I’m currently sitting in Van Gogh Café, my weekly Wednesday night hang out, which usually involves chatting with Laura, the cute Colombian waitress, and having some tea. For some reason, the Wifi here isn’t working, and I realize just how dependent we are on Internet. It’s definitely in my head, but it seems harder to write when the screen in front of me isn’t in the blog form- what I’m used to, at least in writing about my experiences in Argentina.
Anyway, tonight, API, my abroad program, met at the director’s house for Movie Night. We watched an Argentine romantic comedy and then celebrated one of the guy’s birthdays afterward.
Back to Bariloche: Sam and I woke up really early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, and took a bus about 45 minutes outside the city to do a hike known as Laguna Negra. Early on in the hike, we joined with the only other person ascending as well. It turned out he was a Jew from Bariloche and he’s going to Israel next month to volunteer for 6 months. What are the chances?? Anyway, most of our time was spent in the forest, walking alongside a river, so we always had fresh water to replenish. We had a near run-in with some cows- they didn’t seem content to have us around and their very loud mooes certainly reflected their feelings. The last hour on the way up was very grueling- very steep and lots of rock climbing. That combined with the high altitude made it necessary for us to stop at every bend we turned. There existed this mysterious aura in that we just had no idea what we were going to see once we reached the top. We felt ourselves getting really close, and we much appreciated the colorful mountains and the small streams flowing down below, but at the same time, we were anxious to reach the top. I finally reached the top and immediately collapsed onto the ground out of sheer exhaustion. My shirt was drenched with a cold sweat. Only after catching my breath was I able to get a good look at the Laguna Negra, a small lake, perfectly calm, that looked black from above. As Sam joined me, we got closer to the lake and saw how similar to the other lakes we had visited, the water was crystal clear.
After having a quick lunch at the summit, Sam and I left our Barilochean friend at the top and descended at a rapid pace because of time constraints. We made great timing on our descent yet the hike seemed endless, to the point that we thought we had made a wrong turn. We couldn’t contain our feelings of accomplishment once we found the road where the hike had begun. We completed the 28 kilometer hike in about 7 hours, más o menos.
We walked to a nearby village called Colonia Suiza, which hosts an artisan fair every Sunday. We bought more chocolate and some other crafts, including a mate cup, and then hopped on a bus back towards Bariloche, exhausted, triumphant, and proud.
Sam returned to Buenos Aires that night. Wanting to conserve my energy, I went to sleep early. The following day, I took a bus to the Hotel Llao Llao, a 5 star super luxurious hotel that overlooks one of the lakes. I explored the hotel and its grounds and then began a day featuring lots of walking and miradores (lookouts). I hiked through the forest and ended up at these beautiful points overlooking the lakes. That pretty much took up most of the day but it was interesting seeing the different lakes and mountains from myriad vantage points. I walked so far that I took myself out of the bus route’s range. In order to get back to bus territory, I had to walk another 5 miles. At some point during this last stretch, my knee gave out, and it was quite a struggle to get to that bus. I limped and limped, of course stopping at every lookout I could find. It was painful but the other options included swimming to Bariloche or hitch hiking. Finally, I made it to this small little restaurant with an incredible view. Fortunately, the bus stopped at this little place because I really couldn’t walk any further. After gulping down one of the best hot chocolates of my life, I staggered on to the bus and rode back to the center of town, eager to get something to eat.
Tuesday morning, I woke up while it was still dark and walked to the lake. I sat and listened to the breeze, embracing the quiet, waiting for the Sun to rise.
Many people I’ve talked to have complained that the problem with Bariloche is that it has become too touristy, therefore becoming too big and too loud. Yes, street noise can be a problem there, but one can’t help but marvel at the stunning beauty surrounding the city- the lakes and mountains. Such a contrast from Buenos Aires.
That being said, I plan to be in Buenos Aires for the remainder of my semester here in Argentina, minus a couple of day trips. It’s amazing how quickly the semester is passing by, kinda unsettling but I’m looking forward to being back in the city. Though I certainly didn’t like how the cab driver who picked me up at the airport guessed that I was 34 years old. Sure, I had a gimpy leg but seriously? 34? I didn’t take that too well, and despite a nice discussion about some other cool places to visit in Argentina, I was eager to get out of the cab.
Buenas
Ariel
Awesome Post A-Hoff
ReplyDelete-Elan