After spending a couple of days in a really comfy hostel (Las Carretas) we caught an early morning bus to El Calafate. Our intention was to get a bus from El Calafate to Bariloche but once in El Calafate Claire decided she really couldn´t face a 34 hour bus journey so soon after the hardship of Torres Del Paine. As it happened the buses were fully booked anyway for the following 2 days. So we booked a flight to Bariloche for the following afternoon. Once at the airport we met an English lad who we knew from Puerto Natales. His flight to Buenos Aires had been cancelled due to a baggage handlers strike so he had been stuck in the airport for the past 2 days. At night, once his last chance to get on an alternative flight had passed, the airline would put him up in a hotel until the following morning when his "groundhog day" would start all over again.We had not been able to book any accommodation before our flight (despite the fact that we phoned 7 places in the guide book), we intended on just asking a taxi to take us into town and we would ask around. This might not have been so bad had our flight not been delayed. As it turned out we landed in Bariloche at midnight...DOH!! With biblical images of walking the streets in desperate search of a bed for the night, Claire approached the airline officials & asked of they could help us find a hotel because of the flight delay. The airline went one step better than that, taking pity on us, paid for a taxi into town and a nights accommodation right in the heart of downtown. Result! We chcked in at 1am & the following morning we found alternative accommodation in Hotel Antartida.
Bariloche was like a holiday from our holiday. T-shirt, sandals, and shorts were the clothing of choice. Tourists everywhere availing of free chocolates. That´s right, the town was awash with chocolate stores. As a lure, the stores would use trays of free chocolates to entice you in....and they were delicious. On our first day we stayed around town (I wonder why?) but on day 2 we caught a bus along the shore of Lake Nahuel Haupi to a place called Bahia Lopez.
Another day trip took us to Cathedral, one of South America´s largest ski resorts. Obviously, this being the height of their Summer, it was more about getting to the top of Cerro Cathedral and enjoying the views. Claire decided to give it a miss and headed back to Bariloche. I think I was probably the only person that day that chose to walk to the summit. Other holiday makers took the more leisurely cable car option. It was a hot, hard hike...just the way I like ´em. Fortunately, having spent my time at the summit, I managed to blag a free cable car ride to the base...walking isn´t that much fun. Result.
After 4 days of glorious sunshine in Bariloche it was time to move on to Argentina´s capital - Buenos Aires (BA).
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