As a town known for its beautiful scenery, outdoor adventures, and chocolate, I knew that I would take well to Bariloche. Nestled in the Lake District of Argentina´s Patagonia, Bariloche is surrounded by those famous lakes as well as breathtaking mountains. Apparently only about 6 flights have landed here in the past seven months due to volcanic ash in the area, which is doing a number on this touristy town, but every day we´ve been here has been sunny, blue, and hot. Not hot like Tumbes, but apparently hotter than it´s been in Bariloche for years. Perfect summer outdoor weather.

So, still sore from my minor crash in Mendoza (did I not mention that? It was embarrassing...), but otherwise not having ridden a bike in over three years, Douglas and I enthusiastically signed up to rent bikes and traverse the 36km ¨Circuito Chico,¨ which promised stunning views of lakes and mountains around Bariloche. Douglas asked two questions during our bike orientation, both of which turned out to be quite telling. First, ¨What is the most pronounced incline that we´ll have to go up?¨ Response, ¨Oh, well, it´s all very hilly, but trust me, you´ll be fine.¨ Two, ¨Will we need to shift into a lower gear in order to ride on the dirt roads?¨ Response, ¨The dirt roads are basically flat, they will be no problem.¨

Lies. All lies. Within the first 4km of biking we had gone up a hill that was at least 2km long and not something I would want to attempt on a road bike, let alone the hybrids we had rented. I got off about half way up to hike-it, which turned out to be a recurring theme for the circuit. As for the dirt roads, some had such a scary grade that I hiked DOWN the hills out of fear, and I won´t talk about going up. Nonetheless, the beautiful views were indeed worth it, and it felt good to get some exercise. After we found a guy selling lomo sandwiches out of the back of his van at the top of one hill, the day got progressively better. The circuit went through thick forest, which provided both shade and the first pinecones I´ve seen in South America. At every turn the glistening blue of lakes and the calm blue of the sky seemed to highlight the tall mountains and green trees. It was lovely all around. Also, I must mention that Douglas never once got off his bike to walk. Despite passing more than one seasoned biker wearing actual biking clothes and with calves of steel walking, Douglas pedaled up hill after hill in his sneakers and cargo shorts. Well done.

Just to make sure that all of that exercising didn´t go to our heads, after the bike ride we headed straight to Jauja, which some say makes Argentina´s best ice cream. It was amazing. Then we washed that down with Barilche´s famous lamb, wine, and of course, some chocolate, for dinner. Did I mention that I really like this town?

Yesterday was my favorite day of the trip to date. We purchased a tour through a tour operator near our hotel, and even got the Spanish discount after we explained American football to the guy selling us the tour in Spanish. So, we were picked up from our hotel door, in the morning, and driven to a nearby lake, called Lago Guiterrez, which our hostel recommended as one of the most beautiful and tranquil. After being served tea and pastries upon our arrival, we suited up for our own private sea kayaking tour. We were on a ¨sit-on-top¨ two person kayak, which I´m pretty sure is otherwise known as a duckie. Neither Douglas nor I had ever done exactly that before, but we´ve both canoed and river kayaked a bit, so it didn´t take us long to get the hang of it. As our guide repeatedly pointed out, the morning was perfect for sea kayaking. It was sunny and clear but not too hot and the lake was as smooth as glass. And what a lake it was! As we traversed the edge we could easily see 30 plus feet down into the water- it was almost perfectly clear. The bottom dropped off sharply from the shore, and we could see fish, tree routes, and branches from our vantage point on top of the water. We peacefully paddled for two hours, and at some point we stopped along the shore to rest our arms and share some cookies and mate. I went for a dip in the water, which was invigoratingly cold, but I quickly dried off in the warm sun.

Our tour came with lunch, so we came back to base to see the table set. First we were asked to serve ourselves our drink of choice, be it water, soda, juice, or beer. Then we had meat empanadas, salad (a real salad!), and bread. I was ready to call it a meal, but that´s when they came around and gave each of us a generous portion of chicken, half a sausage, and a glass of wine. After that I was stuffed, and they came around again to serve the beef! Finally, when I thought I could eat no more, dulce de leche crepes were served. Not your typical guided tour lunch!

After lunch we were scheduled for horse-back riding. I like riding, but sometimes get bored of your typical trail ride format. That´s how this ride started out- we went through some nice forest and saw the impressive Cerro Catedral (Cathedral Mountain), but nothing more. That´s when we took a sharp turn, waded through a stream, and started a steep pitch straight up the mountain. The horses did not seemed pleased, but we arrived at a beautiful view of the lake below just in time to reverse the pitch and head down towards the lake. Emerging from the forest and onto the lake shore was stunning enough, but then our guide led us into the water along the shore and eventually we crossed a small part of the lake! Very exciting. Probably one of the best trail rides I´ve ever been on. Plus, when we got back, there were lemonade, tea, and brownies to greet us.

I´ll end with a couple of cultural notes: 1. Men kiss each other on the cheek here, as well as the women- every time I see it I do a double-take. 2. The Argentine ¨j¨ instead of the ¨ll¨ is not nearly as annoying in person as it is from that one guy everyone knows who studied abroad in college and refused to speak normal Spanish ever again. Douglas and I may even drop it from time to time. 3. Mate. The PCV in Douglas and me is desperate to be as culturally integrated as possible at all times, and thus one of the first things we did in Argentina was buy a bag of mate (no, it is in no way related to mate de coca), a mate gourd, a bombilla (straw- say it with the j!), and a thermos. We tote this whole ensemble around with us and drink mate about twice a day. At first it was disgusting and we did it only to look cool. Yesterday I started to like the taste. Today I´m starting to crave it... 4. An amusing lost-in-translation moment... When Douglas and I checked into our hostel we had to pay for 5 nights of lodging, plus two discount cards that we decided to invest in. We didn´t have the cash on us, and so we went to the ATM and came back. When we did I said to the hostel guy, ¨Ya. Queremos cancelar todo- la habitación más las tarjetas.¨ In Peruvian Spanish that means, ¨We would like to pay for everything- the room and the cards.¨ After a stunned look by the hostel guy followed by a really dirty expression, we quickly realized that in Argentine Spanish I had said, ¨We would like to cancel everything- the room and the cards.¨ Once we explained we all had a good laugh about it. Ooops!