Bariloche, Argentina

When we decided to visit Bariloche, the original plan was for three days. When we stepped off our bus and were walking to our hostel, I immediately looked at Daniel and said, "I want to stay for a week!" So we did. Normally, we don't fall in love with extremely touristy places, but Bariloche was just what we needed at this point in our trip. It is situated in the foothills of the Andes and is surrounded by gorgeous lakes and mountains. The views are to die for, the weather was phenomenal, they are famous for their meat, the trees all wear adorable "sweaters", and there are about a gazillion gourmet chocolate shops... what more could we possibly need?

We cooked our own meals most days, but we did splurge on fancy food and ice cream (of course) a few times. El Boliche de Alberto serves some of the best meat in Argentina, so getting a steak was at the top of Daniel's to-do list. The meal was fancy and expensive by our standards, but a similar quality meal at home would be double or triple the price. Let me tell you, it was worth every penny.

We spent an afternoon browsing the many chocolate shops, eating free samples as we went along. By the time we were finished, our bellies were full and happy. Most of the ice cream shops also made their own gelato, which was of course amazing. The first time we had it, we didn't realize that a large cone came with three gigantic scoops. After that, we tried to tone it down in subsequent visits and get a measly two scoops instead.

Thankfully for my waistline, Bariloche had some fantastic places to run. There was a wide sidewalk/trail that went alongside the main road near the water with a beautiful view of the mountains just past the lakes. There were a few lookout points along the way that took my breath away (either that, or I am getting out of shape). If I could have that view every day, I would never have an excuse not to get out the door again!

We took a short day trip to Cerro Campanario, which is a short (but STEEP!) walk straight uphill to a view point over the city. The view of the mountains and lakes was absolutely stunning. We had a nice clear day, so we took our time taking pictures and having some snacks at the top. When we came down, the original plan was to continue a bit down the road to rent bicycles to attempt the 60km Circuito Chico route. By the time we got there, we would have had to have the bikes back a few hours later. I won't lie... I was disappointed when we decided to skip it, but it ended up being a good decision.

There are many hiking opportunities in the area, but most of the trails were closed when we visited. The high season doesn't get into full swing until mid-November, so settled on doing one hike that deserves its own post. The rest of the time, we just relaxed and enjoyed the gorgeous weather. We had to mentally prepare ourselves for what was to come... a 29 hour bus ride into Calafate. So far, our limit has always been about twenty hours. Unfortunately, there really is no feasible way of getting into southern Patagonia without a ridiculous bus (or expensive flight). Luckily, the ride wasn't as bad as expected and we made it to our destination in one piece.

Huerquehue National Park - Pucon, Chile

Daniel and I love taking day trips. There are many great places that are within an hour or two of a city that are absolutely worth the effort of getting there. We have both become quite fond of hiking, an activity that we didn't have much opportunity to do at home. The beautiful scenery coupled with the peace and quiet make it a physically challenging, yet rewarding activity. It is nice that it is something we can do together; it combines my love of exercise with Daniel's budding photography hobby. We've done a fair amount of hiking day trips, but Huerquehue National Park has been one of our favorites.

The park is about an hour by bus outside of Pucon, and reminded us a lot of Olympic National Park in Washington. Everything was so lush and green, and just downright gorgeous. We took the first bus of the day, and arrived at the park around nine o'clock. The Los Lagos trail is the most popular, and for good reason. The trail winds through the forest past several waterfalls and lakes, offering some of the most amazing views we've seen. I really can't describe the views with words, other than phenominal.

There are two versions of the Los Lagos trail, the "chico" circuit or the "big" circuit. Of course we decided to tackle the bigger circuit, which was a little over 10 miles round trip, with the first part being almost completely uphill. It took nearly eight hours in total, including lots of stops for pictures, lunch, and snacks. Some of the best views were seen after the big loop branched off from the smaller one, so it was absolutely worth the extra effort.

The highlight of the trip were the lagos, or lakes. We saw numerous lakes in fantastically vivid blues and greens, each crystal clear. Each time we came to a new one, we had to just stop and say, "Wow." The one thing that stood out the most aside from the lakes was a particular species of tree called araucaria, commonly called "monkey puzzle". They have massively tall trunks, with branches that go out horizontally that are covered in leathery, spiky looking leaves. I had never seen anything quite like them, and there were literally hundreds of them. We didn't see much in the way of animal life, other than birds, but the landscapes absolutely made up for it.

