The Motorcycle Diaries: The Lake District (Bariloche & Vicinity)

The scenery between Esquel, past Bariloche all the way to Zapala has been the most picturesque of the whole trip: windy roads through the Andes Mountains, passing lakes, waterfalls and forests (a nature lover’s dream).

From Esquel I traveled north toward Bariloche. For the first time this trip I found myself wanting to travel slower because the scenery was so beautiful. I frequently found myself letting my hand off the throttle or pulling over for a while at one of the many scenic viewpoints.

The morning before reaching Bariloche I awoke after an especially chilly night, opened my eyes, touched the walls of my tent and noticed that they were frozen. Peeking my head outside the tent, my eyes meet the first rays of sun and meadows around me covered by frozen dew. The elevation had not changed from Esquel (about 600m) but there is something about the Bariloche climate that makes night frosts a daily occurrence even during summer. (Thanks be to Rafael who had brought me an excellent sleeping bag allowing me to sleep tightly and warmly in my tent despite the frosty temperatures).

Unfortunately, Morenita has a harder time getting over the cold (maybe she was upset I did not share my tent with her) and refused to start. It took a good hour of work and the help of a friendly truck driver pushing her up a hill and back down before the engine started to roar (try pushing a 250kg motorcycle alone uphill a gravel road – good luck). After a good morning workout and another display of amazing Latin friendliness, I was on the road again, to Bariloche.

After a beautiful drive I arrived in the tourist Mecca of the Argentinean Mountains, Bariloche. It is big city, crowded traffic crawls though the streets, a busy center full with shops catering to nature and mountain tourism and poor run-down outskirts (as customary in Latin American cities). The architecture is kept pleasantly nice (helped by construction regulation imposed by the National Park Nahuel Huapi. Much more beautiful, however, was the 60km scenic drive along Lake Huapi. The first stretch leads along mansions of rich Argentineans and upscale hotels but the ladder part is more secluded and offers beautiful vies of the lake and its surroundings.

Camping by the side of the road once again, this night I chose my location better (close to a downhill stretch in the road) knowing that most likely Morenita would not get used to the freezing temperatures. And she did not but rolling her downhill did the trick and I was on the road to Angostura and National Park Arrayanes. What is noteworthy about this small park are its trees (species: Arrayanes) for two reasons: 1) geographical: for some reason this tree is only found here. It has been unable to spread to other regions but has been able to survive against other tree species here; 2) biological: the way the tree replicates is by branches bending down and touching the soil. Gradually these branches start forming roots and the branch separates from the mother tree giving live to a new tree.

From Angostura I continued north passing a 50km stretch of terrible dirt roads (often having to slow down to 10-20 km/h). But the trip was worth while leading to Lake Falkner where I found a beautiful campground on the shore of the lake. I spent a couple of days there enjoying the serenity and beauty of nature. Other human being I saw few however my campsite was routinely crossed by random herds of cows and sheep roaming the vicinity for pastures.

From there my trip continued north passing the two charming yet touristy mountain towns San Martin de los Andes and Junín de los Andes. The atmosphere in both places is very relaxed and peaceful and makes for a pleasant stop over. I continue to be surprised how recent the history of this part of the country is. Both towns were founded little over 100 years ago, before which the region was barely inhabited. From Junín de los Andes I visited National Park Lanín, the third of the three national parks of the Argentinean Lake District. The most notable feature of National Park Lanín is Volcán Lanín (3800 elevation). It is roughly twice as tall as all surrounding mountains and its glacier covered white peak is an amazing sight. Once again good fortune led me to a beautiful campground on the shores of Lake Huechulafquen (try saying that quickly 10 times without swallowing your tongue). Once again I had the entire campground to myself, except for the local indigenous old man who stopped by on a daily basis on his walks through nature with his tow dogs.

The most notable activity during my 4 days here (besides the many beautiful moments such as bathing in the ice cold lake, warming my face next to a crackling camp fire or admiring the moon and stars of the southern skies) was my ascend to Cerro Chivo (2070m elevation). The steep 3 hour climb was well worth it and offered spectacular 360 degree views of the entire region (from Chile to Las Pampas and of course Volcán Lanín).

After almost 2 weeks in the Lake District the time had come to continue the journey northwards toward Mendoza, capital of Argentinean wines.