Bariloche and the 7 Lake District
Bariloche and the 7 Lake District
On the weekend north of Lago Ñorquinco, I tackled all sorts of things. Saturday was just perfect in the sunshine to carry out repairs, clean the van and take a dip in the Rio Remeco.
I was also visited by a Swiss man who had stayed here in 2023 and wanted to see the pitch again. A few fisherman also came by, but they had little luck with trout.
The whole region with its rugged rocky ridges and strange trees was simply beautiful. I now know that they were Patagonian cypresses, also known as alerce. What I had already marveled at on the RP23 continued seamlessly on the RP11
I ended the week at the campfire in the evening. I enjoyed the change from dry plateaus, rivers, roads and campsites to green forests and cold water in streams.
The weather forecast was 100% accurate and the following Sunday was the first day of rain for me in South America. This gave me a little more time to edit a few videos and change my StarLink service from 50GB to unlimited.
The journey on Monday took me first to Lago Norquinco, then along the Rio Alumine to Alumine. When I turned back onto the RP23, the landscape changed again. It simply became a different landscape and I already missed the forest.
In Alumne, I went in search of Western Union Pago Facils. The first two were no longer there, the third had computer problems and so I couldn't get any pesos. With bread and a few more groceries, I continued towards Junin de los Andes. Just after Alumine, a 32 kilometer long roadworks started. Not one of those roadworks where it's better to drive than on the normal road. No, one with a washboard surface, dust and medium-sized stones on the road. It was the first time I got frustrated. You drive and drive and just don't really get anywhere when you're traveling at 15-20 kmh.
I just wanted to go to Lago Huechulafquen and take a look at the Volcan Lanin. Must that be so difficult! My day went on like this, because on the one hand boon docking is forbidden in the Parque Nacional Lanin and on the other hand the 4-6 pitches by the lake, which are outside the park, were not suitable for me. Too small, too sloping etc. After an obligatory Volcan picture, I drove the 30 kilometers back to Junin de los Andes and spent the evening by the Rio Chimehuin.
I had no luck with Pago Facil in Junin de Los Andes either. At the first agent, the man in front of me took all the agent's pesos. At the second agent I had a queue of 10 people in front of me. Queuing and patience are not my thing, so I drove to Via Christi in Junin de los Andes. Alejandro Santana has transformed the Passion of Jesus and more into a themed trail with 23 stations. The statue of Christ, further up the slope, is even accessible. You can enter the head and chest of Jesus.
I was both shocked and thrilled by San Martin de los Andes. The catchment area starts about 5 kilometers before. You can find everything you need along the RN40 and when you finally arrive in the town itself, you start looking a spot to park. At 7m long, I'm talking about 2 spots. There is something like a car park on the shore of Lago Lacar. It's not nice, but you can park. On the day I was there, a marathon was taking place and the finish line was at the Costanera Lago Lacar. I wandered around the town a bit with all the other tourists, but dropped out after 2 hours. Just not my world. So I continued on the RN40 and later the RP63 to Lago Meliquina and then the whole 57 kilometers to Rio Lamay. The river valley is breathtaking, the track is manageable, but there are very few spots to stay over night.
My real destination was also Lago Traful. The 30 kilometers on the RP65 were first class and when I made the descent to the lake, it wasn't just the blue that caught my eye, but also the yellow of the broom along the way. As a large part of the lake is a nature park, there was no free standing. The cheap campsites were closed, so I ended my day at the Traful Lauquen campsite with the best sanitary facilities I've had so far in South America. But it's not cheap either. I paid 24,000 pesos for an overnight stay.
Well rested, I headed towards my drone in Bariloche. I had learned that the rest of the RP65 up to the RN40 was a single construction site and that it was only worth putting air back into the tires on the RN40.
The RN40 then took me to Lago Nahuel Huapi, along various other lakes, and Villa La Angostura. Villa La Angostura is a holiday resort, which means lots of tourists, and is known for its alpine-style wooden houses. They didn't really catch my eye, but the tourists did.
