Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Well, actually just buses

Hola gringos.... My latest adventure of note took place this past weekend. A friend of mine from UM, Clare, whom is studying in Vina del Mar (North of me), a friend of hers from Vina, Laura, and I took our sweetness across the boarder to Argentina.

The girls did not have school all last week so they took the opportunity to travel to the south of Chile. I, being the responsible student that I am, decided to attend classes for half of the week.

So at midnight last Wednesday I set off from my house with my backpack (overpacked) to the bus terminal. I arrived in Puerto Montt, Chile at about 9 am and then rendezvoused with the girls in a restaurant for a nice burger and french fry breakfast. We then killed time down on the board walk until our departure for Argentina. During this layover, the girls introduced me to a statue dedicated to PDA they had encountered earlier in the week. Check the pictures, this thing was hilarious yet so appropriate. After a little run in with some gypsies that stole 20,000 pesos (approx 40USD) from Laura, we were off to the bus. Two stops at customs and seven hours later we arrived in Bariloche, Argentina.

Bariloche is a nice tourist town set next to a large lake in the mountains of southwestern Argentina. It is known for its chocolate and nearby outdoor activities. As it was a holiday weekend, there was a lot of people in town from all over the world.

The first night we went out and ate at about 11:30pm. I had steak, Laura had a breaded steak thing called milanesa and Clare had pasta. We also shared a liter of beer and a bottle of wine. All together this cost 25USD. We had anticipated going to one of the large disco techs, but unfortunately they were all closed because it was Thursday. So, we went to a techno dance party thing that someone gave us a flyer for. We proceeded to dance until 5 am. The following day we relaxed by the lake- I went swimming and the water was quite chilly. Unfortunately Clare had gotten sick and was unable to do much.

That evening, after dinner and a nap, Laura and I set out for a disco at 2:30 am. We proceeded to dance until about 6 am. We had to leave at 6 because she and Clare's bus back was at 7:30. They had planned to stay until Sunday, but there were no tickets available. So, we headed back, got an hour of sleep, and they left.

I then spent the day exploring. I went out that night alone to what seemed like a 80's high school dance party. Very interesting. All of the people were very young (the same was true at the disco tech) and the girls were all wearing dresses with Chuck Taylors. I must admit I have not seen that before.

The next day I had to change hostels. I moved into a shared house with three Israelis. They were nice and they spoke english, but no spanish. They told me that in Israel after they finish high school, everyone enters the military. The women for 2 years and the men for 3. After this service, they all travel for about 6 months and then start university.

The four of us hung out for the day and night, but it was more relaxed than the previous days. I then caught my bus at 7am on Monday, and 16 hours later I was home.

Bariloche was a nice town. Pretty, but not amazing. The food was really good and cheep. The drinks, too, were very cheep. However, I did not care too much for the touristy vibes. However, it was a fun adventure. I look forward to traveling to Argentina again, but perhaps to a larger city without such a high density of tourists.

Coming up on my travel agenda is to visit the south of Chile, visit the girls in Vina while its still warm and also visit my friends in Santiago. If school continues as it is now, I won't be having too much weekend homework.