Argentina

Today was the first day of my life that I tried snowboarding. And as such, I was pretty keen on getting lessons. I'd heard that you can get group lesson and board hire combinations, up here at Cerro Catedral. Well, let's just say that the ski/snowboard school situation here at Catedral is nothing like what I'm used to, and nothing like what I was hoping for. It's an absolute mess, and an expensive one at that. There are almost 10 separate, privately-run ski schools operating at this place — there's no official, resort-run "Catedral ski school" (unlike what every ski resort in Australia has) — and none of these schools are cheap. None of them operate proper, public group lessons, either. Well, I'll be daymed if I'm shelling out megabucks for private snowboarding lessons — don't need them, and can't afford them.

I'm staying here in Bariloche for a full week: and from today until next Saturday, I have seven days to spend on the snow at nearby Cerro Catedral, one of the biggest ski resorts in South America. Now, as anyone who's been to a ski resort in the past 10 or 15 years should know, these days skiing is only half the fun on the mountain. The other half of snow-goers are now ditching their skis, and doing snowboarding instead. I've only ever been a skier up until now; but this week, I'm trying snowboarding for the first time. Today was an interesting day: very slow, and very sore; but fun nonetheless.

I woke up this morning, in my dorm room at Patanuk, to be greeted with an amazing view of the lake, straight out of my window. Daym, this has gotta be the best view out of any hostel dorm room in the world! Patanuk is not a bad place to stay, not a bad place at all. Downstairs, that much-anticipated free breakfast of croissants and scones (with fresh, home-made strawberry jam on the side) was the icing on the cake; and the view of the lake was just as divine from the dining room.

Tonight was the perfect introduction to this country for me. Only in Argentina can you go to a truly authentic parrilla (special Argentinean steak house) and get the best steak on the planet (along with the best wine on the planet); and only in Argentina can you turn up at midnight, and find the restaurant still jam-packed! The place in question was Alberto's, the best and most famous (and yet quite cheap) parrilla in Bariloche. Turned up at about 11:50pm, and only just managed to get a table. And the bife de lomo (tenderloin steak — three of them in a single order) was so soft and so juicy, I'd say it's pretty much unbeatable.

Madrilas is the gorgeous dog that lives at Patanuk. Not sure exactly what breed he is — he's from the Pyrenees in Spain, but I don't think he's a Great Pyrenees — but he's big, grey, shaggy, very gentle, and less than a year old. Sylvia brought him over from Spain about 6 months ago, when he was a smaller puppy. He'll play with anyone who's got time for him, and his favourite hobby is falling asleep in the middle of where everyone has to walk, forcing them to jump over him.

I was recommended to stay at Patanuk by Erez, the Israeli guy that I met back in Pucón, in Chile. It's only about 6 months old (the hostel, as well as the building — all freshly constructed!), so it's not yet in the guidebooks. But it will no doubt be in all the next editions; and unless the guidebook writers are all complete %$#&s, it should receive raving reviews. It may not (yet) be "the place to stay" in Bariloche — like Marcopolo, or 1004 — but it's one of the cosiest, the friendliest, and the most comfortable places I've stayed so far on my trip. Don't even consider staying anywhere else, because it doesn't get much better than Patanuk.

On the bus to Bariloche this evening, I had a hilarious first introduction to the crazy phenomenon that is Argentinean Spanish. A few seats behind me, a little girl was whinging loudly to her Mum about something. Anonymous Argentinean Mum said this to her, in a heavy Argentinean accent:

"Cashate, o vamoh volveh a Chile" (in real Spanish: "callate, ó vamos a volver a Chile", lit: "be quiet, or we're going back to Chile")

That shut the girl up real quick. I don't blame her: because like, seriously dude, Argentina is like, sooo much better than Chile, ohhh-mygod.

Dave's an Aussie guy in his 30s, who's lived for most of his life on Kangaroo Island (off the coast of South Australia), and who works in tourism marketing (was working for SA tourism — so yes, you can blame him for those crappy "visit South Australia" ads). He's down here in South America for a few weeks, before heading off to London, where he's hoping to spend some time doing what every other Aussie does, and working there. I met him on the bus to Bariloche today, and he hung out with me at Patanuk for a few days, before continuing south.