Bariloche Horse Riding

After a couple of very lazy days coinciding with rather cold and windyweather, we went on a horse riding trip out on an Estancia (farm) on the opposite side of the Nauel Huapi lake to Bariloche. The weather turned out fine and it was another cloudless day of infinite blue sky, I was happy for my sun hat. After we arrived our two guides, Alicia and Manuel, set about bringing in the horses. This entailed some incredible high speed bare-back riding that we watched in awe from the shade of the rickerty old wooden farm building where they had left us.

From Bariloche Hor...

Soon enough they were saddled and we moumted our steeds and set off into the surrounding hills. The pace was very relaxed and I spent my time chatting with Alicia about the 'Gaucho' life and enjoying being out in the country again. Manu didn't speak much, but tended to ride on ahead singing loudly to himself. He had the manner of an old hand, though he was only 17! We climbed up and over a hill (much easier onhorseback) and descended into a plain where we stopped to have lunch. Inevitably a barbeque was made and we hade huge slabs of beef to get through, as well as some chorizo sausage. The ride back was equally slow paced, despite the eager horses who wanted to be set free again and knew that the sooner we got back the sooner this would happen.

From Bariloche Hor...

The next day we were both very saddle sore and walked around like apair of worn out old donkeys. It was to be another lazy day inBariloche...

Our final excursion around lake Nauel Huapi took us out to the Llao Llao peninsula. We walked away from the golf courses and imposing hotel and into the national park. It was a beautiful afternoon and we could hear nothing but our footsteps and the calls of the various birds flitting around in the trees. We tried to stop for a picnic in a clearing, but wasps and flies drove us away. Then we were rewarded bythe site of a male woodpecker, just off the path, tap-tapping a tree to dig out his lunch. We stood and watched as he flew low over ourheads and landed on a tree even closer. His body was dark but he had abright red head and crest- which is the male plumage I think. Unfortunately I didn't manage to get a great photo for not wanting tomake any sudden movements.

Back at the Hostel I got chatting to a couple of Argentinian brothers from Buenos Aires. The older was more chatty and is studying to be a theatre producer- apparently there are hundreds of theatres inBA, though it's hard to make it big as ever. He was a nice guy and it was good to be conversing in spanish rather than just booking rooms or ordering food!

The following day we took a touristy bus up the seven lakes with a tour guide who had a bad case of verbal diahorrea...

This bought us to San Martin de los Andes, and it was really relaxed after the tourism of Bariloche. It is also located by a lake, but is surrounded by much closer hills. We went for an easy bike ride up into the hills but that was about all. After two nights it was time to move on, this time a big journey north to Mendoza and the wine district.

Bariloche: Rafting, Paraglding and Walking

Well, we´ve continued in our extreme streak, with adventures of rafting, paragliding and a very long walk up a mountain.


This video (if it works) shows Landing her tandem paraglide flight. It´s better with sound as you can hear her shreiking in anticipation!! If it doesn´t work click here

Paragliding is amazing - so crazy to run of the edge of a mountain and find yourself suspended and flying through the air. Suffice to say we were both a bit nervous standing on the ´runway´with our hats and jump suits waiting to launch. You have to wait for the guy to inflate the ´wing´, and then brace against the pull as the wind grabs it. Then he hooks on and you have to run like a lunatic as though you wish to throw yourself off the edge. All of a sudden you´re running like the Wylee Coyote with your feet in the air and the mountain floor dissapearing below. Then you fly...

From Paragliding

Two days before paragliding we went rafting down the river Guiterez to the Chilean border. This was also fantastic fun, though I have to say that Paragliding tops it on the extremomiter. The day trip included a massive lunch of barbequed lamb, sausages and wine, so after all the excercise and exhileration we´re were all pissed after about two glasses!

From Bariloche

As you can see, Leah was loving it! The coolest thing was that we got Leah into Chile without a visa, albeit for only a moment! Shhh, dont tell no one.

From Bariloche

The day before yesterday I was making dinner when my good friend Joanna walked into the Hostel kitchen...how bonkers is that? She is over staying with her sister, Justine, who lives in Uruguay. We decided to join forces for a walk up the mountains which we did yesterday.

From Frey Mountain...

It was a beautful clear and still day, but not too hot so it was perfect for the walk. We took the 9.15 bus that left us at the bottom of a ski lift, which carries people up the mountian to either just enjoy the view or hurtle down on mountain bikes. We, however, left this behind to find the path that leads up to a mountain refuge called Frey. At first the path seemed to just contour around the side of the mountian, which had beautiful views of the lake below, but I really wanted to get up into the hills. Finally we came round a bend and the gradient steepened as we followed a river gorge up and up through wonderful lush green woodland. Up up and up some more we went until finally we the greenery began to thin and we could see the rocky mountain peaks all around. At about 2 in the afternoon we arrived at the Refuge and were greeted by a number of Brasilian climbers who´d been up there for 40 days. They were on their way down and had enormous rucksaks, laden with climbing gear and camping equipment.

