Bariloche

This past weekend I went to Bariloche, which is a zone in Patagonia, in the Southern region of Argentina. I went with my program, COPA - every semester COPA organizes a trip, so this year our destination was Bariloche. I really had no idea what to expect because I didn't have to plan anything, so I didn't really do any research. We usually read the guidebooks before we go on a trip so we know what to do or why we should go there in the first place. I really left this one all up to COPA and it was great. It was for sure the best trip i have taken so far. Bariloche is so incredibly beautiful - it looks a lot like Lake Tahoe actually, but a lot bigger. There are so many different types of climates and land in such a small area. What I mean by land is that there is dessert, jungle, forest, snow/mountain, etc. There is a huge lake that the town, San Carlos de Bariloche, is kind of centered around. The town is really cute- its a total ski town. The place is packed with tourists and skiers during the winter, and all year round really. When we first arrived we got a few hours of free time in the town before our first mini-excursion, so my friends and I went to the chocolate factories, of course. The town is known for its amazing chocolate. We spent a large amount of time in this one place called Mamuschka. We bought and ate so much chocolate. It was also Mother's Day weekend, so there were lots of deals and promotions and we could not help ourselves. After town, the tour guides brought us up and around the mountains. We took a chair lift up to an amazing view. After a bit more exploring it was dinner time and we went to a very traditional cerveceria (brewery) where we ate way too much meat!!

We went to bed so early that night - about 10 pm, after surfing the 3 channels we had in our hotel room for about an hour. The next day, Saturday, we basically took the bus on a tour of the entire mountain and dessert areas. We stopped many places along the way to take pictures and enjoy the view. We took a small hike to a beautiful waterfall and ate lunch next to a river. It was so relaxing and different from what I had been doing during my other weekend trips - we usually travel to other cities which are similar but smaller than Buenos Aires. Here, we were really in nature and able to enjoy being outside. We had dinner that night, after a few more hours at the chocolate factories, at a great placed called La Familia Weiss. There is a lot of swiss/german influence in the city.

The next day was the INTENSE hike up Cerro López. It was really hard. We started out in a forest and ended up, as you can see by the mountains, in a snowstorm/Narnia-like open space. It was so cool. I did complain, I'm glad my Dad wasn't there to listen to it, but I made it! Barely.

Overall the trip was amazing. It was so well-organized and I had a great group of people with me. I actually met some new people and got to know other people a lot better. It was so great to be outside, eat so much chocolate, stay in a hotel instead of a hostel, and have a trip totally planned for you. We saw some of the most amazing parts of the country on this trip and some o the most beautiful sights I have ever seen in my life. It was such a fun trip! If you ever come to Argentina or want a great vacation spot to ski, go to Bariloche.