Bariloche Part 1: Circuito Chico
Bariloche was my last stop before heading back to Chile, and by far my favorite. For a start, every block has a different artisan chocolate shop. That in itself is enough for Bariloche to merit its own post, but Bariloche was so much better than just chocolate (hard to believe, but true). I stayed just under a week, and packed my days. This post is just about Bariloche and Circuito Chico and chocolate. The next will cover Villa La Angostura, El Bolson, some excellent parties, and Cerro Catedral.
My first view of Bariloche was from the front windows of the bus I had made my home for the past 24 hours from La Plata through the Argentine pampas. As we rounded a hill, all of Bariloche was spread out beneath me. After too much time in big cities, I was already excited to be able to see from one end to the other along the coast of Lake Nahuel Huapi. As soon as I disembarked, I headed straight for the lake despite the bone-chilling wind creating whitecaps on the water. I desperately missed the mountains and the ocean in all my time in Argentina, and the lake was the next best thing to ocean. I let the wind whip spray into my face as a sat on my pack staring through the waves at the mountains ranged behind.
I eventually made my way into town, and to say it was like a kid walking into a candy store would be an understatement. Did I mention that every block has a chocolate shop? Literally every street boasted a chocolate shop, each one competing for the most spectacular Easter chocolate displays. I spent hours crisscrossing the main drag, making sure not to miss a single one, sampling whenever possible, and grinning from ear to ear. Most everything is made in house, and almost all of them make their own specialty icecreams as well. Best. Town. Ever.
Arriving at the main square, I stepped into the tourist office for some maps and advice (the maps were helpful, as was the advice, a wonderful thing about the Argentine system in comparison with the Chilean), then wandered to the far edge of town. For a good while I befriended a big brindle mastiff mix street dog who enjoyed wandering and staring out at the lake as much as I did, until his interest was caught by a group of girls heading down to the beach. I found another chocolate shop, this one with a viewing window to watch the creations in progress.
Heading back into town, a bakery caught my eye. Called Panaderia Azul, it quickly became a regular haunt (if you can become a regular in six days). The pastries were beautiful, calling out to be eaten, and throughout the week I tried just about all of them - a croissant filled with dulce de leche dusted with powdered sugar, a flaky roll filled with dulce de membrillo and covered with sugar granules and another of the same filled with dulce de leche, a medialuna (a croissant with a light glaze of simple sugar), apple and peach danishes topped with hardened white and dark chocolate respectively, a twisted danish in the same strain as the dulce de membrillo-sugar pastry filled with something like raspberry jam, and about five chocolate covered dulce de leche filled churros (one every time I came in) - in addition to an excellent ham and cheese sandwich on homemade french bread and a mixed dozen I bought the last day for my host. As darkness approached, I took shelter from the unrelenting wind in the local cathedral, admiring the beautiful stained glass and intricate carved reliefs of Jesus` march towards the crucifixion that lined the walls. By that point my contact in Bariloche was home, so we met up and I was treated to a delicious ravioli dinner.
Day two saw me out the door around 11 am, ready for a full day of walking. I grabbed a bus pass to Llao Llao to start the Circuito Chico, a 25 kilometer loop through Nahuel Huapi National Park. The obligatory photos of the stunning Hotel Llao Llao on top of the hill taken, I headed down into the woods. The circuit follows the main road, with ocassional walking trails branching off to a hidden beach or lake or lookout point. People usually rent bikes for the 25 kilometers, but I`m not down for paying when I can walk for free. Also, I would have had to leave my bike at the entrance to the walking trails then come back and collect it before moving on. I chose to follow some paths and ignore others. The trail to Lago Escodido, though, was absolutely worth it, and it even came back out further down the road (convenient for us without bikes, isn`t it?).
The road wound for miles through the woods, often opening up to incredible views of Lake Nahuel Huapi and the mountains framing it. Accompanied by music and camera, I barely noticed the passing kilometers. A strangely beautiful detour I took led to the mountaineers` cementary. Wooden crosses, plaques and headstones mark the graves of those who died in old age, and some who didn´t. The youngest I saw was a Swiss girl, 25, who lost her life on one of Argentina`s mountains. A headstone of the same wood in the same style indicated an older man, undoubtedly her trekking companion. The cementary was moving and peaceful, a final resting place in the shadow of the mountains, overlooking the lake, for those who spent their lives wandering.
Many outlooks, a friendly dog and a number of wild apples later, I crossed the bridge over the union of Lago Moreno and Lago Nahuel Huapi. Only ten kilometers a few dozen more stunning views to go until I reached the end of the loop. I made good time, and passed the bike rental station, rounding the corner to wind up at the base of Cerro Campanario (Bell Hill). I met a Chilean mother and daughter at the base so we reminisced about northern Chile and, having just come down from the top, they urged me to climb the kilometer up to see the views. Despite strong urgings by the ski lift operaters that it was too dangerous to climb so late since I would be the only one on the hill, I started up at 6:15. After all, what`s a kilometer uphill after I already walked 25?
It turns out there were about 15 of us either climbing or already at
the top, and the steep hike only took half an hour. The view from Cerro
Campanario is a breath-taking 360 degrees of lakes and mountains, all
helpfully labeled on painted signs near the edge. After about an hour of
wandering over the mountaintop, I headed down through the trees to the
road, batting away thousands of tiny caterpillars swinging from fine
threads.
