Près d'un an et demi après, en novembre 2011, l'événement se fait encore sentir. Dans l'autobus qui nous amenait à Bariloche, à l'approche de la ville, les gens mettaient des masques chirurgicaux; nous ne savions pas encore que la poussière que l'on voyait était de la cendre volcanique et nous étions bien confusEs par le comportement des gens.
En ville on peut marcher sur ce qui semble des pouces de sable, qui sont en fait de la cendre volcanique. Sur le bord de la plage, les apparentes roches sont en fait des cendres volcaniques pétrifiées. Sans un jour de pluie et avec du vent, on ne voit pas l'autre rive du lac, la cendre entre dans les orifices. C'est comme manger du sable. Respirer et porter des verres de contact sont difficiles. Oubliez la vue splendide du haut des montagnes.
Par contre durant les jours suivants la pluie, la ville reprend son cachet naturel. MA-GNI-FIQUE! Bariloche est une ville à l'influence architecturale helvétique très forte, une ville de lac, de montagnes, une ville très verte. Elle offre aussi à proximité une myriade d'activités de plein air gratuites. Sentiers de trekking, hiking, camping, ascension de collines.
Nous n'avons malheureusement pas pu en profiter autant que nous le souhaitions, rhume et cendres obligent.
Mais parmi les activités accomplies: visiter Las cavernas del viejo volcano. Où j'ai courageusement fait face à une de mes plus grandes peurs: les endroit étriqués. J'ai effectivement rampé dans un tunnel étroit pendant un interminable 5 mètres afin d'accéder à une deuxième salle dans la caverne. Vive moi! Honnêtement ça valait la peine afin de découvrir la lagune intérieure. J'aurais pu me passer des blagues du guide propos de la chute de la caverne, des serpents et des ponts brisés. Je suppose que certaines personnes ne comprennent pas le concept de phobie.
Malgré la cendre, Bariloche vaut le détour.
Bienvenido a Bariloche, the sign reads, un rincón de Suiza en Argentina.
Ok, I added that second part myself, but after less than a minute here, you realize that that's what the sign should say.
The town of wooden chalets, St-Bernards, cheese fondue, and chocolate. Heck, they even have a part of town called Colonia Suiza.
WARNINGS
Bariloche is half the city it once was. On rainy days, or days immediately following rainy days, this is indeed the Bariloche of legend. On other days, it's the Bariloche post-eruption of Puyehue.
¿What does that mean?
It means that while it may look like there is sand all over the roads and beaches and parques, it's really just ash.
It means that on bad days, that beautiful view of lake Nahuel Huapi and the Andes beyond it that you have from your hotel room, you'll be lucky if you can even see the lake through the fog of volcanic ash.
It means that you'll see people walking around town with masks over their faces, masks which will prevent the volcanic ash in the air from getting into their mouths and noses, but not their eyes. And volcanic ash in the eyes burns; expect to do a lot of rubbing.
It means you'll see signs explaining what to do if volcanic ash comes into contact with your skin (which it does every five minutes or so).
Mostly it means that, if you can, you should wait before visiting Bariloche, because these days, this just isn't the Bariloche of legend.
WHERE TO STAY
On Hostel road. Seriously, Salta, which starts two blocks from the centre of town, is where all the hostels are located (along with a well-priced laundromat). The cheapest option in town was Hostel Punto Sur, which is likely as good as any of them, offering everything you'd expect from a hostel, including a view of the lake and the Andes, ash permitting.
WHAT TO EAT
Not the chocolate, or at least, no more than if you were in New Jersey, Bristol, Dakar, or Siem Reap, because the chocolate here is no more special than it is there. Even if it is more hyped here.
Instead, save your money, and, on a Wednesday or Sunday, catch the 10 down to Colonia Suiza for a pricey, for Argentina, meal at Los Curantos de Victor Goye. Your lunch will have been cooked the traditional Mapuche way, underground overnight, and will be one of your best meals in all of Argentina. And eight hours later, when you are still too full to eat supper, it won't even seem particularly expensive.
HOW TO GET AROUND
The bus service in Bariloche is both excellent and frustrating. It's excellent because odds are, no matter the activity, you should be able to find a bus to bring you there.
However, note that the prices for the bus, without the rechargeable card, are a little pricey by Argentino standards. Cheap by Montréal standards, but pricey for here.
Also, and this is critical, realize that there are two bus companies. They don't go to the same places and they don't accept each others tickets. Don't find that out the hard way.
WHAT TO DO
Museo de la Patagonia. Let's start with what not to do. All the guide books will tell you to do it. Except this one. This one says that you'll get the same information as in every other history museum you can find in Argentina or Chile, where you'll pay less and the information will be less wall of text, and more visual.
In their favour though it must be said that their collection of weapons used to commit genocide on the native population during the conquiesta del desierto is quite extensive. They have lots of those. Many belonging to famous murderers, oops, I mean military heroes.
Trek. Here you'll have lots of options, from expert week long climbs up mountains, to tough multi-day treks around the local cerros, to a nice walk through the parque of Llao Llao. For this activity it is essential to pick a day where the ash content in the air is low. No sense getting to a lookout point only to end up having to use your imagination.
Las Cavernas del Viejo Volcán. A series of three caverns, formed naturally when undersea volcanoes erupted and the hot lava formed a bubble upon contact with the ocean, used by the Mapuche. Inside two of the caves, the shallow ones, you'll find remnants of ancient Mapuche art, as well as, unfortunately, more modern examples, like "Juan 1973". These are interesting, but not nearly as interesting as the deeper cavern which leads to an underground lake.
Having never done any spelunking, I wasn't sure what to expect, but helmet on head I squeezed through the tight five metre tunnel into the dark and realized that I need to do more of this. If you've ever wondered if you would enjoy spelunking, this is one of the safest environments you'll ever have to test it out. Only a hundred and twenty metres deep before you hit the lake, you'll know how you feel about the activity by whether or not you wish you were equipped to continue into the next bubble, only reachable by swimming across the icy lake and through the tunnel that connects to the next bubble.
As with the outdoor activities, you'll want to pick a day clear of ash (in the air, there is no such thing as a day clear of ash on the ground) if you hope to take advantage of the view as you make your way up the mountain to the caves.
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