LivingInPatagonia.com

Beauty and Gratitude

Written by Shanie 

Once again, the beauty of Patagonia leaves me in awe.

As noted before, my parents were in town for the last few weeks.  Having family around was great. 

Sometimes Jamie and I wonder if we are crazy and think that this place is more beautiful than it really is.  When the reactions and comments of loved ones confirm our thoughts, it is a validating feeling.

We took a day trip making the circuit around Lago Nahuel Huapi to Villa La Angostura (the home of Cerro Bayo), continuing on to Villa Traful and it’s gorgeous lake, and then to Valle Encantado and the Rio Limay where the emerald green waters are a stark contrast to the odd rock formations rising from the arid landscape.  The river guides you back to the main route and back to Bariloche.

In the beginning of the drive we stopped at one of the camp areas nestled on the shores of Nahuel Huapi.  The campfires of some of the sites were literally three steps from the pebble beach.  The tropical colored water laps the shores, feet from the tent areas.  I have never seen a public camp ground that was more beautiful or easily accessed.  We hung out on the beach for a bit and enjoyed the scenery. Not another person drove through the campground while we were there, showing the definite advantage to being in the area during slow season.

Down the road, we enjoyed the pueblito Villa La Angostura, a town that deserves world wide recognition as one of the cuter villages in the world (as does San Martin de los Andes).  The main road through town is lined with log cabin and and stone architecture.  The stores often have ornately carved wood signs advertising their location.  It resembles Switzerland.

Continuing on, the multiple lakes and lush forests of the Seven Lakes Road were amazing.  The way that the road weaves through the Lakes District is an ingenious way of showing off a national treasure.   They are doing some major road construction on part of the road right now.  Possibly laying down a wider road with cement?  Nunca se sabe.

To do this particular circuit, you branch off the Seven Lakes Road via Ruta 65, traveling along Lago Traful and it’s little village sharing the same name.  The road gets narrower and less traveled.  The dense Coihue forests and snow capped mountains were so majestic in their appearance that I literally expressed it that way when verbally describing it.  Majestic is not a word that I often choose when colloquially depicting a landscape.

Eventually, after passing through the sleepy, nature-lover’s paradise of Villa Traful, the Rio Limay led us out to the main ruta leading back to Bariloche.  We timed it as such that the setting sun was painting the mountains, rock formations and sky a multitude of pinks and purples.  It wasn’t intentional, but we were definitely in the right place at the right time for a spectacular show of colors by Mother Nature.

As we rounded the bend and the massive expanse of water that forms Lago Nahuel Huapi came back into our view, I felt a feeling of immense gratitude came over me. 

I am thankful to be able to call this place my home.  It is a magical place.  It is not a perfect place, pero en mi opinion vale la pena.