Quintessential Bariloche

For our last weekend we treated ourselves to a classic Argentine experience: horse back riding followed by lunch at a local parilla (a restaurant specializing in grilled meats). We opted for the 2-hour ride since for all intents and purposes neither Tom nor our children have ever ridden.  We were confused when the owner worried that if we started at 10:30 we would be done until 3pm , after all we only wanted to ride for 2 hours, but what we thought were difficulties in translation became clear in practice.

We arrived early at 10. The horses were still out in the pasture. Carol Jones, the owner, rode out in land rover and a short time later an odd thundering  filled the air.  About a dozen horses galloped around the bend nickering and kicking. After taking inventory, Carol’s helper conducted second round of a couple of older gentle horses for Zoë and JT.  We entertained ourselves by running around to stay warm until the horses were saddled.

Zoë was the first to mount. While she steadfastly (and bravely) maintained “I can ride” ,  my memory of her one and only riding experience was a little different. After driving out to Alpine Meadows she refused to get on the horse and instead watched her friend Kenzie be led around a short loop. JT then mounted the largest horse of the group—a Percheron which is a kind of draft or working horse used to pull wagons.  Both children were clearly nervous until they grew accustomed to the feel of the horse’s movement. As is often the case with gentle older horses, they like to stop to nibble the grass, drink water and walk slowly. Zoë and JT managed their horses quite well: Zoë’s horse was a schmeker, JT’s a real slurper and Papa’s horse had the most bodily functions.

The ride snaked in  loop around Carol’s family estancia. Her grandfather moved down from Texas and bought the land. Now she, her brothers and mom own and work ranch, with Carol running the trail rides and pack trips. They have some 300 sheep and 400 cattle that summer in the mountains and then are dirin back down for the winter. A ranch is a good place to see the nature and experience the cycle of life: we saw 2 kinds of deer including a huge buck with its family, condors, eagles and a jack rabbit. We also saw numerous bleached skulls and a recently decreased hawk and rabbit.

About halfway through the ride when we entered the hilly area JT decided he’d had enough. He was hungry, his legs hurt and he didn’t like the bumpiness of going up and down hills.  We took a couple of breaks where JT led his horse and walked with Carol and either Tom or myself. Finally, when we got back to the flat section we cajoled him into riding the rest of the way. He did amazingly well considering his size and experience. Zoë, on the hand, has fallen in love with horses. She cannot wait to try it again. By the time we finished our 2 hour ride it was 2;00.

The parilla is pretty far outside of town, but close to Carol’s ranch. The building was once a general store and has lots of memorabilia from its earlier profession. Its claim to fame is that Butch Cassidy had taken meals there. It was wonderfully arm and quaint and the food excellent. We laughed when we saw a waiter climb up to pick a bottle of red wine off a rather high shelf—a low tech version of the “wine climbers” seen in some posh restaurants. We shared sausage, steak and trout. Typically, it was all meat and potatoes with nary a green vegetable in sight. All in all it was quite a wonderful day.

Camping Trip by Zoe

Yesterday, may class of 3 and 4a with 4b and 5 also, we went camping not everyone came. It was fun. We had lunch and shared every thing. After lunch we had to walk around the area and draw a map. After that we had free time. We played then I made bread. We had hot chocolate with cookies and every one like the hot chocolate. After that we had the games. The game was called the Olympic Games. You had to walk over each other. The one that gets to the ball first got to eat first. Then we made plays. We each got to make one the we had another free time and then dinner. Dinner was hamburgers. Then we went for a walk and saw a river. Then we acted our plays then we rolled out our sleeping bags and went to bed. Ween we woke up our teacher was still sleeping. We waited a little then we had breakfast. It was bread and tea. Then we took the bus back home. It's fun to go camping!

Quotidian Thoughts

For those raised in a country founded by Puritans, the Argentine schedule is an anathema. On a recent Sunday we decided to visit the local “Colonia Suiza”. A community settled by the Swiss who emigrated to Bariloche via Chile in the 1900s. Twice weekly, they serve a local specialty called curanto—a stew initially made with seafood and fish, but adapted to the mountain environment. The chef spends the morning heating melon-sized stones with a wood fire. The fire is extinguished when the rocks reach some 140 C. Various meats and a few token vegetables, such as sausage, lamb, chicken and potatoes are piled on top, whereupon it is covered with a heavy tarp and dirt. The entire concoction is smoked/baked for an hour or two and served piping hot.

We arrived shortly before noon and toured the artisan stalls. Other than a fire and the slicing of meats, not much appeared to happening at the curanto site. Since we breakfasted at 8:00, we were quite hungry by noon. Many of the restaurants were still closed. The day was fiercely windy and quite cold, so we opted for fondue in a lovely 1920 Art Deco style round building built of wood. The fondue accoutrement seemed a mix of traditional fondue and raclette with some Spanish influence thrown in for good measure: a large basket of various breads, pickles, carrots, onions, olives cucumbers and sliced sausage. The children loved it and I ate the pickled stuff and mushrooms. We left the restaurant at 1:30 and meandered back to check on the curanto. On the way back we noticed that many of the restaurants had filled. The curanto was still cooking and the hall filled with folks awaiting their lunch.

