Bariloche!

Hey everyone,
I just got back from Bariloche this morning, and it was so awesome! Three other girls and I left on what is called an omnibus on Thursday night and what was supposed to be a 20 hour bus ride ended up being about 24 hours. Just when we were about three hours from Bariloche, there was a strike of teachers requesting higher pay in the middle of the highway. It ended up being a pretty fun three hours. We got out of the bus and took pictures of the surrounding landscape and made friends with some girls from Mexico who are also studying in Buenos Aires for the semester. We arrived in at our Hostel in Bariloche around 7:00 Friday night, went to dinner, and made friends with some other people from Buenos Aires that were also staying in our hostel. We ended up drinking wine with them and I attemped to teach everyone in Spanish how to play an American card game. It was difficult to explain but everyone ended up getting the hang of it. I went to bed pretty early instead of going out to wake up early for skiing the next day. Saturday was rainy and really windy up on the mountain; so not the best for skiing. Because there was no snow on the lower part of the mountain, we had to take a chair lift all the way up to the top. By the time we got up there, it was snowing like crazy and really hard to ski. I got pretty freaked out at the top of the hill because it was my first time skiing in seven years since my ACL surgery. I ended up skiing down the hill just fine with a couple of instructors and a family that was taking there little kids down and easier route. After one run, the other skiier Allison and I ended up just hanging out in the lodge most of the day at the top of the mountain. We were all pretty exhausted by the end of the day and went back to the lodge, ate dinner, met some more people, and then called it an early night again. Sunday was a perfect day for skiing. It wasnt windy at all on the mountain, it was warm, and the snow was perfect to ski on. I was actually sweating by the end of the day because the snow was so thick and difficult to ski in. I got some incredible pictures that day. They actually had photographers on the mountain who stopped us as we were skiing down the hill and took our picture. We chose not to buy the pictures and just took our own instead. Bariloche is also known for having some of the best chocolate in the country. That night, we walked around the town sampling different chocolates. I ended up spending about 100 pesos on chocolate (about 25 USD). That night we were even more exhausted and chose not to go out. Instead we decided to wake up early to go on a hike up a hill nearby called Campesario. It took about 40 minutes to hike up the hill and was so worth a somewhat exhausting hike. We could see the best view of Bariloche. At the top you we could see out to the mountains which are surrounded by several lakes. I have some really beautiful photos. I will work on getting them up when I can. I still have not figured out a way to put pictures up on the blog. After the hike down the hill, we stopped back at the Hostel, checked out, and got on the final 20 hour bus ride back to BA. On the way back we passed a river that weaved through the hills we drove through. I had never seen water like that. It was a really pretty seafoam green color. Absolutely beautiful! It was a great trip and I would love to go back again to try some of the summer activities Bariloche offers. Im looking forward to this weekend. My friend, Griffin who also goes to Cofc just got hear over the weekend and I am planning to meet up with him this week. Chau!!

Elise