Overall, Huerquehue was a great day trip. Yes, we were exhausted and filthy at the end of our hike, but it was fantastic. This was our first taste of Patagonia, and it should just keep getting better as we go head south through Chile and Argentina. I can't wait!

You can find the rest of our pictures from Huerquehue and Pucon on flickr

Pucon, Chile

We arrived in Pucon on a dreary, rainy morning. We had made a hostal reservation ahead of time (which is somewhat rare for us), but didn't realize until we were on our way that we neglected to get the address. We had directions and the town is small, so we set off looking for it. I'll go ahead and ruin the surprise... we couldn't find it, our phone with the email containing the directions died, and it was cold. Instead of melting down, we went back to the bus station to charge the phone and ask for directions. Imagine how nice it was for us to wander around the bus terminal, obviously lost, and have the owner of the hostal walk up to us and ask, "Are you Daniel and Jordan?" AMEN! We had told them which bus we were taking into town, and when we didn't turn up at his place, he set out looking for us. Although this is the first time that has happened, it really is a typical example of how kind the people are.

He walked with us to the hostal, we watched a little video about the things to do in Pucon, and we settled into our room. Chile has been very expensive compared to the rest of South America, so we opted for a four person dorm room and we cooked most meals in the hostal kitchen ourselves. There was only one other person staying there since it is their low season, so it was nice and quiet and we had a lot of space to ourselves. Later that afternoon, the owner took us on a free walking tour of the town. Normally, I probably would have enjoyed such a thing, but he was very long winded and it was cold and rainy. We ended up ducking out a few minutes early and going to the grocery store to escape!

Pucon itself felt like it could be plopped down anywhere in the Pacific Northwest in the states. It was quaint, ecofriendly, and had the beautiful and lush green landscape that I so strongly associate with that area. From the center of town, there are stunning views of Volcano Villarica, one of the most active volcanoes in Chile. Many people take tours to climb it, but we opted out and went to a set of thermal springs instead.

Termas Los Pozones are a 45 minute bus ride outside of town, and are basically like natural hot baths constructed of stone in a rustic style and setting. There are seven "pools" with temperatures ranging from 86 to 108 degrees. The water is heated naturally from the nearby active volcanoes, and the views of the mountains and forest from the pools was beautiful.

There were only a few other people there, so it was nice and relaxing. We enjoyed going from one pool to the next every 15 minutes of so, trying out the different temperatures. The hottest one was so hot that I couldn't even submerge myself all the way! The mineral content of the water is extremely high, and my skin felt amazing by the time we left. Visiting the hot springs was a fantastic way to relax just outside of town.

While we were in Pucon, we spent a lot of time doing "normal" things like grocery shopping/cooking, reading, and relaxing. I did a fair amount of running, since there is a nice bike path that goes along the main road with a view of mountains and volcanoes along the way. We also took a day trip to do some hiking, but that deserves its own post because it was absolutely gorgeous. We mailed a box home with a few souvenirs that we had picked up, and it amazingly arrived in under two weeks. Just for comparison's sake... the postcards we sent from Bolivia took a month and a half! Overall, we enjoyed our time in Pucon, even though the weather was crummy and we spent a lot of time doing normal, everyday type things.

Nuts and Bolts:

Lodging: Etnico Eco Hostel - CLP 6.000 ($12.71) per person in a 4-bed dorm. Very clean, good kitchen, but may be crowded in high season. There is only one bathroom/shower, which could be a problem (but wasn't during our stay). Also they run a tour agency, and were a little pushy the first two days until they got the point that we were not interested. A little outside the main area, but very convenient to the grocery store

Termas Los Pozones: Entrance fee CLP 4.000 ($8.48 per person), Bus to/from Pucon CLP 2.800 ($5.93 USD) per person, round trip. Bring food and water, because there is no place to purchase. Also bring a towel, bathing suit, and sandals. There are no lockers, so watch your things. Time limit is 3 hours, but that is plenty.

Parque Nacional Huequehue: Entrance fee CLP 2.000 ($4.24 USD) per person, Bus to/from Pucon CLP 3.600 ($7.63 USD) per person, round trip. Beautiful day trip for hiking (more details to come in the next post). We took the Los Lagos loop, and it took about 7 hours. Be sure to ask what time the last bus of the day is so you don't miss it! During low season, not all of the buses run.