From Frey Mountain...

After a lunch of chorizo, brie and olives we decided that instead of wlaking down the path we had come up, we´d try to walk over the top of the mountain pass and go down by the ski-lift. After talking with a few of the poeple up there it seemed as though the walk wouldn´t be too difficult, but would probably take 3 to 4 hours....so off we set. The refuge is nestled in at the base of two peaks with a large lake at it´s rear. This we had to circumnavigate before climbing up a steep and rocky slope to exit the vally. At the top of this was another lake and another steep climb to get to the top of the pass, which revealed wonderful views of the the mountains stretching off into the distance.

From Frey Mountain...

It felt like we had reached the hardest point after all that climbing, but the traverse to reach the ski lifts was steep and difficult, with loose rocks covered in gravel. This made it slow and tiring and as the day wore on and our legs and bodies began to tire it seemed as though the trail would never end.

From Frey Mountain...

Finally however we crested a slope to see the vast lake and Bariloche miles below. Unfortunately the lifts had closed for the day, but thankfully Johanna had managed to go ahead and secure us a lift with some workers who were making there way home for the day. This meant we had to ride on the back of a truck all the way down the bumpy mountain paths, but although it was cold and uncomfortable, it was much better than the hours of walking that awaited us if we´d not got the lift. When we got to the bottom the bus seemed to be waiting to greet our tired legs, and the relief and happyness at being inside the warm shuddering vehicle was wonderful.

From Frey Mountain...

Back in Bariloche we bought some food and went to the Hostel for much needed showers. Once refreshed the four of us (Johanna, Justine, Leah and I) met in the kitched and cooked a wonderful meal of grilled steak, mashed potato, corn on the cob and an onion and chilli gravy. Yum yum.

Today Leah and I are chilling and resting our tired thighs, while Joanna and her sister have gone off to investigate El Bolson for a couple of days. We may hook up with them this weekend for some more adventures though....

Bariloche

We´ve been in Bariloche since Monday, with one night spent out in the hills - more on that in a moment. We´re staying in the Tango Inn Hostel, which is really cool. It´s a little out of town, but has been set up really well and our room has a great view over the lake and the mountains beyond.

From Bariloche

Bariloche is a skiing town in the winter and in the summer caters for all the extreme sports nuts that want to go and play in the mountains...er like me I guess. It´s also famous for chocolate and has some enormous chocolate emporiums where you can promise to take your girlfriend if they agree to you spending a week being extreme (cold, wet, tired, etc).

Speaking of which we have booked ourselves onto a few such excusrions. The day before yesterday we headed off on the "Free Spirit Tour", which meant travelling out of town to a lovely secluded set of bunk houses nestled in the foothills by a lake. We were joined by a South African couple who had been living in London for 6 - 9 years and were on their way to live in Australia.

In the morning we went for a mountain bike ride around the lake, which was scenic and picturesque but not particularly challenging. The fun part was riding through a river ford and getting soaking wet!

From Bariloche

Lunch was (needless to say) a Bar-b-q, or Parilla, with loads of Chorizo sausage, beef steak and blood pudding type thing called Morcilla. Yum. I´m feeling hungry just thinking about it.

In the afternoon it was time to take to the lake with in a rubber dingy and a canoe. This seemed like a good idea but shortly after we got onto the water it started to rain, and without the sun the temperature dropped pretty quickly. Further more we only had our own gear to rely on, which meant light rain jackets and swim shorts. Soon enough everyone was pretty wet and cold (extreme categories 1 and 2) and begining to tire (category 3). When Leah started shivering uncontrolably my EMC training kicked in (those from Atlantic College will know what I´m talking about - otherwise just think Outward Bound) and I realised we needed to get back to the shore and some warmth pretty quickly. She was wearing (soaking) jeans and my lighweight Howies cycling jacket, which were all wet through. I was, or course, having a wail of a time...feel the cold? Me? Never. We stopped momentarily to watch some Aguilitas (small Eagles) who were standing on the lake shore just a few meters away, but the cold soon drove us on. When we reached the shore we found that our legs no longer worked and both struggled to clamber out of the canoe and up the steep bank to the path that lead back to the cabins. We had been promised 1000 litres of hot water, and I think that gave us the determination to scramble and slither up the muddy path and eventually to the relative warmth of the shower block. Thankfully the hot water promise came through and after a while the feeling returned to numb fingers and toes.

We spent the evening playing cards with the owners, drying our clothes over the small wood-burning stove, exchanging stories and drinking wine.

The night was spent in a cold bunk house with about four blankets to keep us warm (and a few spoders to boot). I had a bit of a funny tummy and as I went to bed I enjoyed the irony that the one time I may need to be making night-time excursions to the bathroom it was in another building a cold walk away...thankfully there was no need in the end!

Yesterday we went for a nice walk around a small lagoon surrounded by a lovely forest with dappled sunslight coming through the trees before gathering our stuff together and heading back to Bariloche. Nice.