I have just returned to Bariloche from the town of El Bolsòn where I was for two nights. El Bolsòn is about 2.5 hours south of Bariloche and kind of on the boundary between northern Patagonia and the Lakes District. It is known for its Feria Artesanal (craft fair) and it`s liberal tendencies (i.e. it`s a hippy town with lots of organic farms and lots of rastafari folk with dreads).
I left Bariloche via bus on the morning of 2/27. The drive was realy pretty- green foothills with lots of pine adn Cordilleran Cypress (the junpier/cedar looking trees I`ve been seeing), big rivers, more cute little cottages with pretty gardens and some snowy Chilean mountains in the distance. I met some other Americans on the bus (an Alaskan, a Nebraskan and a Washington D.C.-an) and we chatted most of the ride and agreed to meet for dinner later in the evening. Upon arrival in El Bolsòn, I decided to try to find my hostel on foot since Lonely Planet said "It is across the main bridge and 200 meters north." Well, there are several bridges in town and after walking for about a half hour in the baking sun with a huge pack through a neighborhood that made me feel uneasy, I finally went into the Autoservicio del Lago and had the owner call the hostel owner for me. Up drove Augostino in a few minutes in a funny little car dressed all in white safari-style clothes with pink aviators. He is very eccentric to say the least, and so was the hostel, although it was beautiful and I loved it! It is a decent sized piece of property near a pretty river, but completely screened from the roads and neighbors by fir trees, fruit trees and cottonwoods. There was a huge vegetable garden, several little cottages (each having been remodeled at least 5 times with different materials and styles each time, resulting in a mish mash of craziness), lots of hammocks, 2 dogs, and 2 cats! No one was really around so I walked the mile back into town to check out the market. It was really small, but nice. Lots of jewelry, some regional products and some fruit! I bought some raspberries and ate all of them on the spot. Yum yum! After strolling through the market, I sat in the shade and read until it was time to meet the other Americans for dinner. We got some really yummy (but expensive) beer and some awesome (and cheap) pizza with smoked trout, arugula, local cheese, and cherry tomatoes. After dinner, I walked the mile back to the hostel enjoying the alpenglow on the surrounding mountains and the wonderful summer evening. The kitten slept curled up on my tummy that night.
Yesterday morning I got up early to catch a bus to Parque Nacional Lago Puelo. I accidently got off too early and had to walk an extra 2km or so, but it worked out well. On my way, I saw a sign with a trail map and took a little country road past the cutest little cottages with gardens and farms and LOTS of blackberries to the trailhead. The trail climbed up through Cordilleran Cypress and Douglas Fir looking trees to traverse a ridge with great views of the giant lake and the surrounding mountains (including some in Chile). There were a ton of bees again! Yuck! They are so much less aggressive though than at home! I had to walk past a yellow jacket nest on the side of the trail and by the time I even noticed it, I would have been stung like 10 times at home. Eventually, I realized that the trail was not at all as the map had indicated (I shouldn´t have been surprised at this point- it is common here), but I found a good looking trail heading back down to the lake where I wanted to go and went for it. It turned out to be more of an animal trail and I now have really scratched legs and had to dodge lots o bee nests, but it ended up right where I wanted to go! I sat for awhile on the beach, enjoying the view and the shade (it was hot!). After a bit, I walked back on for the road and caught the bus back to El Bolsón. Right after I got back into town, a huge wildfire broke out in the park! It was putting up a column and everything! A bunch of single engine air tankers then started doing laps between the city airport and the fire for most of the evening and today. In the evening, a French lady and I made some blackberry and plum pie and drank beer on the porch of the hostel until pretty late. It was a great day!
This morning I got up and attempted to hike to an overlook for the valley of the Rio Azul, but got lost :( I still can´t figure it out- I followed all the signs, but I ended up on a road with lots of mean dogs glaring at me so I turned around. It was a nice walk through the woods though- although the wind started picking up and the smoke started blowing in the from the fire. After my walk, I took a taxi into town (to avoid wandering about with my huge pack again) and visited the Feria Artesanal. This afternoon I took a bus back to Bariloche.
Well, the next few days are mostly in transit to Santiago where I will be flying to Cuzco on March 7th! I will probably write from Santiago next. Hope all is well at home!
