7 March 2008, Day Zero
We set up camp on Lago Guiterrez, one of the smaller lakes, in preparation for our 3 day hike across Cerro Catedral. Our tent overlooks a sandy beach right on the edge of the lake and we go for a swim, blissfully unaware of the hardship to follow. The weather forecast [...]
Entries from March 2008
March 31, 2008
A Little Hike To Warm Up, We Said
March 31, 2008
Swiss Chocolate
After just a few hours I begin to suspect that Bariloche is ore Swiss than Switzerland. There are, of course, the lakes and the snowcapped mountains as backdrop; but the swiss-ness has been ramped up to a whole new level: the buildings are all made of logs (or rather, made to look like they are made [...]
March 31, 2008
The Mystery of The Missing Parrots
A few days later we see Graciana again, and she comes over to talk to us. She is very friendly and gives us tips on where to visit. That afternoon we set off for El Condor, a seaside village at the mouth of the Rio Negro. The bus we catch is forced to make an [...]
March 30, 2008
Tren Patagonico
The Tren Patagonico leaves Viema twice weekly (Mondays and Thursdays) and consists of: a sleeper coach, a pullman coach, a dining coach, two turista coaches, a cargo coach, a flatbed coach for carrying motor cars and of course, the engine. We are in Pullman. The sleeper was fully booked and Turista, we were warned, would [...]
March 25, 2008
Doña Graciana and the Friendly Dog
It´s early morning and Vicki and I are lazing on the banks of the Rio Negro, in Viedma. We are in Viedma waiting for our train West. We notice a lady swimming in the river, and she is shouting frantically at a dog, that is paddling next to her. She scrambles up onto the bank [...]
March 25, 2008
Penguins in the Mist
In the end we decide renting a car for two days is the better option, and we enlist Paul, from Germany. We set off at 7am and it is misty when we leave. After 3 hours of driving, on mostly flat, gravel roads, we arrive at Punte Norte and it is still misty. We see [...]
March 11, 2008
Up The Mountain
Vicki and I are feeling like two old people today, hobbling around Bariloche, wincing at having to step down off the pavements.
We have just got back from a very strenous, 3 day hike up a mountain, up some more mountain, straight down a mountain, up another mountain and then a very long way back down [...]
March 11, 2008
Please Knock The Door
Mariano, the owner/manager of La Tosca, appears to run a tight ship, but the hostel is a friendly place with a nice sunny garden. The typical hostel rooms (small, a bit smelly with limited space) have an unusual feature: every two rooms share a common bathroom/toilet, with access from either room. “Please Knock the Door”, [...]
March 11, 2008
Bus Ride South
Our bus is late! We are at the Terminale in Buenos Aires forming a protective cordon around our backpacks. I assess us to be in a prime risk area and we are on red alert. I very possibly have already foiled one attempt to relieve us of our luggage. Using the diversion tactic a [...]
March 11, 2008
La Boca Juniors
Our two days in Buenos Aires fly past, and we mainly take care of logistics. i.e. booking our bus to Peurto Madryn, organising to pay deposit for our hostel in Puerto Madryn and booking our train ride across to Bariloche. The train is fully booked until the 3rd of March but we both feel its [...]
