Bariloche

The trip from Chile to Argentina was stunning and we were fortunate to have another beautiful day which made the lakes and mountains look all the more impressive. The border control point itself sits at the base of a large snow capped volcano and is surrounded by native forest. Contrary to many stories regarding how time consuming and painful land border crossings can be in South America, it was remarkably efficient and our whole bus was through in under 20 minutes. The border control guy was particularly friendly when he realised I was from New Zealand, although of what he said the only bit I could make out was "All Blacks". I nodded, smiled and mentioned the "Pumas" which resulted in another splurge of very fast Spanish and we were stamped through and welcomed to Argentina.

Other than being a bit cheaper than Chile, our first impressions have been that Argentina is quite similar. The locals still have the same fascination with watering the pavement in front of their houses, mothers still opt to carry their babies rather than use prams (seemingly regardless of wealth) and the people are all very friendly. As for Bariloche itself however, it blows Pucon out of the water. At the centre of the Argentinian lake district, Bariloche is set alongside Lago Nahuel Huapi and Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi (which incorporates a number of other lakes also).

Unlike Pucon, Bariloche is a town in its own right and whilst there are quite a few tourists, there is enough other stuff going on that the town doesn't feel fake. Equally however, the buildings are not quite so quaint as we had expected - the central town has a number of stone and exposed wood buildings however the majority of the town itself is pretty run of the mill.

Our hostel was located on the hill behind the central town which meant that we had amazing views over the lake from our bedroom window, as well as every other room in the hostel (including the jacuzzi!). Although the social area was not quite as described on the website, we were fortunate to meet a pretty decent bunch of people - including one guy that came from Stoke Newington (Red Square for those of you that know the area - about 200m from our old house for those who don't). We will hopefully be able to meet up with a couple of the people we met when they get to Buenos Aires too which should be cool.

The real attraction of Bariloche however is the surrounding countryside.

Cerro Campanario, a hill west of the city centre provided one of the most amazing look out points I have ever been to. A steep 30 minute hike up hill led to a viewing platform that looked out over Lago Nahuel Huapi and the surrounding lakes and landscapes. Quite probably the best view I have ever seen. After making it back down the hill, we continued west to the small village of Colonia Suiza. Originally a Swiss settlement, the town is now somewhat of an artisan and hippy hangout with a very laid back vibe, some lovely houses reminiscent of the Alps and a nice pebble beach.

Another highlight was the one hour hike to Villa Tacul, an isolated beach in a beautiful cove which made for a very picturesque setting to spend an afternoon.

After a bit of a change of plan, we have moved Patagonia to the other end of our trip (next summer if anyone fancies coming along!) and fly to Buenos Aires this afternoon. We are pretty psyched about finally getting to the city where we have aspirations of living for a while ... hopefully it lives up to expectations!