Thursday 13th January 2011.
It was absolutely peeing down overnight and the hostel and surrounding streets had no power but I managed to make some coffee and tea: Chile is no exception to the norm when it comes to wanting a taxi in the rain and a twenty minute wait was forecast, so the dynamic duo donned full waterproofs (first time on tour except Potosi, but that was for the cold) and walked 15 minutes up hill to the bus station in the pouring rain. On reaching the destination , heroes medals were awarded. A new bus company Tas-Choapa (Chilean) had been booked. Estimated time of arrival Bariloche 14.15. At 30km from Bariloche, 15.05 the bus broke down and we were told that another bus would be with us in 30 minutes. Yeh! Right. Bloody shades of Bolivia here, matey, but being intrepid we just stayed put and after 65 minutes the replacement bus arrived. The border crossing here is stunning with beautiful mountains, lakes and valleys and the largest no mans land you could ever imagine. We arrived at "The House" hostel in Bariloche at 18.00. What a dump. Everything has been done on the cheap. Toilet seats broken, wood not treated, dirty, no locks on some shower doors, carpets badly needed cleaning etc etc. The people however were very welcoming as was the house dog, a huge St. Bernard called "Shack" who was a very big softy.
On Linda and Mal´s recommendation, by email, we went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. It was very nice especially as the Cuenta did not include ARS24 for a large bottle of Heineken. Fist impressions of Bariloche, in the warm sunshine, are; millions of tourists, restaurants and hotels, hostels and a stunning location on a very blue lake with mountains in the distance.
Coming next ...Esquel..
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