Date: 11/13/2014
Starting Location: Bariloche, Argentina
Ending Location: Bariloche, Argentina
Mileage Today:  181 Miles  (291.1Km)
Mileage Total:  482 miles
Kilometers Total: 776
EoD Odometer Reading: 13834.9

A beautiful day in Bariloche

We spent the day in Bariloche, and over the course of the day, we managed to take care of laundry, buying our picnic lunch for Friday (Nov 14) and also doing a bit of sightseeing.

Logistics, laundry and life

I’m beginning to figure this place out.  And, by that I mean that I have no idea how it works at all.  Said another way, everything is unpredictable, requires a bit of negotiation, and comes with a healthy dose of complexity.  However, what is a surprise is that the people in Argentina seem to be quite prompt.  Unlike other countries, who are known for being late, or not caring about time, the Argentinians seem to care about time, and are always on top of it.  For example, our laundry was supposed to be ready at 6:00 PM, and at 5:35, we were told to come back, that it would be ready at 6:00 PM.  We ordered sandwiches, and were told to pick them up at 7:30 PM, and at exactly 7:30 PM, the sandwiches were on the counter, ready for us.

Sightseeing – The views are simply amazing

Bariloche, like so many other cities in Argentina is a city that is driven by Adventure tourism.  This city is also driven by tourism of just about anyone that wants to see this wild and beautiful country.  So, let’s have a look.

Cliff standing in front of the Llao Llao hotel in Bariloche.

You can also see what the surrounding mountains and lakes look like from the top of the hill, which is where the hotel is located.

You can see the mountains from the front of the hotel and the lake and more mountains from the back of the hotel, and then I’ve added a shot of the rear deck, which was not really in full swing just yet, but which should come into full bloom within a month.

A beautiful house on a lake. What’s not to love.

You can also see a few pics of some of the surrounding houses, lakes, etc.  The house in this picture was visible from a parking lot immediately at the bottom of the hill that leads up to the Llao Llao resort.  As I looked at it, I remember thinking…  I think I could retire in a place like Bariloche, as long as I could live in a house like this, and did not have to eek out an existence.  If you were to pan to the left, you would see a small boat club, which allows the locals to launch their boats out onto the lake, where they can cross easily to the other side, pick up supplies, and other staples.

I’m not at all sure if they do in fact use there boats like I described, but it’s my ‘Blog, and I can make things up if I like.

C.R.A.P.

We like to think that there are 1st world countries like the US, Germany, France, Australia, etc.  Then, there are 2nd world countries, such as Chile and Argentina, both of which have emerging democracies and are bustling with finance.  Then there are 3rd world countries, like Uganda, the Congo, etc.

When you’re visiting a 1st world country, you expect everything to work perfectly.  In 2nd world countries you expect a little bit of a learning curve, but things are supposed to work.  Well, here we are in Argentina, and in Chile just a few days ago.  In both of these places, I found that the way that you connect to the internet, and the bandwidth, and reliability leave quite a bit to desire.  In fact, I think that I have a load of Compatibility, Reliability & Access Problems, sometimes referred to as a load of CRAP.