Bariloche
We flew from Mendoza to Bariloche, it was an easy flight, about 1 hour. You see the Andes on the right side the entire time so sit on that side for a great view. The other side just shows the expansive plains – you really and truly believe there are bits of land down there that no one has set foot on. There are no roads for miles – if I was an alien this is where I would land, not NY City!
Bariloche was a great town, considered the Gateway to Patagonia. It is right up next to the Andes and is a big tourist spot for wealthy skiers as it is the exact opposite season of Aspen.
The other claim to fame of Bariloche is their many chocolate shops. The story goes that after WWII and millions of immigrants were invited to Argentina so that it’s vast lands could be more easily settled. Many of the German and Swiss immigrants were drawn to the snow-capped mountains of the Andes as they reminded them of their lovely Alps. So it was here in the late 40s that they tried to make a like by farming and ranching. To make ends meet some of the families used their old family recipes for chocolate and make truffles and other chocolate treats. Walking Street of Chocolate Dreams
There were four or five of those businesses still there and of course we had to make our way to all of them. Rapa Nui, Mamushka, Tourista, Abuela Gaye, Fenoglio and more…
There several large lakes that are a brilliant blue, then the land comes up sharply from the shore so walking the 3 or 4 streets of downtown meant you had to climb a lot of stairs.
There are a lot of outdoor activities such as hiking, biking, boating and of course chocolate tasting so we stuck with the last one to make sure we got it done right before we moved on to the other activities. Alas we were not there long enough to try the other outdoor activities, but I’m sure we’ll be back.
One super-fun day was when we took the gondola ride to the top of Cerro Otto. There is a restaurant at the top that slowly rotates so you can see the entire Bariloche valley and the lakes that surround it. The gondola was not scary at all, well at least until you got in it. The ride was about 15 minutes and in many places it was quite high. Of course it didn’t help when the other couple in our gondola kept crossing themselves like they really thought this was a big deal. They were locals and I thought perhaps they knew something I didn’t so I got a little nervous.
And then Marilyn starts screwing around and wants to get better pictures while we are up there.

We had one of the best steak dinners there at El Boliche de Alberto. The steaks were so big each couple shared an order. So we each had 1/2 pound of steak, large pile of french fries, a huge salad and then of course I wanted to try the Grilled Provolone and it was just amazing!!!! El Boliche de Alberto on the Web. We swore this was our best steak ever, but of course then we went back to Buenos Aires and had to top it again at La Cabana!
Enjoy the pictures… Click the image to enlarge. Then click the Play arrow to play slideshow or the direction arrows to go at your own pace. To close the enlarged image click the X or just click on the image. (Don’t forget to watch the video of the Cerro Otto view at the bottom of the pictures).
The video is kinda’ big. For best viewing, click PLAY then click PAUSE (click the middle of the image) and let it load all the way and then click PLAY)
Mendoza
Fun in Mendoza
We have had a great time in Mendoza. This is the reason for our trip, to celebrate the 35th wedding anniversary of Doug and Becky Hill. So of course Mendoza has been the highlight.
First, we planned to use the bus system in Argentina as that and flying are the only true methods of travelling these great distances. So we bought our ticket on the bus going to Mendoza over night. This way we could get some sleep and arrive ready to party in Mendoza. The seats were all pretty reasonable but the ride is 14 hours so I wanted a Cama Executive (sleeper seat) but the company we used CATA International also had a “Royal Suite” seat for $10.00 more. Bring it on!! This is one of the best decisions we have made thus far. We had appetizers, dinner with wine, movies, a blanket and pillow and yes the separating curtain that made this the all exclusive “Suite” – loved it! And we got a good nights sleep to boot.
We planned some fun events here. First we all (4 couples) stayed in one house together in the Lujan Cuyo region (about 20 minutes from downtown). Next some of us went on an Estancia ride and saw the most extraordinary vistas. The next day was the anniversary party at the swanky O. Fournier winery – we took the full tour and then had a wonderful pairing lunch in the dining room.
The next day we had another tasting tour that began with a tour of the exotic Catena Zapata winery in all it’s Mayan Temple glory then off to Kaiken Winery we had the most extraordinary wine blending game. We are all given different Malbec wines from different Kaiken vineyards, we all chose the colors and aromas we liked best. Then we teamed up and we were supposed to blend any percentage of these 3 wines to come up with our own blend. We blended for aroma, color and taste. WHAT FUN we had with this. Tracy and Becky were the winners by a nose (tee hee). We bottled this new blend and have it now for a special occasion.
The Mendoza region is beautiful, hot, flat and dry. It reminded me a lot of California. We will certainly want to come back as 4 days here is definitely not enough.
There are a damn lot of photos here but I just found it hard to just cull out my favorites.
Click the image to enlarge. To close the enlarged image click the X or just click on the image.