Our ride to Bariloche from Calafate was a 3-bus 29-hour fun fest that kicked off at 4am. On our first bus ride, I handed the cell phone to Beth, who put it in her pocket and slept through it falling out and onto the floor.

When we arrived at our first stop, Rio Gallegos, Beth mentioned off-handedly over our breakfast of fries and eggs, “I had this moment of panic on the bus that I’d lost the cell phone, but then I remembered that you had it.”

Once we established that I didn’t have it and realized what had happened, we ran outside to find that the bus had left. I ran up to the bus company window to see if anyone had turned it in (struggling violently with my Spanish to explain the situation). No one had found it, but luckily the bus was still in the area and the man behind the desk started making calls. We watched anxiously as the clock ticked down to 9am when our next bus was set to leave, coming up with alternative plans if our phone wasn’t back in our hands by the time the hour arrived.

Luckily, the old guy at the window returned to the bus station with our phone, having run to another terminal to grab it for us. We gave him 10 pesos for a beer or two, and reflected on all our luck in retrieving lost items on this trip due to the good will of others.

We made it through the next 2 long busrides without losing anything, reading and watching the Patagonian scenery pass by. During our last busride, I had arguably the worst bathroom experience yet in the wee hours of the morning. When I went to flush the toilet, brown, clearly recycled fluid splashed wildly around the bowl and spat sprinkles into the tiny quarters. I clawed at the door handle and threw the entire weight of my body against the door, trying unsuccessfully to stiffle a mounting series of gags and not bothering to button my jeans. After a long rant about how “this is completely unacceptable - we are not taking Tramat again!” I managed to calm down and enjoy the view.

We arrived in the lake district by noon and checked into a hotel across the street from the one Lonely Planet suggested. We were greeted by an older gentleman wearing a suit and tie, and walked past an old woman knitting in the lobby. Our next three days at Hotel Venezia were spent much in this fashion, passing the knitting woman and being greeted by cute old men in suits and ties at the door.

We wandered out into the city, and immediately went down to the lake shore to get a view of the mountains around the rough waters. While meandering by the water, we ran across a store with a sign reading “Arte Anal”. Curious as to what it could possibly sell, we wandered in and found a chocolate store so decadent, it reminded me of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. (Beth: We later realized the sign said “ARTESANAL” but the “s” had fallen off. Isn’t that something you would fix?)

We had read that Bariloche was known for its chocolate, so we gave it a try. It was incredible. We ate chocolate everyday we were there, sampling from as many stores as we could. Beth’s favorite was chocolate covered cherries (and later chocolate bars with cherry chunks), and I tended to search out Baily’s truffles. Aside from all the truffles, multi-layered chocolate bars and bon-bons, we frequently tried these flaky chunks of goodness that were made by scraping a thin layer of melting chocolate into a log. Of course, we tried the white, milk and dark chocolate varieties.

One night we decided we just “had” to have the chocolate fondue we saw advertized everywhere. A decision we didn’t regret.Since everyone is always making fun of me for always mentioning the food, I’ll get it all out in one paragraph. We had meat fondue that was delicious, with a bunch of different sauces… We had fresh trout from the lake, covered in blue cheese - a Bariloche specialty… We had another “lomito” sandwhich that was incredible. And the chocolate… Did I mention the chocolate?

Despite all this feasting, we did manage to get out and see quite a lot of Bariloche and the lakes and forests in the area. One day, we went on a hike through Llau Llau forest, about 30 minutes outside of the city. We passed huge villas and spas with steaming pools infront as we drove out, thinking how nice it would be to be on a slightly larger budget. (Beth: Slightly?!)

We got to our stop and camped out by a lake, snacking on blue cheese, olives, and salami, and then walked through streets lined with yellow trees and cute houses to the trailhead in the park. At the park’s entrance we were greeted, oddly, by a huge green Jesus on a massive cross that reminded us of the Incredible Hulk.The forest itself was really interesting partly because it was filled with a wide range of trees. Some of them curved over the pathway creating a perfectly formed tunnel, while others towered so high above us we wondered if they were Redwoods.

We also stumbled on a patch of the forest with orange-hued light filtering through the leaves, filled with twisted trees that reminded me of something out of Zelda or King’s Quest. I decided that the forest was enchanted, and then Beth decided she wanted to start moving a little more quickly.

After a few kilometers, we made it to the other side of the “mountain” to another lake. We had the shoreline completely to ourselves. We wandered around for a while, taking pictures and admiring the reflection of all the snowcapped mountains on the lake before heading back.

That night we spotted a bowling ally and decided to play a few games. After much confusion about what we wanted to play (they also had pool and air hockey), we picked out our balls and started our game. After I bowled my first ball, someone jumped out of the rafters behind the pins, quickly swept away the ones I knocked down, and bolted back up into the rafters. Beth and I looked at eachother, laughed, and said, “Where ARE we?” (Beth: Lauren has convienantly forgotten to mention that I won the game…)

Our last day in Bariloche was spent down by the water and wandering around town sampling chocolate. We also managed to find Beth a new pair of hiking boots before jumping on our next busride. This one was 20 hours north to Mendoza, wine country, where we would be meeting Shosha and Taylor who were joining us from Buenos Aires.