I was interested in the Los Arrayanes National Park, which is home to centuries-old Arrayán trees. The entire park is located on the Quetrihué peninsula, directly in front of Villa La Angostura. You should be able to walk through the park in 2.5 hours. You can't see it in the pictures, but it was 12 Celsius, cloudy and windy!
The lighting conditions in the forest were also difficult, so that only a few pictures actually turned out well. I didn't make it as far as the southern tip, where there are almost only Arrayán trees. I thought a couple of Argentinians were pretty damned hard core, swimming in the cold lake, while the rest of the tourists were walking around well covered.
In the evening I arrived in Bariloche and was given a guided tour of the city center. In hindsight, I would say it felt strange. I had never seen so many chocolate shops in a city center before. The fondue restaurants and some of the old buildings on the harbor contributed to this. It didn´t look like Argentina to me, maybe more like the French Alps. My dinner was a hot chocolate with cognac and whipped cream. That was all the calories I needed that evening.
The next morning I finally managed to find a Western Union Pago Facil that also had pesos. I strolled through the city center in daylight, bought walking sticks and 2 T-shirts and enjoyed life. The city center is actually quite nice, located right on the lake and with streets like in San Francisco.
After days away from the crowds, the hustle and bustle became too much for me after 5 hours and I made my way to a quiet pitch on one of the many lakes. I realized that there were almost no pitches by lakes and the campsites were still closed. So I drove to Lago Mascardi in the rain and paid 20,000 pesos to get into Parque Nahuel Huapi. There are actually only 2 attractions here. I wanted to go to Cerro Tronador (3,491 m.a.s.l) the next day, but the alternative was Cascada Los Alerces (745 m.a.s.l). Of course, the lake landscape is beautiful, but not that much different from other lakes in Patagonia
The 4th campsite on the lake was finally open. For 15,000 pesos I stood alone right on the lake shore. As it was constantly drizzling, I didn't get much out of it. I was only able to try out my drone and stroll around a bit.
The next morning I was in for a surprise. I looked out of the well-tempered camper van and saw snow-covered mountains. It had snowed at high altitude, but it wasn't unpleasant at 853 m.a.s.l. The owner told me that it had snowed down to 2,000 m.a.s.l, but that the track further up was only a little slushy.
I decided on plan B and drove 15 kilometers from my campsite to Cascada Los Alerces. It was really busy that day. I came across 4 cars and there was another car at the waterfall. It must have been the clear blue water of the Rio Manso, which plunges 20 metres into the depths with a roar that makes people drive 25 km over dirt roads in this weather.
On the way back, I thought about how I could put my car park ticket to good use. Another day boon docking somewhere on one of the lakes sounded tempting until sleet set in and the temperature dropped to 5-7 degrees. So off I went to warmer shores
I continued south on RN40. The landscape changed relatively quickly and became downright alpine. Apart from rugged mountains and streams, there wasn't really much until El Bolsón. El Bolsón seems to be a backpacker town, as many hostels as there were here. I had found 5 campsites on IOverlander and I wanted to check them out after buying some tasty snacks in a Panaderia. What can I say, not one of them was open. Some looked like they would never open again.
Frustrated, I looked for an alternative and found pitches after Paraje Entre Ríos, right on the Rio Azul. Somewhere before El Bolsón, I had left the rain and cold behind me. When I got out of the camper van in what felt like 20 degrees and blue skies, my weekend began.
Since San Martin de los Andes, I had noticed that there were fewer options for free standing in Nacional Parque. In the high season, the Guardiparque apparently has to enforce this. Because free standing is actually forbidden in the parks. And the campsites are often just meadows with a wash house, drinking water and electricity. WiFi has only been included once so far. They weren't cheap either. I've never had a campsite in Patagonia for less than 15,000 pesos.
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Bariloche and the 7 Lake District
Post Info
Date | Dec 2024 |
Status | Done / Visited |
Last updated | 08 December 2024 |
Page read | 178 |