We arrived in Bariloche today, a 20-hour bus ride from Buenos Aires to the mountains that seem to be on top of the world… the southern world, that is!  Home of the majestic condor.

getting on board in Buenos Aires

We traveled for hours and hours through the Pampas…. flat, fertile, green prairies as far as the eye can see… full of farmland, cattle and horses.  No hills at all.  The last few hours we began to go slowly but steadily uphill, and it was looking kinda like California Valley, low dry hills covered with scrub and sagebrush. Finally, in the last hour, we emerged into a gorgeous scenery of lakes and rivers.

We picked up a rental car, checked into our cabin, and made a run into town for food and other essentials. Our cabin is perched on a hillside overlooking Lago Nahuel Huapi, (pronounced na-well wápee) with a breathtaking view. Tomorrow we will do an easy hike and feel out the glitches in our bodies and equipment. I have a brand new, very small backpack ready to be broken in. It holds the equivalent of about a gallon of milk… my goal was to avoid having to carry anything more than a small water bottle, sandwich, camera & rain jacket. If I need more than that, I’ll only go if I can ride a horse! Here’s the view from our cabin:

Lake Nahuel Huapi

Toto, we are definitely not in Kansas anymore!  I mean Buenos Aires! Stay tuned for more about our summer getaway!  Will they find a milonga in the midst of paradise?

Ciao from Llao Llao!