Where We Be
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| Siete Lagos, Argentina |
| One of the seven lovely lakes on the Siete Lagos route |
We came this close to missing the one bus a day to
the Siete Lagos region because we didn't realize
there had been a one-hour time change between
Chile and Argentina. For two days in Bariloche we
had been living one hour off the actual time! We
had an "Amazing Race" taxi ride to the bus station
and boarded the bus just as it was leaving. Phew!
All the guidebooks recommend you see the Siete
Lagos (Seven Lakes) region between the towns of
San Martin de los Andes and Villa la Angostura in
Argentina's Lake District. The area is just north of
Bariloche and is brimming over with quiet natural
beauty. After taking the bus to San Martin, we
spent two days in this tranquil upscale town.
Next day we joined a group of seven Argentinians
for a tour (in Spanish) of the Siete Lagos. After
several days of rain, the unpaved middle section
of the route was a muddy mess, so it was good to
have a driver who knew the route and had the
right vehicle for it. The day started out misty and
got sunnier as we went along. We finished our
tour in Villa la Angostura in short sleeves.
We thought San Martin had been upscale, but it
had nothing on Villa la Angostura, which we
dubbed "the Aspen of Argentina."
the Siete Lagos region because we didn't realize
there had been a one-hour time change between
Chile and Argentina. For two days in Bariloche we
had been living one hour off the actual time! We
had an "Amazing Race" taxi ride to the bus station
and boarded the bus just as it was leaving. Phew!
All the guidebooks recommend you see the Siete
Lagos (Seven Lakes) region between the towns of
San Martin de los Andes and Villa la Angostura in
Argentina's Lake District. The area is just north of
Bariloche and is brimming over with quiet natural
beauty. After taking the bus to San Martin, we
spent two days in this tranquil upscale town.
Next day we joined a group of seven Argentinians
for a tour (in Spanish) of the Siete Lagos. After
several days of rain, the unpaved middle section
of the route was a muddy mess, so it was good to
have a driver who knew the route and had the
right vehicle for it. The day started out misty and
got sunnier as we went along. We finished our
tour in Villa la Angostura in short sleeves.
We thought San Martin had been upscale, but it
had nothing on Villa la Angostura, which we
dubbed "the Aspen of Argentina."
| As we started our Siete Lagos tour, fog filled the lake valleys while sun shone above the mountains |
| Standing lakeside in San Martin. The town is full of hotels and chic shops with stone-and-wood architecture. |
| This gives a sense of the Western-feeling scenery on the drive from Bariloche to San Martin |
| Beautiful overlook at Cerro Bayo, a ski hill near Villa la Angostura |
| A band of fog envelops San Martin valley |
| Posing lakeside in full sun |
| Happy for sun after days of rain |
| Pretty farmstead along the Siete Lagos route |
| A muddy stretch of road along the Siete Lagos route after days of rain |
| Typical Siete Lagos scenery |
| We made some new friends during our Siete Lagos tour. Everyone but us was from Argentina, but they went out of their way to include us in the conversation. |
| Fences and wooden houses make for a tranquil scene along the way |
| Villa la Angostura as seen from a hillside park |
| Typical walkway along the main street in Villa la Angostura |
| The use of thick wooden logs is a hallmark of architecture here |
| Quaint cottage of stone and logs |
| Lake Nahuel Huapi in Villa la Angostura -- the same lake that borders Bariloche |
| Lookout over the lake in Villa la Angostura |
| View during a two-mile walk between Villa la Angostura and the lake at Puerto Villa |
| Cute kitten outside a restaurant |
| On the road again -- heading towards the border crossing with Chile |
