Bus to Bariloche

Wednesday 10^th February

Checked out and walked to the bus station; it's grey, cool and breezy. Found the bus, saw my bag loaded on to it and found my seat.

No fat man sitting next to me this time but a slim, attractive young woman who I later found out was from Holland travelling with her friend, in the seat in front, to Bariloche to get a flight to Buenos Aires.  We left about ten minutes late at 1010 and, after going through the outskirts of Puerto Montt drove onto an expressway heading north to Osorno. The countryside here is very different from Patagonia; it could be Europe, cultivated fields with crops or cows, farm houses, barns and bales of hay. The clouds have cleared and there is blue sky and sunshine

After stopping for about 20 minutes at Osorno bus station we headed east on Ruta 125 through flat farmland and got served our “lunch” of a cheese and ham sandwich, a chocolate finger biscuit and a carton of juice. As we continued east the landscape changed from flat farmland to hilly forest and soon we could see some serious mountains ahead. About this time we hit traffic which turned out to be the queue for Chilean immigration; took almost an hour before we reached the immigration area and got off the bus to get our exit stamps, which took another 40 minutes. From there the scenery was amazing, thick forest, with significant parts of it burnt, and high mountains. It’s an uphill climb and I kept wondering how many lower gears the bus had to go. At the top of the pass, Paso Cardenal Antonio Samore according to the map, we entered Argentina, just about at the tree line where the deep green trees give way suddenly to almost white gravel. After another 20 minutes of amazing scenery we joined the queue of traffic for Argentine immigration, which was a bit quicker than leaving Chile, and we were on our way in less than an hour. As we came down from the heights of the mountains we passed a beautiful lake and then drove alongside Lake Nahuel Huapi, for much of the remaining drive into Bariloche. 

Gave up trying to take photos from a moving bus
in the mountains so this is on the way into Bariloche

As we came through the outskirts, I could see the railway line along which I hope to travel from Bariloche to Viedma on Sunday, not sure whether this is the main line but there's a lot of grass growing between the tracks! Guess that’s what happens when there is only one train per week.

A few minutes later we pulled into the bus station, I said goodbye to the two Dutch women and got a taxi to the hotel, only a few minutes and 65 Argentine pesos (approx. 20 to the £). As the taxi drove out of the bus station I saw the quaint looking railway station close by.

The hotel is right in the centre of town and looks great; only problem is that this is the first hotel where they asked to see the booking voucher from Booking.com and this is when my phone gets the sulks and refuses to do anything! Once that is resolved I find my room which is very cosy and has three beds; feel like Goldilocks choosing the one to sleep in. The room’s got a fridge, and a safe too.

Later went out to explore the town. Found the tourist information office where a charming young woman, who spoke excellent English, told me that I could only get tickets for Tren Patagonica at the station which she tells me is open from 9-5. She also gives me two more maps, suggests an itinerary for tomorrow and tells me where I can buy a bus card. The tourist office is part of a matching group of municipal buildings around a town square. An information board tells me they were the first "civic centre" in South America and were built in the 1930's in the “Eclectic Regional" style, modelled after buildings in Switzerland. It reminds me vaguely of some National Park buildings in the USA. Bariloche clearly has dreams of being in the European Alps with lots of chalet type buildings and a Hotel Edelweiss. All it needs is Julie Andrews and a lonely goat herd! The cathedral, on the other hand, looks as if it was copied from one in an English village.

Municipal Building

Town Square

Plucked from an English Village

Had dinner at Breogan a "Spanish" restaurant where I chose one of their Patagonian dishes, venison with mushrooms and a Quilmes beer. The food was delicious and at 210 pesos much better value than the fish and chips last night. A pleasant surprise since Wikitravel and the like have been warning me of high prices here.