When we arrived in Bariloche we found that a good portion of the hostels were closed for renovations and after doing a little searching we were asked by the owner of a hostel called Punto Sur if we wanted to stay in our own private apartment. The price was actually cheaper than staying in a dorm at any of the other hostels that were open so we didn't hesitate to take him up on his offer!
Its come to my attention that all of our blog posts start out with, "We hopped on a bus to..." So we've decided to make things more interesting and have left blanks for your (the readers) imaginations. We arrived at the station and immediately on a direct to Bariloche, Argentina and the Andean Lakes district. When we arrived in Bariloche we found that a good portion of the hostels were closed for renovations and after doing a little searching we were asked by the owner of a hostel called Punto Sur if we wanted to stay in our own private apartment. The price was actually cheaper than staying in a dorm at any of the other hostels that were open so we didn't hesitate to take him up on his offer! We had heard that Argentina's most luxurious (rooms from CA $299-899) and famous hotel was in Bariloche so we thought we would check it out. Lloa Lloa (Shaow Shaow) luxury golf resort and spa is set in a beautiful area, surrounded by mountains and lakes. It has a fancy golf course and it's own natural area with light hiking trails spread throughout. The pictures below are from the hiking trails in the area. The next day we hiked up to Refugio Frey (about a 25 km round trip) which is open year round and set beside a small lake (skating in winter) with sharp jagged mountains all around. To get to the hike we took a 30 minute city bus out of town and got dropped off at Lago Gutierrez. The first two 2 km's was through a rural residential area with houses and lodges along the lake which then opened to campground. After the campground the trail winded its way through the forest. The hike was easy for the first 40 minutes then a steady climb up for 2.5 hours. The scenery was beautiful but it was pretty chilly near the top with snow, wind, and ice. Along the way there was a really interesting cabin built around a rock. It had a table, and a wood stove inside. There was also a small chapel area next to this on a different rock with a church bell... somewhat strange! Our last full day in Bariloche we decided ti head out for a hike up Cerro Campanario. National Geographic voted the view from Cerro Campanario one of the 10 best in world so we had to see what all the fuss was about. These pictures don't do it justice of how beautiful the view really is. Bariloche is known for it's chocolate and icecream so we thoroughly enjoyed both! Icecream from Jauja (popular icecream/coffee shop): 1/4 Kg of white chocolate, dark chocolate chips, and mascarpone and raspberry. We also bought some specialty chocolates from Mamuschka Yum! After we had seen a few of the sites we headed to Valdivia, Chile after hearing it was a nice town and to see Sea Lions chase tourists!
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