. We attempted to mountain bike around Circuito Chico; "chico"..it was not. This 4 hour, bike tour indeed holds the most beautiful sights of Bariloche; however, I grew tired of my mountain bike within 20 minutes and instead ate at a restaurant that served empanadas de trucha (trout empanadas). I ordered my group to bike ahead of me, since they were clearly more skilled in changing gears and not crashing into sand dunes. So, naturally I thought they were halfway around the circuit. When I finished my lunch and returned to the bike rental shop to give them their stinky piece of metal, my entire group awaited me. They were exhausted as well and turned around only 5 minutes from where I broke down. 

We all laughed about our blunder. At that moment, I was truly happy to have traveled with the group that I did. We kept positive attitudes and managed to see my favorite sight in all of Bariloche. We climbed Cerro Campanario, which only took about 40 minutes. This panoramic view offers sights of every lake and mountain in Bariloche. 

View atop Cerro Campanario 

All in all, I had the best time! And...I like cats now.

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