Bariloche

We finally made it to Omnibus (the bus station in BA) and headed over to our bus. As we checked in, the man collecting our tickets said, “Hola chicas! I remember you girls from when you went to Iguazu!” All we could do was just laugh (on so many levels)! So, we parked our behinds and checked out the glorious amenities Via Bariloche had to offer: comfy-bedlike seats (check), ish-movies (alright-alright), and NO wine (on that note, let’s catch the next bus then…) The following 22 hours was definitely going to be a ride to remember…

After orienting ourselves in Bariloche’s finest bus terminal, we checked into our “CHS” (cool hostel syndrome) hostel…After a few huffs and puffs and about 150 steps, we reached the lobby and checked into Hostel Inn. Those “mountain-esque” steps were definitely worth the hike because the views from the hostel were magnificent. From every angle, we glorified our eyes with these mammoth snowcapped mountains. We quickly dropped our bags and headed to town.

When people describe Bariloche as “mini”-Switzerland, they are by no means kidding. (Not that I’ve been to Switzerland, but I can only imagine what it looks like). Every street is doused with quaint stores and restaurants and it transmits a cozy feel to the town.  No matter where I turned, it was beautiful seeing the unreal scenery glowing from behind every street. The small town of Bariloche is configured in an area surrounded by mountains and water. If you like the cold, then the right time to go is in the winter so you can indulge in the famous ski slopes…but if you’re a wimp, like me, and enjoy the heat, than going to Bariloche in the summertime is ideal…you get a mix of the luscious snowcapped mountains with the bright sun beaming down on you...what could be better?

Not only is Bariloche known for being the Northern tip of Patagonia and for their insane ski-slopes, but the chocolate scene is to die for…trust me when I say that…I did! Calle San Martin (main street) is covered with beautiful chocolate shops lusting with chocolate truffles, bars, ice creams, ect. Also, if you play your cards right (which us girls obviously did), you’re able to get a significant amount of free samples to literally last you a life time. After spending the whole day sampling various chocolates, I no longer will ever crave chocolate…the amount we ate sadly will last us a life time…at least lets hope so…

People say after Israelis finish their service in the army, they either travel to Nepal or Patagonia. It was shocking to see the amount of Israelis backpacking and living in Bariloche (and in Chile too). One Israeli started telling us about his restaurant called Chezi and gave us the menu. Before looking at it I asked him if it was kosher and he enthusiastically said, “YES”! I looked at the menu and read the food options: pizza, burgers, panchos (hot-dogs), chorizo (pork sausages), ect…yeah, so I definitely don’t think Chezi was remotely kosher, jajaja! But seriously, there were loads of Israelis roaming the streets of Bariloche. It made the Israeli population of Miami look miniscule; so if you want to meet an Israeli outside of Israel, your next stop should be Bariloche because you’re bound to meet one there…