Argentina Rocks!!

Argentina - what an incredibly beautiful country and what kind and soft hearted people!! I am loving the Andean range in this country. There are so many beautiful landscapes - mountains, hills, open and vast countryside (for hours at a time) lakes and even bigger lakes, rivers etc. and so much clear, sparkling AND drinkable water abounding. RICO!!! I cannot speak enough of it!! At times, it reminds me of Oregon, of Montana, and of British Colombia but always at a much grander scale.
Katja and I traveled together to Bariloche - the chocolate capital of Argentina, which must I say, was perfect for Easter!! It is such a pretty city because it is right on the banks of Lago Nahuel Huapi. This lake is huge - 529 km² (204 sq mi). Here are two pictures from our hostal.






























We met up with my Australian friends, Shannon, Helen and Danielle. They are soooo much fun to hang around with. We are hiking a whole bunch ( 6 - 8 hour day hikes) which is just how I love to see the countryside. We hiked in Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi , hiked up to Refugio Frey, and went camping in Parque Nacional Lanin. Refugio Frey is near the top of Cerro Catedral which is one of the biggest ski resorts in South America. My to see chairlifts (aerosillas) again....aaaahhhhhh...... I definately wanted to ski, to slide down a hill, to have boards on my feet..... if there were only snow. Nonetheless it was wonderful and we had a great day hike.











































All five of us decided to travel to Junin de los Andes, a small pueblo and launching point to Parque Nacional Lanin. The vistas during this 3 1/2hour bus ride were spectacular. There were scarcely any towns, just wide open spaces. Here are a few fotos from the journey.







































































We arrived in Junin de los Andes only to find out there are buses every other day to Parque Nacional Lanin and today was one of the days. So we headed out for another short bus trip after a quick bite to eat and a food shopping trip. Parque Nacional Lanin was stunning. The centerpiece of the park is the Volcan Lanin at 3776 meters.































































































We set up camp at a primitive campsite across Lago Huechulafquen from Volcan Lanin where Felipe, a 67 year old Mapuche, rowed us and all of our stuff across. It took 2 trips because of the size of the boat and the amount of our stuff but he did it. I hope to be as fit and strong as him when I am 67!!



























































The monkey puzzle trees, (Araucaria araucana), were abundant. They are a conifer tree with pine nuts, which only the native Mapuche people can harvest. They are native to the central regions of Chile and Argentina. Some of the trees were like big old oak trees. When they are younger, the trees also have the spinelike "leaves" on their trunk.