Man, this country is HUGE! Even leaving over a month to explore Patagonia and Buenos Aires is quickly proving to not be enough! We´ve made some changes to the schedule and are excited about them. Quickly realizing that we like smaller towns, we have made a habit of staying in them. After countless hours trying to decide how far south we will travel, we decided to stay in the Central Patagonia and explore both sides (Argentina and Chile) instead of taking crazy bus rides further south and feeling rushed. For me, I´m happy because we´ll have to come back to see the sights further south...what a pain...
From Mendoza, we headed to Bariloche which is in the Lakes District of Argentina. It´s an absolutely beautiful town situated on a huge lake, resembling Tahoe. The biggest ski area of Argentina is located just minutes away from the city center. Very ideal! Dave and I were going to try and rent a room in a house while we were there to have a "homestay" and get a better feel for the local culture. We were sad to see that the situation with the ash in town was a bit of a downfall. In neighboring Chile, there is a volcano that was spewing ash pretty heavily and has been intermittently erupting for the last several months. Unfortunately for Bariloche, it is all blown into the Argentinian side and clouds up some of the spectacular views and blue skies when the wind is bad. Patagonia is known for its wind. It was so bad when we were there that the airport was closed and many locals were wearing surgical masks.
Luckily, Dave and I escaped the ash and went on some phenominal day trips where the views were clear and the skies were blue! Our friends, the Harris family, are moving to Bariloche soon and gave us some great recommendations of places to visit. Our favorite hike day hike, Refugio Frey was absolutely beautiful and still a bit snowy around the snowmelt lake. So much fun! We loved our hostel and ended up staying 6 days after booking 1 (to start with). Our room had a view of the lake :)
The highlight of Bariloche, by far, was our rafting trip. Bariloche sits on the edge of Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi. We decided to take a rafting trip on the Rio Manso which creates the border of the national park and runs west until the border with Chile. The river was a beautiful teal blue color and the levels were high (we are in spring). The rapids were class III and IV and were great fun! Dave fell out of the raft in one of the class IV rapids and swam a pretty gnarly section. He was bopping around with a huge smile and we got him in the raft pretty quickly. Luckily, the photographer captured some brilliant shots of Dave´s backward flop. We floated all the way to Chile and took out at the border, which was 
nothing more than a dinky wire fence in the countryside. On our boat, we had 2 Irish, 1 New Zealander, 1 German, and Dave and myself. After the trip, we were taken to an estancia (farm) and treated to a HUGE asado of all different cuts of Argentinian meat, potato, salad, wine, dessert, and coffee. It was a true feast! Every part of the day was awesome: the drive to the river, the rafting, the asado at the estancia, and the drive back. Tons of fun!
View from our bedroom window on our last day in Bariloche.
Luckily, Dave and I escaped the ash and went on some phenominal day trips where the views were clear and the skies were blue! Our friends, the Harris family, are moving to Bariloche soon and gave us some great recommendations of places to visit. Our favorite hike day hike, Refugio Frey was absolutely beautiful and still a bit snowy around the snowmelt lake. So much fun! We loved our hostel and ended up staying 6 days after booking 1 (to start with). Our room had a view of the lake :)
Refugio Frey with Cerro Catedral in the background
The highlight of Bariloche, by far, was our rafting trip. Bariloche sits on the edge of Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi. We decided to take a rafting trip on the Rio Manso which creates the border of the national park and runs west until the border with Chile. The river was a beautiful teal blue color and the levels were high (we are in spring). The rapids were class III and IV and were great fun! Dave fell out of the raft in one of the class IV rapids and swam a pretty gnarly section. He was bopping around with a huge smile and we got him in the raft pretty quickly. Luckily, the photographer captured some brilliant shots of Dave´s backward flop. We floated all the way to Chile and took out at the border, which was 
nothing more than a dinky wire fence in the countryside. On our boat, we had 2 Irish, 1 New Zealander, 1 German, and Dave and myself. After the trip, we were taken to an estancia (farm) and treated to a HUGE asado of all different cuts of Argentinian meat, potato, salad, wine, dessert, and coffee. It was a true feast! Every part of the day was awesome: the drive to the river, the rafting, the asado at the estancia, and the drive back. Tons of fun!Some of our more attractive facial expressions...
Dave on his way out
Nice form! He still has his paddle :)
I thought that it would be a good idea for me to jump to the side of the boat to try and get him because the German guy was only shoving his paddle blade at Dave. Hard to grab. The look on my face is priceless. I was actually not worried though. Dave had a nice swim!
The hike up from the river was pretty steep, so the guides hire some local help to schlep them up!
Awwww...
Argentian/Chilean Border Control Post. Maxium Intensity. 
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