The Argentine Bikini

I guess they're a lot like Brazilian bikinis? Based on what I saw, I imagine they are a little more conservative, but then, I've never been to Brazil. 

So, just doing a little thinking out-loud about the wedgie-style or thong bikini here. I totally get the logic of hanging your butt out if you're laying out to tan. I personally hate walking around with a white ass all summer. In this respect, the thong style bikini is an awesome innovation that Americans will always be too prudish to ever adopt.

HOWEVER.

The thong bikini is not treated as a tanning suit here. And it is not worn just by the young and fabulous. For every great butt we saw strutting across the beach, there were two that were just . . . not flattered by their outfit choice. Especially since I saw women doing everything from playing soccer, to bending over to collect sea shells, to rock-climbing in suits much skimpier than the ones below. 

I guess, overall, no judgements on my part, it's cool other countries are so much less uptight about body image. I guess I just don't see these catching on at home any time soon. 

Most girls aren't going full-thong, it's more like a perma-wedgie.

Cerro Tronador vs the Circuit Chico

After a rough go in El Chalten and Puerto Madryn, we weren’t in a mood to be overly aggressive with our plans. So the fact that Bariloche was scenic and easy to navigate, and that Altuen was a beautiful, comfortable hotel with friendly hosts was a welcome change from the beautiful—but unpredictable, desolate and remote—stops in Patagonia.

Once we finished La Ruta del Sieto Lagos, there weren’t a ton of “must-see” tourist destinations in Bariloche--other than hanging out and checking the views. But Dan and I tend to be fairly aggressive travelers, so we turned our attention to the remaining spots we'd heard about outside of town--Cerro Tronador, and the Circuit Chico.

Cerro Tronador vs the Circuit Chico

Cerro Tronador is an extinct "stratovolcano" (thanks Wikipedia) that takes a full day to visit. There are over 8 black glaciers on this stratovolcano, and apparently you can hear them crack as they shift and melt. In addition to the coolness of a black glacier, there are waterfalls, mountains and rivers. Not surprisingly, this drive and visit was listed as the #1 activity for Bariloche on Trip Advisor, although, at the time of posting, it was listed as #2.

Circuit Chico is much less "wow," and much more "ahhhh." It's essentially a 70km loop that takes you past Llao Llao, the beautiful, famous hotel in Bariloche, and by some mellow rivers and lakes, a small town, and a petrified forest.

Overall, Circuit Chico seemed a little more predictable, and "on-the-beaten-path," so it was not initially my first choice, I worried as well, that since we had just driven Sieta Lagos--the end all, be all drive of Bariloche--Circuit Chico would seem like the poor man's alternative.

Why I'm glad we decided to drive Circuit Chico

I think, if we had been in Bariloche for a different portion of the trip, I would have been committed to Cerro Tronador. However, the third week in, we had learned that when something sounds easy/amazing in Argentina, there's always a catch. And it's usually not anything you learn from reading a guidebook.

It pays to have up-to-the-minute information about things happening in Argentina, because, at any moment, the weather, availability, topographical conditions, can all change. Case in point, the latest Foder's Guide had mentioned an archeological dig you could join, but when I looked into it, the project had been defunded and the archeologists were gone.

In this case, I dug into the recent social posts about Cerro Tronador, and learned that in the last few days, it hadn't been such a great place to be. For one thing, the horseflies were a big problem. (Someone posted 2 days earlier, “If it’s a cold day, you’re in luck, because the bugs are almost unbearable in the heat.”)

Secondly, I discovered that while the location is billed as black glaciers in a volcano--which sounds REALLY cool--it's literally just that, glaciers INSIDE the volcano. From the viewpoint across the lake, it's an icy black mountain next to a river. It's beautiful, but not sure if it would be worth the expense of an all day drive. Especially when you combine horseflies, the fact that the road in is 100% gravel, and that you can only get access certain times of the day.

Pretty, but not sure I want to drive all day for this. 

So, after a really close, skeptical evaluation, it seemed pretty clear that Argentina was trying to trick us again. I am sure it is an absolutely amazing place to visit, but probably not in the dead of summer, and not for our trip. 

It's not so bad "missing out" in Bariloche

I think, my take-away here, is that Bariloche is different than visiting Buenos Aires, or even some of the other Patagonia towns we passed through. It's made for relaxing.

Which is good, because when you come to Argentina you'll spend a lot of time en-route, trying to see things, waiting for busses, etc. etc. In Bariloche, if you spend too much time driving to get somewhere, you'll miss the point. So, although we felt like we were taking the lame tourist route, and reducing our adventure creds by a factor of 10, I'm not sorry we missed out on Cerro Tronador. It's always a reason to go back. 

