We packed in a rush, and waited... then, we kept waiting. It had started to rain, so Aaron took a walk around the neighborhood to see if they were lost. Nothing... We decided to split up and take both routes towards the little grocery store/mini shopping strip to see if our ride had stopped for directions or a phone. Still, no one. We waited in the rain, asked the Kiosko (mini mart) if any gringos had stopped by, but still nothing. By this point we were really wet and sad... thinking they were unable to find us and had probably already arrived in El Bolson. We were about to give up hope, when an adorable little VW Gol turned in, looking too nice to not be a rental! Saved!
Yipee hurray!As soon as we headed south of Bariloche the rain cleared and the sun came out, leaving us with incredible views on the infamous Ruta 40.
A little ray of light...
and a beautiful rainbow!When we finally made it to town, we sat down for an afternoon snack of beer and mini sandwiches and investigated where we were going to crash for the next few days. We decided to rent a "little" cabin in the woods, which was adorable with little lofts and a stone covered wood burning stove. We slept well the first night and got up early for the feria the next day. After loading up on goodies of sweet jam, waffles, cheese, jewelry, and handmade clothes we unloaded at the cabin (aka. La Casa del Viajero) and prepped for a hike to the Cabeza del Indio. After a few minor detours, due to our inability to scale rock cliffs falling into a river full of rough rapids, we found a trail off the beaten path near the cemetary that we hoped would get us high enough to reach the actual trail. After adventuring through thick mud and stumbling upon hidden waterfalls, we finally made it to the top, quickly understanding why this natural wonder was called "The Indian Head" (translated for the non-spanish savvy).
Exhausted and starving from a long day, Aaron and Drew got to work on the most amazing asado we have had to date in Argentina. Their "slow and steady" patience of working with soaking wet wood transformed them both into masters in the art of true asado! Unfortunately, we somehow used up our entire gas tank and spent the rest of the evening freezing our asses off in the woods. Yeah - don´t add stones to the outside of a woodburning stove, it does NOT let any heat out! We packed up the next day after chef Aaron prepared us all a hearty egg breakfast and headed farther south with the car to see what we could find. We came across Lago Puelo, in one of Argentina´s lovely national parks, and visited the pueblo of El Hoyo. We had an amazing lunch of gulash and fruit crepes with ice cream, only to find out from the owner that the lot across the street was for sale. Being global realtors, we all went to scope it out and spent the entire ride home thinking of the little cabañas or hostelesque properties we could build on it as an amazing and solid investment!
