Today is the last chance for Christi and I to do the Circuito Chico tour and see some of the finest scenery around Bariloche, but we’ve blown it. The rain that began last night continues to hammer down this morning, drenching the scenery and our spirits. Our timing since arriving in Bariloche has been terrible. Every time there has been a beautiful sunny day we have slept in, wandered around town, and done very little, while our tours have all occurred on the wettest, grayest days.
The tour turns out to be pathetic on several levels. First the commentary is all in Spanish. Bariloche is a tourist hotspot, yet it’s impossible to find an English-speaking guide. How can this be? There’s clearly a huge opportunity for some enterprising chap to shake-up the tourist scene around here. Second, although we stop frequently, low cloud, fog, and rain obscure the supposedly beautiful vistas and repeatedly soak us – so no beautiful photographs. Although I suppose it could be argued that if you can’t see the view, you can’t see the view that you are missing! And third we don’t even stop for a hot drink at the famous Hotel Llao Llao, consequently we’re back in Bariloche by 12:30 pm. We eat yet another cheap and cheerful Super Plancha lunch (Argentinean fast food) before returning to Rapa Nui for hot tea (finally) and cake. I spend a few hours updating my diary and planning while Christi disappears to an internet café to upload about a billion photos to Picasa (very few from today, though).
Tonight we leave Bariloche on yet another overnight bus, this time to Puerto Madryn. I know these overnight buses save a night’s accommodation, but frankly, I wish my bedroom didn’t continually move while I’m trying to sleep. We do, at least, have ‘cama’ seats which are spacious and comfortable (even if they don’t recline 180o) and infinitely preferable to semi-cama for overnight journeys. The food is also a little better – we get steak, rice, and coca cola for dinner, which we eat while watching the political thriller State of Play starring Russell Crowe. No need for Netflix or Redbox, pirated movies are available in Latin America the day after their theatrical release in the USA – sometimes even before!
Blog post by Roderick Phillips, author of Weary Heart – a gut-wrenching, heart-wrenching, laugh-wrenching tale
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