Highlights from lazing our way around Circuit Chico

Driving La Ruta del Siete Lagos

Although the biggest thing I wanted to do in Bariloche was RELAX, the highlight of Bariloche was driving La Ruta del Siete Lagos. This is partly because we did the drive the day of our 9 year anniversary (yes, Dan and I have been together 9 years!) and partly because it was amazingly beautiful and relaxing.

La Ruta del Siete Lagos is about a 150km drive that takes you around 7 amazingly beautiful, interconnected lakes, and about 50 other bodies of water. And even though it's the busiest part of Patagonia, once you're out on the open road, there aren't a lot of people in your way.

You can drive La Ruta del Siete Lagos with a tour group, or you can hitchhike, but I think a car is really the best way to get around--especially if you want to actually take breaks and enjoy the scenery.

While Bariloche was definitely more tourist-friendly, getting a car last minute was still a bit of a struggle. Altuen offered to call for us, but it wasn't until we visited several places in town that we found a place with a car. We had a conversation about the contract in Spanish, which I understood 70% of, then blindly signed the rental papers. By 9am the following morning, we had our car and were off! 

Driving La Ruta del Siete Lagos:

The road begins in the center of town, and most people start by heading west. (We had a 7.2km head-start, due to our hotel location.)

The whole first part of the drive, wraps around Lake Hupai, a giant, empty, glassy body of water that makes Tahoe look like a swimming hole.

About 45 minutes into the drive, you arrive at Villa Angostora, a really cute little town that was hit by a volcano in 2011, and is still in the process of rebuilding. There are some great places to stop and eat, and some good breweries. (Fodor says Australis is the best brewery in Patagonia, but I wouldn't go that far.)

Once you leave Villa Angostora, you are in the heart of the drive. 7 icy blue, crystal clear, mostly connected lakes, one after the other. The lakes wrap around the road, with plenty of places to stop and admire the view, or if you have time, get out and swim.

The views were amazing, but the thing that was most shocking to me was that there was no one on the lake. Like, we saw 5 boats the entire time we were out, across 150km of highway.

Not surprisingly, the water was like glass. And really. There was NO ONE out there. While I doubt Argentina has the money to develop much of a boating culture, if you were able to get your hands on a ski-boat out there, it would be some of the best wake-boarding ever.

The drive takes you all the way to San Martin, another little town with a formalized swimming area, kayak rentals, shops, hostels, and lots of spots for food, beer and wine. 

For many people, this is the “end of the line” and you can turn around and drive back, but we had heard it was beautiful to come back the other way, on over 60km of unpaved road. 

It was. Even though we got stuck behind a really slow van for about 20km on the gravel road. 

All-in-all, I would say La Ruta del Siete Lagos is a must-do drive. Don't take the tour bus, don't try to hitchhike, rent a car and go. Your effort will be rewarded with beautiful lakes and incredibly majestic rocky landscapes that, unfortunately, I really can not do justice to with my current level of photography skills. You will just have to go and see for yourself.

Bariloche = the Swiss Alps of Argentina

After a hot, dry, “meh” experience in Puerto Madryn, I was hoping Argentina would show me something beautiful that wasn't completely exhausting. Thank God we came to Bariloche.

After an interminably long bus ride, we wanted to leave the bus station as quickly as humanly possible, and jumped into the first cab we saw.

Driving through town, I was surprised how much Bariloche reminded me of Lucerne, Switzerland. There was the amazing lake, the pretty architecture, and in the main town there were ski/skate shops, designer boutiques, fondue restaurants, hotels, breweries, and chocolate stores on every corner.

When you visit Bariloche, you can either stay in the center, which is what all the kids do who go to Bariloche for their Senior trip, or you can stay in a hotel outside of town, 5-15 miles along the main drag. I just picked the best rated modestly priced hotel, since we were getting burned out on the hostels. 

Altuen, the hotel we eventually booked 4 nights with, was 7.2 km outside of town, right off the main drag. Not only was it walking distance from some of the best restaurants in Bariloche, but there was a nearby beach, and a ton of small parillas, wine bars, hotels and B&Bs overlooking the water. The best part of all, is that the temperature couldn’t have been more than 75-80 degrees—the first temperate location of the trip!

Altuen's owners were an extremely friendly couple, who always wished us "Nice Time!" when we left for the day. Luis, the man of the house, made us little maps, and cooked us eggs every morning. I've never met someone who liked his job/house-guests more than Luis.

Paula, who must have been half Dan’s size, was absolutely adorable too. Hilariously, she insisted on carrying both Dan’s bags up the stairs herself, even though Dan physically tried to stop her. Once in the room, things just kept getting better. We had a little porch, some chairs for sitting outside, a big, decently comfortable bed, and an awesome view of the lake. 

All-in-all, our arrival in Bariloche was definitely a welcome change, and a sign that the course of the trip was finally starting to go a little bit more our way.