I hopped on the bus back to Bariloche for some well-deserved specialty icecream from Jauja, a peek in at the progress on the largest chocolate egg in the world, and to catch the tail end of a free concert put on by the city.
This is quite enough to read in one sitting, so I will leave you with the wonderful chocolate images, taken five days apart, and dedicate the next post to the rest of my Bariloche trip when I return to Valparaíso after two weeks in southern Chile.
My first view of Bariloche was from the front windows of the bus I had made my home for the past 24 hours from La Plata through the Argentine pampas. As we rounded a hill, all of Bariloche was spread out beneath me. After too much time in big cities, I was already excited to be able to see from one end to the other along the coast of Lake Nahuel Huapi. As soon as I disembarked, I headed straight for the lake despite the bone-chilling wind creating whitecaps on the water. I desperately missed the mountains and the ocean in all my time in Argentina, and the lake was the next best thing to ocean. I let the wind whip spray into my face as a sat on my pack staring through the waves at the mountains ranged behind.
I eventually made my way into town, and to say it was like a kid walking into a candy store would be an understatement. Did I mention that every block has a chocolate shop? Literally every street boasted a chocolate shop, each one competing for the most spectacular Easter chocolate displays. I spent hours crisscrossing the main drag, making sure not to miss a single one, sampling whenever possible, and grinning from ear to ear. Most everything is made in house, and almost all of them make their own specialty icecreams as well. Best. Town. Ever.
Arriving at the main square, I stepped into the tourist office for some maps and advice (the maps were helpful, as was the advice, a wonderful thing about the Argentine system in comparison with the Chilean), then wandered to the far edge of town. For a good while I befriended a big brindle mastiff mix street dog who enjoyed wandering and staring out at the lake as much as I did, until his interest was caught by a group of girls heading down to the beach. I found another chocolate shop, this one with a viewing window to watch the creations in progress.
Heading back into town, a bakery caught my eye. Called Panaderia Azul, it quickly became a regular haunt (if you can become a regular in six days). The pastries were beautiful, calling out to be eaten, and throughout the week I tried just about all of them - a croissant filled with dulce de leche dusted with powdered sugar, a flaky roll filled with dulce de membrillo and covered with sugar granules and another of the same filled with dulce de leche, a medialuna (a croissant with a light glaze of simple sugar), apple and peach danishes topped with hardened white and dark chocolate respectively, a twisted danish in the same strain as the dulce de membrillo-sugar pastry filled with something like raspberry jam, and about five chocolate covered dulce de leche filled churros (one every time I came in) - in addition to an excellent ham and cheese sandwich on homemade french bread and a mixed dozen I bought the last day for my host. As darkness approached, I took shelter from the unrelenting wind in the local cathedral, admiring the beautiful stained glass and intricate carved reliefs of Jesus` march towards the crucifixion that lined the walls. By that point my contact in Bariloche was home, so we met up and I was treated to a delicious ravioli dinner.Day two saw me out the door around 11 am, ready for a full day of walking. I grabbed a bus pass to Llao Llao to start the Circuito Chico, a 25 kilometer loop through Nahuel Huapi National Park. The obligatory photos of the stunning Hotel Llao Llao on top of the hill taken, I headed down into the woods. The circuit follows the main road, with ocassional walking trails branching off to a hidden beach or lake or lookout point. People usually rent bikes for the 25 kilometers, but I`m not down for paying when I can walk for free. Also, I would have had to leave my bike at the entrance to the walking trails then come back and collect it before moving on. I chose to follow some paths and ignore others. The trail to Lago Escodido, though, was absolutely worth it, and it even came back out further down the road (convenient for us without bikes, isn`t it?).
The road wound for miles through the woods, often opening up to incredible views of Lake Nahuel Huapi and the mountains framing it. Accompanied by music and camera, I barely noticed the passing kilometers. A strangely beautiful detour I took led to the mountaineers` cementary. Wooden crosses, plaques and headstones mark the graves of those who died in old age, and some who didn´t. The youngest I saw was a Swiss girl, 25, who lost her life on one of Argentina`s mountains. A headstone of the same wood in the same style indicated an older man, undoubtedly her trekking companion. The cementary was moving and peaceful, a final resting place in the shadow of the mountains, overlooking the lake, for those who spent their lives wandering.
Many outlooks, a friendly dog and a number of wild apples later, I crossed the bridge over the union of Lago Moreno and Lago Nahuel Huapi. Only ten kilometers a few dozen more stunning views to go until I reached the end of the loop. I made good time, and passed the bike rental station, rounding the corner to wind up at the base of Cerro Campanario (Bell Hill). I met a Chilean mother and daughter at the base so we reminisced about northern Chile and, having just come down from the top, they urged me to climb the kilometer up to see the views. Despite strong urgings by the ski lift operaters that it was too dangerous to climb so late since I would be the only one on the hill, I started up at 6:15. After all, what`s a kilometer uphill after I already walked 25?
I hopped on the bus back to Bariloche for some well-deserved specialty icecream from Jauja, a peek in at the progress on the largest chocolate egg in the world, and to catch the tail end of a free concert put on by the city.
This is quite enough to read in one sitting, so I will leave you with the wonderful chocolate images, taken five days apart, and dedicate the next post to the rest of my Bariloche trip when I return to Valparaíso after two weeks in southern Chile.
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