Bariloche Day One

My hearty travel partner isn’t as young as she once was (which is very strange since I have stayed exactly the same), and the late dinners continue to translate directly into late morning starts. Fortunately, we have absolutely nothing pressing on our agenda, so enjoy the remaining scraps of the breakfast buffet and stare out over the lake for a while.

There are miles and miles of hiking trails around Bariloche, and should we ever to find ourselves back here, will probably look at some of the excursions that go up into the mountains, overnighting at informal cabins scattered along the way. This trip however, a big hike for us is from the hotel into town (a couple of kilometers). It give us a chance to see some areas that have, to this point, been only a blur from the window of a passing taxi. We find an amazing place selling empanadas, and make a specific plan to stop back on our way out of town to reload.

There is much more activity this time of day than when we arrived yesterday afternoon. The shops are all open, people are milling around, and vendors have set up a market along the part to sell crafts. What we still don’t see are food carts, and I’m coming to the sad conclusion that they are either simply not part of the culture here, or outright banned. Very sad.

What there is however, is ice cream, and plenty of it. A close cousin in style to gelato, it is decadent, and at around three bucks for a quarter kilo, just what the doctor ordered. It may take some dedication, and several days, to work through the range of flavors, but I feel up to the challenge.

We also see plenty of dogs. When traveling with Sam, he sees every dog that walks by and has to stop and take a picture. It haunts me to the point that I now see dogs no matter where I am. Even the mannequins starting back from the windows are dogs. Aaaaaggghhhhh, am I losing my mind?