On the way we passed through the towns of Trevelin and Esquel, settled by Welsh settlers in the second half of the 19th century. The main Welsh settlements are on the east coast at Trelew and Gaiman. Note the Welsh dragon atop the information centre, and the Welsh flag and sign out front. The Welsh settlers got on well with the native Mapuche and Tehuelche people. Not so the Europeans who arrived a bit later and absolutely decimated the native populations. There are still some Mapuches left but a huge swag of their land was sold to Benetton (because the natives had no proof of ownership!) and there have been ongoing court battles for years. Do not buy Benetton clothing!
The Patagonian Express train on narrow gauge runs only for tourists
We continued on the famous Route 40:
and eventually arrived in beautiful Bariloche, population 100,000. The above photo reminds me that I have not mentioned that we frequently see condors high in the sky. On the Torres walk two swooped low over our heads. With their 3-4 metre wing span they are so impressive.
This is the view from our room:
and here are some photos from around town:
the town hall - same architect as the world famous LLao LLao resort
the town square
inside one of many chocolate shops. There are SO many.
After free time today we drove out of town. First stop was a chairlift ride up to see the view:
After that we visited a mountain cemetery where many climbers who met an early death are buried, and then did a short forest hike. We were lucky to see a Magellan woodpecker, pecking away furiously. Given my limited camera this is the best shot I could get from a long way away:
Then it was onto LLao LLao resort for high tea. This resort has been visited by many famous people including Dwight Eisenhower in 1960. It has spa facilities and a top 18 hole golf course. We were allowed 2 drinks (gourmet teas, coffee, hot chocolate) and unlimited visits to the food table which had a few savoury items, but mainly sweet and delicious cakes. Now we are recovering back at the hotel; no one wants any dinner.
And now the good, the bad and the ugly facts about Bariloche.
The GOOD - it is set next to huge and beautiful Lake Nahuel Huapi. It has all manner of summer sports and world class skiing in the winter. It has boutique shops, and lots of top chocolate shops. The backdrop of mountains is stunning. The city is so alive at night, even at 10 pm on a Monday. It seems like everyone is out on the streets.
The BAD - unemployment is 30%. On the way in we passed the seedy side of town with houses you would not want to live in.
The UGLY - Juan and Eva Perron admired Mussolini and (I think) Hitler. After World War 2 Argentina was flooded with war criminals escaping Germany. Josef Mengele, Klaus Barbie and Adolf Eichmann all lived in Bariloche for a while. There are no doubt descendants of many of these Germans living here now. However, the past is the past, and thankfully we are living in the present. The shopkeeper in El Chalten told me that Argentina has 3 million Jews, the 3rd largest Jewish population in the world, after Israel and the USA. I find that a nice contrast to the idea of German war criminals escaping here.
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