We flew on to Carlos de Bariloche. Our host met us at our little suite. This was to be our base for the next 4 nights.
We had originally planned on driving the scenic 7 lakes route the next day, but it was a holiday weekend. So, we decided to drive the Circuito Chico. Still a popular scenic drive, but not as long. We didn’t think we’d have any issues getting that drive done in a day. We got to our first stop, a scenic chair lift ride. While this is not on the official route, it’s along the way and a really good first stop to make. It was a beautiful day and the views from the top were amazing. You really understand why people love Bariloche.
We then visited the little chapel and got a view of the historic Llao Llao Hotel. It was initially built to encourage tourism in the area. It was completely destroyed by fire in 1939 a little over a year after opening. It was rebuilt and opened again in 1940. We were getting hungry, so yes why not have lunch at the hotel. They had a gluten free version of the stuffed ravioli. The ravioli is a main dish throughout Argentina. So, I decided to try it. Mmmm good.
After lunch, we were quite full. So, our next stop was a city park. They have some nice trails there and it was good to walk after our heavy lunch.
We also drove a little off the route to the village of Colonia Suiza. At one time it was probably a very charming place, with buildings built in a Swiss style. But now, it is most definitely a tourist trap. We walked around for a bit and quickly left. It was extremely crowded because of the holiday weekend and the great weather.
Drove on to our last viewpoint of the day. It is the view that is the postcard picture view. Again the weather really made the view spectacular.
The next day we had scheduled a boat ride across the Lago Nahuel Huapi. Our first stop was Victoria Island. In 1907, it was leased for 99 years to Aarón de Anchorena. He was Argentina’s “Rockefeller”. He decided to plant a number of tree species from more Northern climates to see how they would fair. But after only 3 years, he decided he was bored and gave the land back to the government. The government decided to keep the experiment going and as has happened with many non-native species, they flourish at the expense of native species.
The government is now slowly trying to gradually bring back the native species. It was a nice 4km hike with our guide who did the tour both in Spanish and English.
We got back on the boat for our next stop at the Arrayanes Park. This national park is another island that’s a national park inside of a national park. This park has a good concentration of the Arrayanes trees. The Arrayanes trees are a type of evergreen with cinnamon colored bark. We only had a 45 minute stop here. It’s a 1km loop through the park. Our guide did a great job with our group of just English speakers. And she got us back to the boat right on time. It was a very nice relaxing day.
For our last full day in Bariloche, we drove the scenic 7 lakes route. It was a pretty drive and we managed to make it to all seven lakes.
