My Patagonian Adventure Begins...

This past week, I have been getting used to my new surroundings here in Bariloche! The food is great, the people are nice, and the mountains are amazing. It does feel like a big breath of fresh air to be in a place that has a little bit of a slower pace and where the people smeem to be enthusiastic and appreciative about this amazing place that they live in for the most part. In the winter, Bariloche is a ski resort town, and in the summer there are tons of outdoor activities to do here. It is a little bit like Aspen or Vale, I would imagine, or Whistler in BC where I´ve visited..but that also means that is has some pretty seriously heavy tourist activity. Lots of shops charge ¨tourist prices¨ here, and there are many Europeans and other foreigners with money wandering the streets and frequenting the pubs and hotels that cater to them. Despite that feel, I do think that this is an amazing place, and I am so glad to be here. There is so much I am itching to do! So much, in fact, that I find myself surely a bit neurotically worried about finding people to climb with and getting on with identifying ways to go about doing all of the amazing things I came here to do. It can almost be exhausting at times. There is a voice of reason in me too, of course, that tells me that my time will come, that I needn´t worry myself so much about doing things in the future that I am not fully taking adavantage of this amazing expereince as it happens right now. That it´s ok to slow down a bit, and everything will materialize in time. I just can´t rush it like I want to. But realizing that helps a bit. I am excited to go down and visit El Bolson to the south, because I hear that there is some pretty great climbing there and also more of a laid-back and less touristy feel. I have also been doing quite a bit of exploring with my Spanish class partner and roomate Olivia, who I feel glad to have with me as a fellow adventurer for now. We like to go into town after class and get wine and ice cream. Last weekend, as well, we hiked to the top of two peaks together. One on Saturday, Cerro Campanario, which was lovely, easy to get to, and had a cafe on top!
I enjoyed our hiked on Sunday especially, though. We spent about 2.5 hours summiting Cerro Lopez, a Patagonian peak with a refuge on top where hikers can sleep. There was so much snow. It really reminded me of the beauty and the majesty of the mountains, and of why I am really here. I will find my place, it will just take some time.

Before leaving Buenos Aires, I had one last night out on the town with some friends. Since it was Halloween, we decided to show ourselevs as the foreigners that we were by dressing up in crazy costumes. I was a muse.



After I arrived with Olivia in Bariloche, a wave of relief came over me. The beauty almost caught me off gaurd. I feel so incredibly lucky that I am able to experience the vistas of springtime here every day now.




This is the top of Cerro Campanario. It´s a short little jaunt on a bus from the town of Bariloche, and a brisk straight-up hike to the top is nice anytime...and once you get there, there is a coffee shop, like many of the short peaks around here that you can also take a ski lift to for winter skiing (and summer tourism). I don´t really aprove...but eco-tourism is so big here that everyone wants to make a buck my making everything accessible to everybody. I did have some coffee and enjoyed it along with the view once we arrived.




The next day, we set off on a larger adevnture (and one I really enjoyed). We spent about 5.5 hours ascending and descending Cerro Lopez, one of the tallest points around here, up from the little town of Colonia Suissa. It was gorgeous. Breathtaking. I was extremely taken and felt very lucky. Olivia and I went with some other travelers that we met the previous day, and we all had a wonderful time.

getting a little lost...

Refigio Italia...opened year-round in the snow for hikers...where we split a bottle of wine





The reflections off the lakes down below (this is known as the lake district) were breathtaking. It was cold and there was quite a bit of snow, but it was all fairly tightly packed and not too much of a problem for my snow boots. I can´t wait to go back and do a multi-day trek between several refugios.




Wehn we got back into town, we took it easy and enjoyed the amazing view from our little room on the hillside. Our host family has been very accomodating. José and his three children always ask us lots of questions about our adventures and give us a chance to practice our Spanish. Their family is actually all descended from Slovenian immigrants to Argentina.





This past weekend, Olivia and I went camping at Colonia Suissa, then rode rented bikes back to Bariloche (only about 22k). We had a blast, carrying our gear in backpacks and all. Once we arrived, we took a load off at a local beach.



That´s it for now. I´ll report back with some info on the trips we´re planning to Refugio Frey and El Bolsón later. I´ve got to go and see about continuing my Spanish lessons into December (I need it), and planning some more adventures around here. I am itching to find some people to climb with, so I might eventually sign up for a trip with the outdoor club here (Club Andina) to try and meet people that way. In December, also, I will be moving to a hostel in town, and I´d like to find a private room at a reasonable rate, so I figure I should start looking around. I´ll let you know how it turns out.

Chau!