Leaving Chile felt strange. I was on a bus from Puerto Varas to Bariloche. It’s not even that far away, as the crow flies. Yet I had the feeling I was closing a chapter. I was ready for a change of scenery, but I almost felt like I was cheating on Chile. Like I was leaving Chile indefinitely. The part I still want to see, the Atacama desert, is relatively small and I won’t be there for too much time. So the majority of my Chile trip is over. I was sad I wouldn’t see all that’s in between and spent more time in this amazing country. At the same time I was beyond excited to arrive in Argentina again. My previous stays were relatively short, but I’ve felt right at home. The drive across the border was insane. We winded through the mountains, with incredible views. Once in Argentina, we were immediately in a touristic area, with national parks and the famous seven lakes route. We drove through the cutest town, seemingly full of log cabins and rustic hotels. Then I arrived in Bariloche.
Bariloche is definitely a city. I expected something smaller. Something cuter. Something more stylish. But it was busy, lots of cars driving around. At first, my hostel seemed a bit run down and I wasn’t sure what to think of it. Just the night before I’d had a conversation with someone who had rats running over the roof. My top bunk bed had a big crack in the ceiling. There were lots of scuff marks on all the walls. The impression was a bit chaotic. I just hoped no rats or other creatures would drop out the ceiling hole. Luckily I got to see another side of Bariloche on my first full day, and later also got to meet some people around the hostel, which made it more pleasant to be there.
After buying the rechargeable Sube bus card, I took a bus to Lloa Lloa. It’s pretty much on the far Western end of the city and there is a municipal reserve. On the bus I saw houses, hotels, restaurants and shops pretty much all along the route. Some buildings were amazing, like fancy country-forest cabins, only bigger. Others were more modern. All of them trying to get as close to the lake as possible, or providing lake views. The views over the lakes and mountains are the appeal of the city. I would get plenty of that in Llao Llao.
There were several trails that you could link together to make a big loop with two side tracks. A large part was a wide path that gently meandered through the forest. There were signs indicating the different trees. They were tall and some of them had wide trunks. I ended up at beautiful beaches, overlooking big lakes. There were all kinds of people out and about. At one trail a girl asked how much longer it was to a viewpoint. When I told her it was about 10 minutes, she asked me to tell her friends further on that they should come up.
Towards the end there was a beautiful view from the top of cerro Llao Llao. The path revealed some views already, on clearances on the way up, but from the top it was stunning. There were several lakes below, in between the green tree tops. You could admire it from the rocks. Some people tried to have a picnic, but all were deterred by the wasps that would quickly swarm around them. Without food, it was calm though and they didn’t bother you too much. I’d started the day with a headache, dragging my feet. The fresh air, calm environment and just staring out over the landscape helped me relax. Despite being tired I ended up chatting to fellow travelers until midnight. When we went to bed the dorm was still empty. Bariloche is a town for trekking, but also for party. I was so tired though, I didn’t hear a single person return.
