Boat trip: Lago Nahuel Nuapi

March 15, 2012

Yesterday we changed the itinerary somewhat by catching a late bus back to Bariloche in order to have another full day here.  We stayed in a downtown hostel, making it easy to access something to eat.  In fact, the place right next door seemed just fine, so we had a snack at about 11 p.m.  The wi-fi network was so awful that none of our three devices were able even to access the internet at all, and right in the middle of town, too.  Go figure.

This morning we stash our stuff in the hostel storage (meaning that is placed in plain sight behind the unused bar), and grab the familiar bus #20, for which Dave still has credit on one of their special transportation cards.  Back we go near the giant Llao Llao Hotel where we had previously hiked into the forest.  This time, we cross the street and head for the big boat dock complex.

Opting for an all-day excursion to the far western end of Lago Nahuel Nuapi entails a pair of excursion tickets at one kiosk, plus a second charge at another kiosk for entering the national park.  We opt for seats up on top for the best views.

Leaving the harbor

Immediately a bunch of seagulls commandeer the airspace around our boat, which actually is a catamaran of sorts.  Many passengers start holding up crackers or pieces of bread for the birds to grab.  I know, this practice is environmentally incorrect, but it's out of my control in any case.  Also, the downstairs concession gets to sell a lot of crackers.

Success!

It takes us just an hour or so to reach the complex at the end of the lake.

Hotel Blest

Wait!  After docking just to let off a few passengers who actually are headed elsewhere, we detour over to a pier at the far side of the lagoon.

Our boat

Ahead of us is a long, beautiful boardwalk providing access to a series of cascades.

The is the most well-constructed boardwalk I have seen

Cascada Los Conteros

It is more than a 300-foot climb to the end of the boardwalk, where other interesting features await us.

A 1,500-year-old tree

This looks a lot like Yosemite

Mushroom?  Toadstool?

It's almost chilly here early in the day.  This is how one would expect to feel in a rain forest, although this is not one of those.

After this adventure, everyone is whisked back across the lagoon, presumably to support the hotel's restaurant.  Having three hours to kill, David and I prefer to go for a walk down the one-lane road behind the facility.

A two-mile stroll leads to Lago Frias.  This is where those other passengers and their luggage disappeared to earlier; for from here, one can take another boat down a navigable river, right into Chile!  David had toyed with that idea, but it would have been too time-consuming for our purposes.

Lago Frias

The fuchsias are exquisite

Back at the hotel I befriend the resident kitty, who clearly is in command of all he surveys.  David turns up his nose as the cat catches and chews up a grasshopper, but I know that those crunchy guys are considered a delicacy by your average feline.

Still having still more than an hour to kill, we spring for a drink and another of Argentina's standard incredibly boring ham and cheese sandwiches.  Then it is time for a snooze.

At least near their river inlets, all of the lakes around here have the same greenish hue that is so commonplace in the Canadian Rockies.  Glacial flour — earth ground almost to powder by an upstream glacier — remains suspended in the water, causing the color change.

On the return, David and I inexplicably choose to hang out at the stern of the boat with all the smokers.

Spectacular ramparts

Almost back

Near the dock

After jumping onto the #20 bus for the last time, we pick up our luggage at the previous hostel and walk four blocks to a new one.  They have screwed up the paid reservation, but order is restored after the better part of an hour (meaning that they probably kicked someone else out of our room).

Tomorrow we fly south to El Calafate to begin our five-day tour of Torres del Paine National Park in Chile, which was the primary motivation for this trip.  Note: 'Paine' is pronounced "pine-ay".  On that tour, we might be out of touch with electronic civilization for many days.