The Alps in Argentina

They're called the Andes here, but you wouldn't know judging by the architecture and cuisine of Bariloche - everything is Swiss Chalet style, with chocolates and hot dogs and beer. After a 20 hour bus ride overnight through Las Pampas - the most empty landscape I've seen since Utah - I arrived on Thursday in this lake-strewn, mountain chained, monkey-puzzle-treed oasis. Thursday I napped under a tree by the lakeshore and watched families playing in the water and drinking mate. Yesterday I took a bus out of town and hiked up nearby Cerro Otto to Refugio Berghof (I told you it was Alp-influenced), a little mountain hut with a dining room, a grassy front yard, and killer views. I had my lunch up there and came down to town, just in time to meet friends Tate and Shawna, who picked me up in their tiny little rental car. The three of us then spent the afternoon driving around the lakes, stopping at various beautiful beaches, overlooks, and the Mountain Cemetery where 2 dozen mountaineers who met untimely ends on Aconcagua and other massive peaks nearby are buried in the shadow of a huge cliff face. When we got there, the sunlight made the rock glow pink and golden through the trees. It's a good place to be buried if you love mountains. At dusk, around 9 PM, we found a little tea house on a peninsula overlooking the lake and had tea and scones sitting amid the most luscious garden I've ever seen, like White Flower Farm but in Argentina, with terraces, stone pathways, everything blooming and fragrant and colorful. Beautiful, especially at dusk with a rising full moon! Today we're off in the car to El Bolson, 2 hrs south of here, where we may stay at an organic farm and flower nursery or something? More to come soon, plus photos when I get an opportunity to upload...