Day 4: Sunday, March 23, 2025
By Charlotte and Mia
Today we traveled from Bariloche to El Bolsón. We started our day with an early start of breakfast at 7:15, entailing toast with a traditional Argentinian butter-like topping and raspberry jam, scrambled eggs, and a fruit assortment of bananas, pears, and apples.
After breakfast, we made our way across the street down to the beach to enjoy the cloudy yet beautiful sunrise. The group then participated in an outdoor ice breaker activity where we played an extremely competitive game of rock-paper-scissors, and then identified our comfort zones for the day. We then packed up our belongings and began our scenic journey through Bariloche in our group bus. On the bus we met our tour guide Andres, who immediately started informing us of the local culture and sights of Bariloche.
Our first stop was Campenario, where we ascended up the 10-minute, chilly, but majestic chair lift ride up the mountain. At the top we soaked in the breathtaking views of the mountains and lakes with clear skies while being taught the cultural stories and history behind the nature and their names. On top we appreciated the warmth and coziness of the gift shop/cafe.
Our next stop was a cliff-side church with a view of the snow-peaked tallest mountain in the country and a beautiful grand hotel. Next we headed over to the forest lined beach where our guide enlightened us on the details of the local nature. We then spent some free time skipping rocks and taking in the peaceful crashing of the waves with a view of the mountains.
Our last stop before lunch was a road side panoramic view of a new perspective of the mountains. Lunch was at Gilbert’s where our tastebuds were delighted to enjoy chicken and beef milanesa, wild boar stew, local caught trout, veggie and regular burgers, and beef goulash. We then made the drive to El Bolsón, consisting of two hours of mountain views and a bit of nappy time. We then arrived in the beautiful city of El Bolsón, nestled in between the huge Andes Mountains.
We explored the local culture by visiting the artisan market and communicating in the local language. For dinner we had fresh home baked pizza, with different variations of toppings including tomatoes and homegrown arugula, caramelized onions, egg, and eggs and ham. We then were all pleasantly shocked with cakes and a birthday celebration of our newly 17-year old, Maya! To wrap up the day we settled into free time of ping pong and cards and our nightly ANCHOR (Appreciations, News, Concerns, Heath, Oh Cool!, and Reflection) meeting. Today was a great day, can’t wait to do it again tomorrow!