Bariloche, Argentina

After camping and hitch-hiking through the seven lakes region of northern Patagonia I made it to a lakeside city called Bariloche. I stayed in a terrific hostel that was unconventionally located in a high-rise with gorgeous views of the city, lake, and the surrounding mountains. The hostel was called 1004, after its location in on the 10th floor. I stayed in Bariloche a few days; it was a nice city with lots of nearby outdoor activities and the hostel was very comfortable place to be.





On the evening I arrived there was a demonstration on the quaint town square to remember the thousands of people that disappeared during what is called the “dirty war”. Ironically the remembrance of of this dark period in Argentina history is celebrated on its conception, the day the last dictatorship came into power, March 24th , 1976. During the 70's and 80's the military dictatorship “disappeared” up to 30,000 people associated, or thought to be associated with, leftist and pro-democracy groups. The families of these people are still waiting for answers, and taking this day to make sure that Argentina doesn't forget this brutal part of it's history. During the demonstrations families painted white handkerchiefs on the square with the name of their “disappeared” family member. The white handkerchief is the symbol used by the “Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo” a group of mothers of the “disappeared” that march every Thursday in Buenos Aires on the Plaza de Mayo.





Bariloche offered almost any outdoor activity you could think of; hiking, rafting, kayaking, mountain biking, fishing, horseback riding, and paragliding in the warmer months, then skiing and snowboarding in the winter months. It was somewhat touristy but still a great town. Once you get past the gnomes and chocolate shops there was a good variety of restaurants and services to go along with all of the nearby outdoor activities.







On one of my days in Bariloche I hiked up Cerro Otto, or Otto hill, to take in the beautiful views. It was a steep hike up, but then a nice walk back to the town along the road and through a network of trails back to the city.











Another day I went on a bike ride around the beautiful Llau-llua park with John a cool guy from Minnesota who was staying in the same hostel and Joanna a woman from Minnesota who we met at the bike shop. It was a beautiful ride with gorgeous views of the lakes and even a stop by the outrageously expensive Hotel Llau-Llau. We had a quick look inside and found out that the most expensive suite costs more that 2,200 dollars a night! Not exactly for the budget traveler, for that price you could stay more than a half a year in our hostel!





















Carved wooden face