Bariloche with the Basques

Hola todos! For the past few days I have been staying in Bariloche, one of the big tourism towns in Argentina. To me it is a lot like Queenstown in NZ: up in the mountains, surrounded by forests and lakes, a ski capital in the winter and adventure capital the rest of the year.

It is also, like the rest of Argie, full of great doggos

I have had a fantastic time here and met some great people. On my first night in the hostel, I made friends with a wild bunch of guys from the Basque Country and Mexico. The weather once again closed in on my second day there, so we spent the day with a couple of ukeleles, a flute, a guitar and our voices making music that we performed in the evening. It's times like this that I am so glad I did music as a kid - the ability to sing and bounce off other musicians and keep a tune going is a unique feeling. The night ended in many beers and an education in Spanish drinking songs, which included learning the actual words for la Cucaracha! Turns out the second line isn't just an awkward de-de-de-de-de-de-de while everyone looks at each other for help.

The next day we hiked in the Nahuel Huapi National Park to a remote mountain hut called Refugio Frey. The two guys with me were experienced mountaineers who set a blistering pace to make the trip before sunset. It's been a while since my last serious hike and I struggled to keep up, but it was well worth to see the incredible scenery.

Surreal skeleton trees left over from a fire years before
Gorgeous autumn trees were everywhere

Further up, the trees thinned, and light rain started to fall. I was worried we would have to turn back, but my new friends pushed on, and I trusted their experience as the rain turned to light hail then soft fluffy snow. The first time in years I had seen snow fall!

The misty mountains (and Diego)

The delight I felt at seeing it again pushed me through the last stages, across the misty, rocky trail and up to the hut. Warmth, friends and a supermarket picnic were just rewards for the long slog, but the best was yet to come. As we rested, the misty clouds and falling snow began to clear to reveal a stunning landscape.

Lago Frey from Refugio Frey

Ancient mountains with their peaks whittled away by the elements to sharp crags; a crystal clear meltwater lake which was the source of the river we had followed; hardy shrubs and mosses with the occasional autumn tree across the ground, all dusted with light snow and enveloped in the raw silence of nature and the cold of the Andes. Perfect.

There is definitely snow under my butt

I took a great many photos, and made it back safely with barely functioning legs and a happy heart.




Lads lads lads - Me, Diego and Michel

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