The trip to Carmelo, Uruguay - The Road to Nueva Palmira

We biked from carmelo to Nueva palmira, which is the nearest city heading North-East on Road 21. The ride is quite nice with a one lane two way road, in decent condition.

There are some uphills that are a bit steep, but can be handled if you´re in good shape, there are several place of interest along the way like beaches and wineries to stop and relax.

Exploring Patagonia - Ruta 40 - Bariloche: Chocolate gallore

Yes, Bariloche is Argentina´s chocolate wonderland with fierce competition between Swiss, German,Austrian and even Russian families that set up their chocolate stores.














One of the classic firms that has developed into a chain of stores is the "Chocolatería del Turista" which also carries Ice cream, for those occasional hot days during the summer.
I must say that I enjoyed very much the "Apfel strudel" flavour, that they produce.



Now for something local, try the "Chocolate en Rama" which is a branch like stick that collapses in your mouth as the chocolate melts. You will find this all over Bariloche, from home made versions to industrial ones, that are actually quite good.

Holy week in Salta - Churches and Processions

If you enjoy religious architecture, then Salta is the place for you. Located 1400 clicks north of Buenos Aires in its Namesake province, Salta is a Colonial Jewell tucked in the Northern Andes.

It is one of Argentina's nicest colonial cities very worth wile visiting, and again, if you want to see the full religious splendour you should go there during Holly week, where all the churches are fully lit and the cities patron s images go out on procession.

The trip to Carmelo, Uruguay - The Beaches

Well one of the ideas of going over to Uruguay from Buenos Aries is that you can access riverside beaches in one or two hours (depending on which route you take).

Most of the beaches from Carmelo to Colonia are nice and clean and not crowded most of the time.
Another plus is taking your bike along and being able to hit the road and stop at the different  beach resorts along the way.

Exploring Patagonia - Ruta 40 - Bariloche: Where Fondue lives

As I previously mentioned, Bariloche is the place to come, to enjoy Central European delicacies. One of them being Fondue, something that we all tried at home  with different degrees of success.

Now short of going to Switzerland, Bariloche is the place that I had the best Cheese Fondue, of course if you are European this may not attract you as much, cuz you ca go to Switzerland in a jiffy and have the real stuff.
Now for North and South Americans this might be a chance to enjoy some real Fondue right here in our continent.

If in Bariloche I reccoment "La Marmite" right on Mitre 329 ( Main pedestrian street). The prices and the sevice is quite good, besides being on the premises of one of the oldest swiss chalets built in the city.

In Passing snapshot - The Bike shop

Everyone loves vintage stuff, now in Uruguay all the retro and vintage stuff is original, no one renovated this bike shop, so as to look retro, all the furniture and even the goods are originally old, and are kept without any shame or pretencion.
Uruguay is packed with places like this bicycle shop in Carmelo, and make excellent pic material.

Exploring Patagonia - Ruta 40 - San Carlos de Bariloche

Finally we re-entered the tourist circuit, actually we stopped by Bariloche cuz its on the way, but nevertheless it is a very nice place to visit. Located 1500 clicks from Buenos Aires, in the province of Rio Negro.

San Carlos de Bariloche sits right on the shores of the Naguel Huapy lake, which is one of the several great Patagonian lakes tucked beneath the Andes.
The city was founded in mid 19th century after they did the infamous "Campaña del Desierto" which slaughtered most of the natives in the area.

The city was promptly inhabited by central European immigrants which imparted a Swiss like ambiance to the city with beautiful chalets and great chocolate.