With the afternoon stretching before us, we decided to visit the Dinosaur park. It’s a park filled with some 20 replicas of the most popular dinosaur—we’d driven by earlier to make sure it was open. And now to our surprise-- it was closed! I guess they break for lunch. The majority of the restaurants open at 8:00 for dinner. I am not sure what time the average Argentine goes to bed, but when in Buenos Aires we saw tons of people wandering around the city at 9:30 with their children. How do they all manage to get up and be at school at 8:30? I feel like we are two hours too early for everything.

So instead, we opted for a ride on the Cerro Companero Aerosilla (chairlift). Everyone in the area proudly relates that it was listed as the second most scenic site in the world (in National Geographic magazine) after a location in Switzerland. One can see why…the view affords a series of isles in the foreground set against snow capped jagged mountains of the Cordoba. It’s truly spectacular.

Top 10 reasons why Bariloche is like the American West of the 60s

• 10. A trip to the gas pump comes with a complimentary window cleaning.
  
• 9. Playgrounds have seesaws. How refreshing to live in a world where liability laws don’t govern everything. I’ve yet to see a sign stating the recommended age for using the equipment, nor warning me that my children might get hurt if they “use the equipment in a way it wasn’t intended”
  
• 8. Two lane roads are the rule. Ok so this is not one of those things I wax nostalgic about—it might be fun if we didn’t have a car that feels like it has 3 cylinders and crash test stats that keep you awake at night.
  
• 7. Only the main roads are paved. The roads in the barrios are strictly hard packed dirt.
  
• 6. The police are quite helpful. Since there are no lights or traffic signs at school dismissal, their on-hand daily to regulate crazy chaos of pick-up. I have yet to see anything resembling a speed trap.
  
• 5. Even tiny local grocery stores have full service butcher sections and bakeries with fresh baked baguettes.
  
• 4. The available produce is what’s in season. In general, it looks terrible and tastes great. There are only 2 kinds of apples and a single color of grapes-- with seeds of course.
  
• 3. Owner-operated bookstores where they really know the inventory. While looking for a text book in a store with thousands if not tens of thousands of books, the owner knew (without consulting a computer) that he had grade 1 but not grade 3.
  
• 2. Public transportation is reliable, thus well-used and cheap. Public bus routes even run through neighborhoods with dirt roads.
  
• 1. It’s a cash society: mortgages and car loans are few and far between. If you can’t pay for it you don’t buy it. . Many partially built houses are in evidence because owners add on as they can afford to.
  

More Bariloche

The Catholic Cathedral, hopefully Naomi and Zoe will make it to mass one Sunday!

Ack! If you ever thought careful zoning of things like cell phone towers was rubish, you should see what happens when there are no restrictions. They are everywhere and there is zero effort to make the blend in.

Bariloche looks a lot like a mini-San Francisco by the Lake. The other day it was foggy and it really is amazingly similar. It even has a couple of Lombard streets. Alas no flowers this time of year.

Berliners and linzer tarts!

Villa Angostura

We took a drive up the north side of Nahuel Huapi to Villa Angostura. It's a pretty little tourist town with a recently contructed or renovated commercial center. If you've ever wished Tahoe had a real coastline with bays and islands, this part of Nahuel Huapi is like the Tahoe of your dreams. A cool cross of upstate finger lakes and Tahoe.

Waterfall just below Cerro Bayo ski area. We didn't have the guts to zip line across the gorge much to J.T.s disappointment!

Looking South West from lookout part the way up to Cerro Bayo.

Looking South East from same point.

Life out of school

We’re in the midst of a string of near perfect fall days: sunny. shorts- weather with no wind. A kayak rental place is a stone’s throw from the house and the rental is $4 US for a half hour, so we’ve taken the kids out a couple times. Today Zoë tried her own single and handled it quite confidently.

Friday morning started with a dense fog blanketing the area. By afternoon it remained settled on the water so we stopped at a local beach access to snap photos before it burned off. On the path we discovered a thick patch of blackberry brambles loaded with shiny berries. Having no containers we picked until our hands were full and splotched with deep purple with juice. Later we toured the local trout farm from small fry to the 10 kilo. The children loved feeding them –they were so close.

Our life here is slower, quieter and simpler. The kids try to press the buttons on the key to unlock the car door. (the locks are all manual) The grapes (one variety) have “crushy” things inside (seeds). Watermelon has seeds. The produce is filled with blemishes, but tastes amazing. We can “mostly” buy what we want, but it requires stops at multiple stores. For the most part businesses are owned by locals and few chains are in evidence. Rumour is that Walmart is building outside of town which would be horrible for the downtown.

Downtown Bariloche. Amazingly, I managed to get a picture with no people on the street. Bariloche seems to be the only 'city' for many miles around, so the downtown is very very busy most days.

Inside the Turista chocolate shop. One of the biggest. This shows about 1/4 of the total shop. It's a huge spread of great chocolate.

Zoe kayaking

Papa and JT. A rare calm day. Most days it's been blowing from the North or from the East.

Week 1: School daze

Adventure (n): a bold, usually risky undertaking of uncertain outcome.


