Monday 15th February
Another beautiful sunny day with not a cloud in the sky. Took Bus No 20
to Lau Lau again; I’m getting to know the route quite well. Booked boat trip to
Victoria island and the Arryanes Forest with Cau Cau a different company from
Turisur which operated the trip on Saturday
and which also does a Victoria
island and Arryanes Forest trip. Thought it would be good to have a change. The
boat embarked at 1330 so I walked along one of the forest trails, which was
beautiful; didn't want to turn back when my time ran out. Back at the terminal had about 20 minutes
before we boarded another catamaran very similar to the one a couple of days
ago. Big difference was the weather, so today I could sit out on deck almost all
the time. On all the boats here they have a rule that everyone must be seated
in the saloon when they leave port. There was a flock of gulls following the
boat, snatching biscuits from people who offered them. The scenery was
beautiful in the brilliant sun. Stopped first at the forest of arryanes, also
know as myrtle, which are a native species which appear to have no bark. I had
never heard of them before so my total knowledge is what’s on Wikipedia.
 |
| Lake Nahuel Huapi with the sun shining |
 |
| Seagull getting biscuit |
 |
| Another success |
 |
| Dropped it! |
The trees grow in twisted shapes so the forest looks as if it belongs in a
Grimm's fairy tale; would definitely give me the creeps at night. Downside of
arriving on a boat with 100+ people is that you can't get any solitary moments.
As with the cascades, there is a wooden pathway but far fewer steps this
time. Still it doesn't make any
concessions to the mobility challenged. Saw another ship doing a similar
cruise, the Modesta Victoria, a more traditional ship built in 1938. Found out later that this is the ship I could have gone
on if I had booked with the other company Turisur.
The web page answers the question that was in my mind, how did they get the
ship and these big catamarans onto a land locked lake? “Being
totally disassembled, it was brought to Bariloche by ship and train. It was
then assembled and launched here on November 10 1938”
 |
| Into the Woods: Creepy Forest |
 |
| Our Modern Catamaran |
 |
| Modesta Victoria |
From
the forest we continued to a spot on Victoria Island from where there was a less
artificial path through the woods to a pretty beach where several people went
for a swim. I hadn't realised swimming was an option and the signs warning that
it was "frigo" didn't encourage me to put even a toe in it. In parts
of the path I could hear a constant "popping" sound which I tracked
down to the seed pods on bushes which made up the bulk of the vegetation. When
they were ripe they "popped" open to reveal the seeds inside. Trying
to remove the pods from the plant caused an instant loud pop as the two halves
sprang apart. Eventually it was time to get on board for our final leg back to
port. Soon the seagulls were chasing again for biscuits. Once back at the ferry
terminal I didn't have to wait very long for bus.
 |
| Victoria Island |
 |
| Beach at Victoria Island |
 |
| Pods on Bush, before "popping"\ |
 |
| After the pod has "popped" |
Later in the evening went to Restaurant Terruna
where I had trout for dinner; not bad.
No comments:
Post a Comment