I had a Zoom call on the morning of my second day, so it was noon by the time I left my apartment. I headed downtown and had chocolate flavoured coffee and a pastry in one of the chocolate shops that also had a cafe.

My next stop was at one of the many tourism places to see what kind of tours I could book. There are a gazillion places to see in the surrounding mountains and people had recommended I see many of them. But my first objective was to chill, and I didn’t want 10 or 12-hour trips. So I booked a full-day tour for Thursday, and as it turned out there was a four-hour one I could do that afternoon so I booked it too. I just had time for lunch before picking up the tour at a hotel around the corner.

This was called the Circuito Chico, the short circular tour, and it was wonderful. We drove first along the costanera, the road beside the lake, and that was a great beginning for what was to come. The weather was beautiful, and the sun sparkled on the water all the way. We stopped at a mirador (lookout point), where we could see amazing views and take photos. Well, you could take photos if your cell phone hadn’t run out of juice! I don’t know how that happened, but I guess I just didn’t charge it enough before I left.

The interesting thing though is that I found it kind of liberating. Knowing I couldn’t take photos, I c0uld just simply drink in the scenery without worrying about it. That said, I did meet a nice English couple on the bus, and the woman took a lot of photos including a nice one of me at the mirador. She said it might take her a while but she would send me a link, so when that arrives I will post it here so you can see if you wish.

February 5: This just in! Neale sent this photo Lesley took on the mountain. I like it!

We finished at a lovely little log church, which looked directly over a famous hotel called Llao Llao — more about that later.

But the main event was undoubtedly taking the chairlift to the top of Cerro Campanario, one of the highest peaks in Patagonia. I had never been in a chairlift before, but I didn’t hesitate. Going up was fun just because of the experience, but coming down was when the spectacular scenery unfolded beneath. It was breathtaking. I’m sorry I have no photos for you, but honestly I don’t think I could do it justice anyway. You had to be there.

There is a little place at the top for coffee etc., and they gave us a good 45 minutes there. That suited me, as I really wanted to sketch. I find the Andes very challenging as my skill levels are really not up to them, but I very much enjoyed the time just making this sketch. I hope it gives you a feel for the height and the beauty. And walking around the corner to see a hawk sitting there people watching was quite a surprise! I can’t seem to draw birds, so I’m afraid I insulted him a bit in my sketch!

We arrived back in town around 7.30 pm, just in time for dinner. I found a very cute little place called El Marmite, and ended up going there several times. I’m not a big fan of fish or seafood, but  Patagonian trout is famous, so I felt obliged to try it. Bariloche is expensive, and as I took the first photo I wondered if I had just wasted 695 pesos (much more than you would pay for it in Buenos Aires). But as you can see from the second photo, that wasn’t the case! I really enjoyed it, and will consider trout in future when I see it on menus, especially if it’s from Patagonia.

I’ll stop here for now, as I’m going out to lunch with Cecilia and then going to dance tango at night. Now that I’m home in Buenos Aires, it’s back to the usual social whirl! I’ll continue tomorrow.