It wouldn’t be much of adventure if we didn’t hit some bumps along the way. After speaking with the staff we decided to start the kids in the afternoon (English speaking portion) so they could get to know the other children in a more familiar environment. Because of the difference in the school year and their cut-off dates, they recommended placing Zoe in 3rd and JT in 1st grade. From what the kids describe of the lessons, I think this has been a good choice.



Immersion here is different from the model we know and love. The lessons during the English portion are taught in English in the 3rd grade, but focus on teaching English. On the first day Zoë sang and filled in blanks for the song “wheels on the bus”. She laughed about the experience because the kids pronounced the “u” in bus like the Spanish, the teacher used a funny hybrid and Zoë did it correctly.



Zoë is our little rock star. She seems to have befriended some of the girls in her class and I see her chatting with them in the playground. She was a little nervous about starting with the Castellano portion, but after an afternoon guest teacher taught a lesson in Castellano, she felt ready to handle the challenge.


JT has had a much tougher time of it. First, the kids can’t say his name. Then they don’t have enough vocabulary to confidently initiate all but the most basic of conversations, and frankly, neither does he. The other kids are fascinated by him, but confuse him. He didn’t understand why the little girls would come up and say Chi Chi then run away. We explained they couldn’t day his name and they’re playing tag—apparently second in popularity only to “futbol” at recess.


Day one – Zoë had to come in because he was a little sad. Day 2: he complained that the teacher talked in Spanish the whole time even though it was supposed to be English. He had a bit of a meltdown and felt really sad about the whole experience. Day 3 seemed OK after we smoothed some things over with the director and by day 4 he decided (Ok so admittedly some bribery was involved) he’d attend the Castellano portion. We stopped by mid-morning and he wanted to stay. Still he was clearly fried after 4 hours and losing it consistently by the end of the day. I don’t see full days in his future... which puts a little kink into my plans.


I remember how sometimes the second week can be harder—wish us luck



Okay, when's the last time you saw this? You pretty rarely seen the Police around town. Except at 8:30 and 4:30 when the many schools (there must be a dozen in the two square miles that is the suburbs of Bariloche) start and finish. At this time, the police (who look fit enough to excel in other than the 10 yard dash to the Dunkin' Donuts) turn up on their dirty bike (makes sense, right!) They then...(wait for it)...direct traffic for the 10 minutes it takes school to let out, then leave. No stop light required that screws up traffic all day for 20 minutes required effort. Pretty cool!

First Day of School...delayed
The kids were pretty tired Sunday night and a tear or two of terror were shed prior to the first day of school. Monday morning we awoke at sun-up (8am!) had breakfast, and headed over to Colegio del Sol. Our plan was to show them the school, get the information on where to buy uniforms and return them around 1pm for the afternoon session (which is English)
Alas, both the Directors of the school were out sick and they had left instructions that they want to be there for the kids' first day. Zoe declined to take a look at the second grade class, but J.T. was excited to see his new class. We arrived just in time for cookie break (no sugar rule does not seem to apply) J.T. has 8 other children in his class, we meet 5 of them and his teacher Seniora Andrea. He says he's looking forward to a few days of English only then 'easing into' the Spanish morning.

J.T.'s new kindergarden class. Hopefully, we'll be starting tomorrow!

Playa Bonita. The dark land in the center is one of the left most island in the Cerro Otto picture.

Cerro Otto looking just South of West. The inverted U shape on the hillside in the far distance are ski slopes on Catedral Ski area. I don't know how much or how good snow they get in the winter, but this looks to be a pretty sizable resort.

On Cerro Otto.

On Cerro Otto, take by Zoe.

We slept in too late to rally for Easter mass in town. So we hung out the house until mid afternoon, then took the Teleferico (sort of like a two cabled gondola built by the Austrians) to Cerro Otto. Great views of the surrounding area.

This is looking NE from Cerro Otto. Bariloche city center is just visible at the middle of the right side.

This is looking west from Cerro Otto. Just visible at the top left corner is Tranador. We left the battery charger to our good camera at home (doh!) so are using the camera Naomi's Dad gave to Zoe. So these pictures have pretty bad contrast. Anyway, Tranador really looms up behind the rest of the mountains which you just can't sense from this picture. The Andes here are not really all that high (Tranador is only 11k) but they really jump up right out of the high(ish) plains.

If you click on the pictures, they get bigger

View from Cerro Otto looking north over Nahuel Huapi Playa Bonita (our house location) is just to the left of this picture. It's blowing like stink on the Lake today, you can see the lee behind the two islands.

Our rental house is one block from Playa Bonita. Our rental Fiat Punto or whatever is good training for any horse back riding we might do. Like riding a horse, commands are so much a command as a request. Like "hey, it would be nice to accelerate, but if you're not willing that's cool too"

Well we're not exactly starving in Bariloche. The produce is like southen Europe, not always perfect looking, but tastes like the best of San Francisco's Farmers Market.

Baked goods are like northern Europe. Apparently the Germans who settled here brought their cook books!

I think produce cost about $6 total, the wine $10 and the trip to the bakery about $5.