Bariloche, Northern Patagonia

We hopped a plane from Calafate to Bariloche in search of good views and good chocolate- and we found them! We were surprised how European this mountain town feels- there is a big Swiss influence... we saw the Swiss flag, Saint Bernaird dogs (apprently bred in Switzerland as mountain rescue dogs), and we ate cheese fondue! Every other shop in town was a chocolate shop, and whenever we bought a cappuchino we were always given a gourment little piece of heaven. Our first day in town was gorgeous so we rode a gondola to a nearby lookout point, hiked around, then walked back to town to meet some traveling friends for dinner. The next day was rainy and cold, so we had to change our three-day trek plans into a two-day trek adventure. The next morning was clear again and we caught the morning bus to Cerro Catedral, the nearest large ski resort. From the parking lot, we found the trail leading through a bamboo forest with views of lakes below. We hiked up a river gorge to the rocky alpine lake setting of Refugio Frey. Finally a real mountain cabin- dusty old mattresses on the ground, no electricity, and no baño... awesome! We spent the evening hiking to take in the views and sunset, then the hutmaster served us up a great dinner (called the plato fuerte- the strong plate) of mashed potatoes and meat. We decided to sleep downstairs that night to spare the 13 or so other travelers the pain of listening to our incessant coughing, and woke up the next day to a fantastic alpen glo sunrise and a hearty bowl of oatmeal. The hike down was supposed to be easy, but I have always been a bigger fan of loops than out-and-backs, so we decided to take the scenic route. We hiked up a pass (more like rock and ice climbing- slippery but fun) and then hiked along what seemed like an endless traverse (more rock climbing and unbeatable views). Finally we made it to the top of the ski resort and we could see the base lodge where we would catch our bus. After a few wrong turns, some scree scrambling, and 100 too many switch backs on maintenance roads, we at last made it to the parking lot- but not before we saw our bus take off without us. No problem, though, we found a snack stand with beer and bubbly water and spent the next hour relaxing until another bus arrived... next stop is Mendoza- another land of good views and good chocolate- but also good wine. We have just arrived at the wine capital of South America where the Malbec is supposed to be the divine complement to the local steak... more to follow! Cheers!