On to Bariloche

We left Mendoza on a warm lovely Saturday night at 8 pm. The squares were filled with people...lovers, soccer players, break dancers, families and adolescents cruising with glazed eyes dressed up in newest fashion clothes with their radars out for the opposite sex. The bus that was to take us to Barriloche would take 17 and 1/2 hrs...in semi cama class. We had wanted Cama..that´s the one with the lazy boy chairs...semi cama is more like a greyhound with a little more leg room. Also we could only get one seat in the front and one in the second row. This was to be to Jorge´s (Jurg´s new Spànish alter ego) advantage. The seat beside him was occupied by lovely Julieta, a young, single veterinarian who was eager to help him advance his knowledge of Spanish. So the fact that there was no where to put his size 12 feet, seemed to fade in importance. He struggled in Spanish to explain that if he were 40 years younger, and his wife wasn´t in the seat behind him, then he would make a pass. It must have sort of impressed her, as she gave us (make that me) her phone number to call if we ran into any trouble.
Beside me was another interesting young woman, a recent graduate from high school in California named May. She had spent a term on exchange with a family in Santa Fe province of Argentina and was now travelling mostly on her own for 6 months throughout South America. How brave! And I thought, how brave of her parents to just say that she would be missed. She was staying in hostels and camping and hoped the adventure would help her decide her college major...either international relations or environmental engineering. So our companions seemed to suit us..a change from being elbow to elbow with each other.
The sun set soon after we started, which was great as most of the ride was through desert areas populated by horses and cattle..and a few small towns. Dinner was served with a choice of Sprite or Sprite, sleep was difficult with the confined quarters. Breakfast was instant coffee and one small aljoras ( not sure how you spell it) an ubiquitous cookie covered in chocolate and filled with dulce de leche. And then finally the scenery started to change late in the morning ..the mountains appeared on the horizon and the most magnificent drive through the foothills began beside an azure blue river lined with light green willows and Argentines with fishing poles, camping equipment and vehiciles in little hollows enjoying the magnificent sunshine. Snow mountains capped the horizon in the distance. So all the beauty was concentrated in the last hour of the trip!
Bariloche sits on Lake Nahuel Huapi and is similar to many ski resorts you see throughout Europe...except more open to the skies and the vistas. The mountains ring the lake but don´t overpower it. There are all sorts of upscale shops with ski equipment, trekking stuff, purses and leather goods...and tons of chocolate shops, the legacy of the Swiss immigrants who came here in the early 1900´s. The hotel we stayed in was called the Tirol and looked similar to those we saw in Switzerland. The telephone exchange at the front desk reminded me of the one we had at residence in university in the 60´s! But we had a wonderful view over the lake and across to snowcapped mountains. We had a great dinner at a restaurant called Familia Weiss.
We have rented a car for 3 days...discovered that the best deals are not with the big names but with the plethora of little companies such as A1 rentals, Da car, or the one we picked Uglu rentals. At least 50% less than Thrifty or Avis. We hope it is not 50% less car....we pick it up in an hour. We will head for San Martin de los Andes via the 7 lake route and we hope we have some magnificent vistas.
We have already booked our bus back to Firmat...cama class...we were not willing to count on interesting companions that could divert us for the over 20 hours it will take. I think the class names come from the level of sleeping that is possible...coma vs semi coma...and after 3 days here a coma will be nice. We leave on Thursday at 1 to return to Firmat and our friends there.