Arrived in Buenos Aires on Tuesday night. Luckily my face recovered pretty good and I looked pretty much like my passport picture even though I was still swollen.

Only had time to check in at the Airbnb and grab a coffee (and snap a semi nudish pic) in the morning before it was time to head to another airport and catch a domestic flight to Bariloche.

The rental car guy waited at the airport with the car and we were able to get a better rate by paying him in US dollars. Not sure how many of you know about the economic situation and the inflation here in Argentina? You basically are paying double if you pay by card. Half the rate if you pay cash. We were able to exchange some US dollars to their pesos so we could get past the first day. Then I sent myself a money transfer by Western Union. There was some work to it, but finally I had cash!

It’s beautiful here. We’re staying a bit outside the main area and next to the Nahuel Huapi lake. The view from the apartment.

Walked to a restaurant close by and ate some meat, walked the beach and later indulged in a bucket of ice cream 🙂 There are so many ice cream and chocolate places here!

The next day we found a great coffee truck to get the caffeine fix sorted out.

Then took a tour around the area. You pretty much have water around you at all times. Stopped and did a hike to a lookout spot called Cerro Llau Llau. Luckily there was another coffee truck there so we could have some more coffee before ascending…

Then grabbed food and had one of the best meals here so far. The restaurant is called Montana and the meats are cooked over open fire! The plan is to go back before we leave!

There are so many great spots and viewpoints so there are many stops along the way…

On Friday we drove about 2,5h south to a town called El Bolson. Apparently a bunch of hippies came here in the 60’s and 70’s and the town definitely had a bohemian and relaxed vibe. I really liked it here. It reminded me of Salt Lake City in Utah with all the surrounding mountains…

The next day we took a hike up to Refugio de Montaña Cerro Piltriquitrón. They have a lot of gravel roads here and we had to first drive 8km up to the parking spot before hitting the trail…

Even though it was all uphill, the trail was pretty even and easy to hike. Great views over the city.

From the refugio you can continue up to a mountain top. We went up a bit, but didn’t go all the way to the top. Crazy how the weather changes as you go upwards. From hot-that-you-can-wear-shorts, to cold ass winds that you wish you brought your gloves,

Before we headed back down we stepped inside the refugio and had a cup of hot chocolate. Talked to the guy that worked there. He had been living there for the past year. He hiked down frequently to buy supplies, food and a 30kg gas tanked that he hiked up with on his back. By the way, you could also eat pizza and have a beer here. The 2nd hut is the one you could spend the night in and you can also camp up here.

4 days a week they have a market in town. For being a small town, the market was huge! But some knitted socks and a hat from a local lady and they cost like $20. Will show pics, just haven’t worn them yet.

Got back to Bariloche last night. Today we went into the main town and got some stuff for our overnight hike tomorrow. I really thought they would have more and cheaper hiking gear here since this is an outdoorsy town. Kind of like when I was in New Zealand. But there is not a huge selection and because it’s all imported it costs more too. But got what we needed and I’m so excited for the hike.

Had to eat some more ice cream too. Mamuschka, one of the most popular places in town and it was super good ice cream!

Gonna put some stuff out for tomorrow and go through it all in the morning before throwing it down in the backpack 🙂 All the fresh mountain air (and local wines & beers) here makes me tired early, so after that it’s off to bed 🙂 I think some of you might be watching Super Bowl so I hope your team wins if you’re a football fan!

Laters, Puma