Argentina

November 6-29, 2009

November 16: Esquel to Bariloche: Driving to El Bolson and Lunch

El Bolsón, just south of Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi, is Latin america's first non-nuclear town and the first to declare itself an "ecologial municipality".

People here claim that the jagged peak of the nearby Cerro Piltriquitrón is one of the earth's "energy centres" and this led the town to become a popular hippy hangout in the 1960s. It is still laid-back and is famous for its many local breweries. It is officially a non-smoking town (who knew they had any in Argentina!?) but when you see the local love for sprites, dwarves, and elves, you start to wonder if the locals are smoking something else... ;-)

One of the famous attractions of El Bolson is the cabin of Butch Cassidy nearby in Cholila but given that it would have required quite a detour, we decided to skip it.

We did however stop in El Bolson for lunch. Rubby had found an article on the internet (the same site that had recommended visiting the elephant seals in Punta Ninfas) which highly recommended the restaurant "Jauja" for its fine dining as well as the adjacent ice cream shop, also run by the Jauja restaurant. It did not disappoint. Wild boar and rabbit were on the menu and it was all delicious. And for dessert some artisinal chocolate and home made ice cream. Mmmmmmmm!!!!

On our way to El Bolson on a very overcast day in the Andes.

Hey, why are we stopped at the side of the road?

So we can take a picture of the first Andean condor we've seen!

Samantha after a snack in the car.

A sign announcing a shrine up ahead.

Rows of plastic bottles of water border the way to the shrine.

A close-up of the shrine.

Complete with 2 statues of the dead mother and suckling child.

A Crested Caracara (Polyborus plancus) feeding on some roadkill.

The Crested Caracara is called "Carancho" in Spanish.

We get too close and the Crested Caracara takes off.

As the day wears on the weather gets worse.

A sign for the restaurant where we plan to stop for lunch.

Coming into El Bolson.

Samantha colours while we wait for the food.

Yummy breads and herbed butter to start with.

Samantha has spaghetti while Rubby tried the rabbit. It was all delicious!

Samantha at the artisanal chocolate shop.

All the ice cream here is home made from patagonian berries.

Samantha had frutilla ice cream (strawberry) and Christopher had some of the famous Calafate berry ice cream.

Calafate, the indigenous name for what is known in English as the box-leaved barberry (Berberis buxifolia), is patagonia's most famous plant. Legend has it that he who eats the fruit of the calafate bush will some day return to Patagonia - "El que come el calafate, voverá". Looks like Christopher will be coming back some day... if only to get more ice cream! ;-)