Lake District Argentina Style
The Lake District in Argentina is in no regards unique, there is an identical one just across the border in Chile and its namesake in the north of England. However, this in no way detracts from the absolute beauty of the region. Created by the uplift of the Andes and carving force of retreating glaciers the Lake District is full of towering peaks and glimmering blue lakes.
After a long bus trip down the Andean spine we arrived in Bariloche and were greeted by pouring rain. Seemed as if the name wasn´t the only similarity to the England Lake District. However, upon awakening to sunshine the following morning we were rewarded with snow capped peaks in every direction. Bariloche is the main town of the Lake District, and although not the prettiest place still has a certain charm. Situated on the banks of the biggest lake it is privileged to have stunning views across the waters to the mountains and the Chilean border. In winter Bariloche is home to one of the largest ski resorts in South America, being here in summer we were relegated to either biking, horse riding, or hiking. We chose hiking and after catching a bus to lovely woodsy Colonia Suiza spent the afternoon wandering through the woods, every now and then getting a glimpse of a shimmering lake.
Our next stop on the Lake District tour was Villa La Angostura, a small town about an hour away from Bariloche. Situated on the lake front with the ever present mountains towering overhead, Villa as its referred is a sleepy little place. Our activity of choice here was mountain biking, the first time I have been on a human propelled bike since my trip down the worlds most dangerous road in Bolivia a few years ago. This time we decided to go up and after a fairly gruelling climb up the mountain made it to the bottom of the Cerro Bayo ski resort. Holding onto your bikes we road the chairlift to the top and after savouring the views sped down the ski runs. Definitely a weird feeling being on a ski resort in the middle of summer.
After Villa we moved onto San Martin de los Andes, definitely the most picturesque of the towns we visited. San Martin is hemmed in by two mountains and funnels down the valley towards the lake. It is a beautiful little place full of great restuarants, chocolate factories, and boutique clothe shops. When you head out for dinner you just follow your nose to the smell of wonderful grilling steak. For those not in the know, Argentina is home to the worlds greatest steaks. There is no argument on this, even though Australia and Scotland claim good beef it simply pales in comparison. On our last day in San Martin we went horseriding up into the hills. Since South Africa Leighanne has been itching to go horseriding again. The day didnt dissapoint, we arrived early at Victors farm to find about 10 hours calmly grazing in the nearby fields. After saddling up with graciously soft saddles we started the ascent up the mountain. The horses were great the whole way, even with numerous dogs running between their legs. The views from the top were sweeping.
Our visit to the Lake District has been wonderful, we are really looking forward to what else Argentina has to offer. Next on the agenda is Pennisula Valdes and hopefully a sighting of the famous orcas, then its onto the real highlight, Patagonia and the glaciers.
After a long bus trip down the Andean spine we arrived in Bariloche and were greeted by pouring rain. Seemed as if the name wasn´t the only similarity to the England Lake District. However, upon awakening to sunshine the following morning we were rewarded with snow capped peaks in every direction. Bariloche is the main town of the Lake District, and although not the prettiest place still has a certain charm. Situated on the banks of the biggest lake it is privileged to have stunning views across the waters to the mountains and the Chilean border. In winter Bariloche is home to one of the largest ski resorts in South America, being here in summer we were relegated to either biking, horse riding, or hiking. We chose hiking and after catching a bus to lovely woodsy Colonia Suiza spent the afternoon wandering through the woods, every now and then getting a glimpse of a shimmering lake.
Our next stop on the Lake District tour was Villa La Angostura, a small town about an hour away from Bariloche. Situated on the lake front with the ever present mountains towering overhead, Villa as its referred is a sleepy little place. Our activity of choice here was mountain biking, the first time I have been on a human propelled bike since my trip down the worlds most dangerous road in Bolivia a few years ago. This time we decided to go up and after a fairly gruelling climb up the mountain made it to the bottom of the Cerro Bayo ski resort. Holding onto your bikes we road the chairlift to the top and after savouring the views sped down the ski runs. Definitely a weird feeling being on a ski resort in the middle of summer.
After Villa we moved onto San Martin de los Andes, definitely the most picturesque of the towns we visited. San Martin is hemmed in by two mountains and funnels down the valley towards the lake. It is a beautiful little place full of great restuarants, chocolate factories, and boutique clothe shops. When you head out for dinner you just follow your nose to the smell of wonderful grilling steak. For those not in the know, Argentina is home to the worlds greatest steaks. There is no argument on this, even though Australia and Scotland claim good beef it simply pales in comparison. On our last day in San Martin we went horseriding up into the hills. Since South Africa Leighanne has been itching to go horseriding again. The day didnt dissapoint, we arrived early at Victors farm to find about 10 hours calmly grazing in the nearby fields. After saddling up with graciously soft saddles we started the ascent up the mountain. The horses were great the whole way, even with numerous dogs running between their legs. The views from the top were sweeping.
Our visit to the Lake District has been wonderful, we are really looking forward to what else Argentina has to offer. Next on the agenda is Pennisula Valdes and hopefully a sighting of the famous orcas, then its onto the real highlight, Patagonia and the glaciers.
posted by Ben at
3:17 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home