Lake District

Biking the Circuito Chico

We left Bariloche at 10:30am and started biking along Lago Nahuel Huapi towards Circuito Chico. It is a very scenic route but also has quite a bit of car traffic. 18km from Bariloche, we reached the start of the Circuito and the car traffic dies down. The whole trip is full of rolling hills, climbing for a few kilometers and then downhill for few kilometers.

About 35km in, we reached the Cerveceria Patagonia where we had a couple of beers and some pre-meal food, and then lunch. We were there for about 2 hours and getting back on our bikes was a bit of a challenge.

When we got to Bariloche (around 5:30pm), we stopped for ice cream at Rapa Nui and then headed home to shower. We rested for a bit and then went to Cerveceria Manush for a couple of beers and then had dinner at Jauja along with a bottle of wine.

Ruta de Los 7 Lagos

On the 26th, we went back for breakfast at Friends before dropping off the bikes. We headed to Hertz to pick up a rental car to make the drive to San Martin de Los Andes through Villa la Angostura via Ruta 40.

The whole drive was very scenic. From Bariloche to Villa la Angostura, you're driving on the coast of Lago Nahuel Huapi. We stopped in Villa la Angostura for a delicious and very cheap lunch. From Villa la Angostura to San Martin, the drive is along 7 lakes with strategic lookout points along the way.

The route is also famous for a bike and camping trip that spans over 3-5 days. I can see that it could be very fun and I would love to come back and do it.

When we arrived to San Martin de Los Andes, we did a short hike up to Mirador Bandurrias for a beautiful panoramic view.

At night, went for dinner, beer, and some ice cream.

Getting back to Bariloche

The next morning, instead of doing the same route back, we decided to take Ruta 65 through Villa Traful and then Ruta 237 through el Valle Encantado. Ruta 65 is not paved, so I got a chance to practice driving stick on dirt roads. The route goes along Lago Traful and is quite beautiful. Ruta 237 is paved and the scenery did not disappoint either.

We found ourselves constantly wanting to take pictures, but we were short on time as we needed to be back at the airport to drop off the car by 2:30pm. So while driving, Boudi would handle the steering wheel, I'd handle the gas and braking, and I'd take pictures from out the window (with few close calls of the phone slipping out of my hands).

We made it back to the airport at 2:15pm to catch a plane back to Buenos Aires at 4:00pm.