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!