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San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina - the Aspen of Argentina.  This region is know for is hiking and skiing.  It is part of the "endless winter" as skiing occurs in the May to August time frame.  Awesome place with lots of activity and outdoors loving people.

Day # 1

We arrived on our journey after leaving on a Friday night aboard an overnight flight from Houston to Buenos Aires.  Saturday evening was our first day of a weeks long adventure that began with obtaining a rental car from the local Hertz.  Drive to our you home, Casa Paine, was in the dark on mostly paved roads, however the Apple maps lead us down rabbit hole. We eventually converted over to Google maps and found our way down several winding gravel roads, passing several roadside RVs and random dogs in the night. The entrance to Arelauquen was finally identified by a small sign guarded entrance. After 10 minutes of difficult communication, we received their entrance code to the area and we were in! (Pro Tip:  Nueve is 9, no huevos)  We finally settled into the home and went out on a search for food. This felt more like a primal instinct that kicks in after 26 hours of travel despite whether you're actually hungry. Our inner core lead us to a local craft brewery named Manush.  Manush was a quaint structure with all of the necessary outer garnishments that make a building look like a hip local hangout.  We were seated by a hostess who handed us menus in English, leading me to believe that our pale skin and ball caps were a dead giveaway that we were Americans. It was that exact moment that I recommitted myself to improving my vitamin D stores and physical conditioning (at least for the next week).

Day #2

After recovering from the flight and dinner at Manush, we rolled out of the casa and set off for our first hike. We found a trail inside Arelauquen that led us to the piedra de Habsburgo.  We set off on a short but intense hike encompassing about 5.5 miles.  In this short trek, we climbed 1723 ft up to a refugio overlooking both lake Gutierrez and lake Nahuel Huapi.  Our maximum elevation was 4476 ft and this provided a good first test of the legs and lungs.  Given this was more walking that we had done in the cumulative previous week, I felt like I just conquered Mt. Everest.  This was on ly the beginning...  That evening, we found our way to downtown Bariloche. We found a bustling, fairly typical touristy area highlighted by graffiti. This was not the most picturesque area, but was unique with the dichotomy of mountains, incredibly clear lakes and a graffiti laden downtown.  Around dinner, we worked our way over to Alberto's, a highly recommended Argentinian steakhouse.  After waiting for 90 minutes to get a table, we were in an fully engaged in what was about to come.  Our dinner started with beef empanadas and a blood sausage, a local favorite comprised of coagulated blood and other assorted ingredients.  We follow this with lamb, chorizo steak and tenderloin washed down with a few bottles of wine.  Day #2 was definitely declared a success!

Day #3

Today started with a trip to the Llao Llao hotel, an iconic building in the area that had previously fallen into disrepair and was taken over by squatters.  In the 90s, the building was renovated and now presents as an amazing structure on a hill surrounded by manicured grounds overlooking lake Moreno.  We started with a quick lunch at Llao Llao Hotel along with a local beer brewed specifically for the Hotel.  The beer was brewed with a special local wild yeast which created a really fantastic flavor for a pale ale.  After lunch, we set out on our second hike to Cerro Llao Llao.  This trek was fantastic for the views of provided. We covered about 5 miles with an elevation gain of 1320 ft, putting this into a relatively easy hike category. Most of the climb occurred in the final mile of the hike!  At the end of the trail, there were really spectacular views of Lake Nahuel Huapi.  These were really some of the best views for the amount of hiking needed to get there... After finishing the hike, we settled in for a drink at the bar of Llao Llao Hotel and then headed back for dinner.  We at the Epic Restaurant - I would put this in the "Blue Stem" category for price and quality.  Overall, was a good close to the day...

Day #4

We embarked on a day of flyfishing down the Limay River guided by Herman.  This was definitely checking a mark off the bucket list! We set off for a five hour trip slowly drifting to the current with good success. Ryan took to it like a pro setting the record for Trout while Peter caught bait fish.  At the end of the day, we found a train Sendero de los Arrayanes which took us through a myrtle forrest.  We covered 3.1 miles, using an alternative trail along the beach, with only 700 feet of elevation change.  That was just enough to work good appetite for El Mexicana!  The food wasn't great, but they have some serious frozen margaritas.  I'll have to admit, the food wasn't great, but they had some serious frozen margaritas.

Day #5

Today started with a quick round of golf at th Arelauquen club.  This course was incredible well-maintained.  It was surrounded by mountains and I got to play with Fabio, hey man from Buenos Aires.  As the day went by, we found our way to a lake... we found some kayaks and paddle boards to rent.  Looks easier than it is when the wind is gusting away from shore. We took in some beer from a local brewery call the Patagonia Brewery.  This helped us get up the courage to do some trinket shopping in downtown Bariloche.  For dinner, we set off for Berlina, another local brewery and pizzeria. The air was warm and the sun was setting, so it was a good night for the patio. Anchovy pizza and meat - why not...  we were preparing for the longer hike, the Refugio Frey.

Day #6

This was the day of the Frey. We started our hike at 8:57 in the morning with a slight overcast sky and mid 50s for the temperature.  Perfect hiking weather for what we were about to undertake. We set off on foot from an alternative starting location, Villa Los Coihues.  This lead us up a 6.5 mile trail with an elevation gain of 4081 ft.  We were surrounded by unbelievable views and at the top was the Refugio Frey, named after Emilio Frey, a park caretaker.  This hike is a must do on your trip to Bariloche!