Bariloche

The resort town of San Carlos de Bariloche is surrounded by beautiful freshwater lakes and snow-topped mountains (at times I felt like I was in the Swiss Alps or the Scottish highlands). In winter (June - October) Argentines flock to the ski slopes, but fortunately my trip coincided with the "warm" temperatures of spring so instead we explored the Nahuel Huapi National Park on hikes and boat rides. Also did I mention Bariloche is the chocolate capital of Argentina?!

Despite becoming deathly ill on the morning of our flight/feeling sub-par the whole weekend, and although the backpackers at our hostel were way too friendly/social for my taste (why do you want to get to know me?! we will never see each other after these 3 days!!), Rachel and I had a fantastic time. Highlights include the excellent cuisine (seafood, hot chocolate, etc.), beautiful nature (which contrasted perfectly with the desert landscapes we had just seen up north), and a random man on the bus asking me how much my teeth cost (trying to hit on me? looking for a good orthodontist? we'll never know...).

An afternoon snack at Hotel Llao Llao (luckily they served us even though we were pretty gross post-hike)

Trout for dinner downtown

Hot chocolate = thick melted chocolate (!!)

I was obsessed with the wildflowers (they ain't got those in the desert!)

 

 

The aerosilla (basically a ski lift) that took us up Cerro Campanario

Cerro de los Leones

Cave tour

Lake in the cave!

Boat ride to Puerto Blest 

Lago frías -- the water is a "milky green" because it comes from a glaciar

With my travel buddy Rachel! 

At this point we were only about 10 minutes from Chile by bus, but we resisted going back a third time hehe

Casually stunning ride to the airport