Chile & Argentina: Andes To Patagonia Day 4

Day 04 - Thursday, March 19, 2015 - LanArgentina Flight to Bariloche; Orientation Walk; Afternoon at Leisure in Little Switzerland

The morning was leisurely, which was great after our late night at the Tango Club. We had breakfast and then thanked the staff at the hotel before leaving at 9:45 am. Walter was at the wheel of the large bus to take us to the airport giving us plenty of room for our bags.

The airport was Aeroparque Jorge Newbery, in the city so it only took us 20 minutes to get there. The LAN lines were long but we were all checked in and received our boarding passes in time for our 11:20 flight.

When we did not see an aircraft at the end of the jetway we wondered what was going on. Soon the rumors started to fly about a mechanical problem. Another plane came into the gate, passengers unloaded, but the board still showed our flight as delayed and more information would come at noon.

At 12:15 the message was that more information would be given at 12:45. Another rumor that turned out to be true was that of another eruption of the Chilean volcano Villarrica. Other flights had been cancelled and the web told us that evacuations were also mandated in the near vicinity.

Christian was giving us updated information as soon as he knew it. Keeping everyone informed is certainly one of his strengths as a Tour Director. The problem was no one really understood the problem.

About the time that Gennie had communicated with our son Eduardo, they called the flight and we all scrambled to get on the shuttle bus that took us to another gate. At 1:00 pm we were in our seats but because of all of the confusion it took awhile to load the bags.

The pilot apologized for the equipment delay and we were in the air by 1:40. Our flight to Bariloche was scheduled for two hours for the 1,000-mile trip. Covering the same distance by bus or car would take days!

Christian had told us that we would receive box lunch on the flight, but he was not sure just what it would contain. He recommended we bring a sandwich or fruit. Because the area of Bariloche is fruit fly and hoof and mouth disease free, one cannot bring any produce or foods into the area.

By the time the flight attendants came by to offer juice and “The Box”, we were happy to have our apple slices. All fruits, vegetables, and meats must be eaten before landing.

We landed in Bariloche at 3:45, just about two hours later than scheduled. Christian always promises to get us all on the same plane and to our destination with no guarantee of seat assignments or time. At least we got there safely to begin our Patagonian Adventure.

The land is definitely more arid with fall colors evident. The wind was strong with 70 degrees and only 42% humidity. Sometimes called The Steppes, it has great streams for fly-fishing.

The city is famous for Brazilian tourists; which prompted the locals to rename the city “Braziloche”. We met our driver, Gustavo who took us directly to the hotel. There are several wineries here. Surprisingly, the hemisphere’s southern most vineyards are located in Bariloche.

Famous for beer, gelato, chocolate, dinosaur bones, and therefore oil, this has become very controversial due to the extraction method of fracking. Most of the early settlers were from the mountainous regions of Europe, especially Italy and Switzerland giving the buildings an Alpine flavor. Some call it Little Switzerland.

At 4:15 we took taxicabs into the town, about a mile from our chalet and had great views of Lake Nahuel Huapi. The lake is huge and with the winds forming waves and white caps the 40-mile-long lake looked like the ocean.

The shops were crowded with end of summer visitors, but the shop windows were featuring Patagonian winter wear. Every other shop was a Chocolate Shoppe, and we went in to several just to smell the aroma of the most important Food Group!

We walked almost to the end of the long narrow town and had a lovely dinner at Girula Pizza y Pasta. We took Christian’s advice and only ordered an individual pizza and salad. Even then we brought half of the pizza home to put in our little refrigerator for tomorrow.

It was raining when we finished dinner at 8:30 so Christian called cabs for us all and we were back at the hotel by 8:45. Gennie had written the late plane saga while we were on the flight so we were able to get the photos organized and the journal up before 10:00.

Accommodations: Villa Huinid Hotel - - - Meal: B

Don't know which is more beautiful, the Mountains or the chocolate shop. Ha! Winter returned here with snow yesterday, but beautiful and sunny this morning.

This is a trip I thought would be wonderful to do. I am looking forward to your daily journal!

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Day 13 - Saturday, April 22, 2022 - Depart for U.S.

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Last night we found out that our departure flight back to...

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