After being confined to excursions by boat and bus, we decided it was time for a rental car. Actually, first we tried to find a laundromat, but when the first one we found didnīt open until 4pm, we went to rent a car, me with Michaela in a backpack and Margarita pushing our clothes in the stroller. We looked and felt pathetic.
Margarita had already scoped out a rental car place (A-Open) earlier in the week and we returned to the office only to find it closed. It turns out that the salesman was getting a car for a couple who beat us there. When we pondered how far weīd be driving in order to decide whether we wanted the 200km/day rate or the 400km/day rate, the salesman told us that we could use whichever rate was better when we returned the car. Can you imagine a rental car company in the US doing that? OK, so they usually donīt have mileage limits, but we thought it was nice, and we later noted how pleasant the service has been in Argentina. People seem to go the extra mile here to make things better. Itīs also been a great place to travel with a child. Waiters have played with Michaela and store clerks have entertained her as they walk back and forth. The rental car company even had a child seat they would let us use at no extra charge. While itīs not as nice as ours, it beats the one we brought. And finally, when the salesman brought us the rental car, it was a better one that we had discussed - a four door instead of two. We had rented the car with just my California driverīs license and a credit card. It was a Fiat with a 1.3 liter engine and a manual tranmission. The salesman told us that all his cars are manuals. Unfortunately, he was not very skilled at car seat installation as we quickly found out. Just as we made the first gentle corner, we heard Michaela complaining and found that she was sideways in the car seat as the belt retaining the seat was loose. We quickly righted her and re-installed the car seat securely.
After loading our stuff from the hotel, we headed off to take the scenic Siete Lagos (Seven Lakes) route from Bariloche to San Martin de los Andes. The road out of Bariloche was in great condition and I found myself doing about 100km/h on the route marked for 60. The speed limits on some roads seem insanely slow - and they are treated by the locals as such. I tried doing the speed limit even in Bariloche and quickly found myself holding up traffic. Out on the open road, not even the buses pay attention to the speed limit.
We stopped in Villa La Angostura briefly, including a trip to the tourist office. It had the feeling of a mountain resort town - it reminded me of South Lake Tahoe.
After a while, the nice paved road turned into a relatively well-groomed dirt road with not much traffic. The views, as expected were awesome, with deep blue lakes interspersed with fall colors of changing trees, snow-capped hills, and blue skies with puffy-white clouds. We stopped a couple of times to take in the sights and let Michaela crawl around. Once, we encountered a couple of the same birds we saw at the Black Glacier, which I still donīt know the name of.
Margarita wanted to take a little side trip to Villa Traful, so off we went on the somewhat less well-groomed road. We stopped for lunch at a parilla just before we got to Villa Traful and we are so glad we did. When we exited the car, we were greeted by the ownerīs dog, which thrilled Michaela. Grazing in the landscaped area in front of the restaurant were two horses. The meat at the parilla was sooooo good. I had ribs and chorizo while Margarita had a steak. We also ordered mashed potatoes, thinking that Michaela would eat them, but she didnīt. Everything, even the mashed potatoes, was scrumptious. We made a mental note to ourselves to stop ordering grilled meats in restaurants and only get them at parillas. Michaela feasted on bread - and Margarita and I both fretted about how to get her to eat more food. The owner and his wife were both wonderful with Michaela as she crawled around on the floor near the kitchen.
We left the restaurant to drive around Villa Traful, which wasnīt much to see, really. It seemed like a nice place, right on a lake, but nothing more. We headed back on the road. At one point, we encountered cows on the road, slowed down and pointed them out to Michaela. However, when we saw three cows lying down along the road, Margarita suggested that I stop and get Michaela out. We stopped the car and I crossed the road so as to not upset the cows. I set Michaela down and she immediately set off crawling across the dirt road towards the cows. Before you worry too much about traffic, you have to understand that 1) there was very little traffic, 2) we had a clear view for quite a good distance in both directions, and 3) we could hear cars coming for a long time. First two cows got up and started to move away from Michaela. She briefly gave chase and then turned her attention to the sole cow that had remained lying down. When Michaela got within just a few feet, the cow got up and when Michaela squealed with joy (or frustration), the cow hastened its movement away from Michaela.
Back in the car, the rest of the drive was relatively uneventful. As we approached San Martin de los Andes, we noted an increasing number of people hiking along the road that bordered the lake. Like Bariloche, San Martin de los Andes has a large number of one-way streets and uncontrolled intersections. We found a place to park in downtown and set about finding a hotel. Margarita and I ended up arguing about something - I forget what now, but it likely had to do with some combination of hotels, money, and planning (my lack thereof). After investigating a hosteria (too expensive for the experience) a much nice hotel (too expensive), we ended up at a 105-peso hotel (Le Village) largely based on the fact that Margarita liked it common area downstairs (which was very very nice). Up to that point, I donīt think we had paid more than 70 pesos for a room. The room turned out to be nicer than she had said as she had missed the balcony and the refrigerator. It was right across from the local church and close to a plaza.
We had a non-descript meal at a restaurant after finding a laundromat where we would finally be able to clean our clothes the next morning.
Posted by mike at May 14, 2003 05:36 PM"...the salesman told us that we could use whichever rate was better when we returned the car. Can you imagine a rental car company in the US doing that?"
I wish that I had written things down when I traveled!
Again, you reminded me of something: I was staying at the Hotel Crillon, in Buenos Aires, where they served a buffet lunch in a large room overlooking the Plaza San Martín. It was a lavish spread, for $12 per person (the peso and the dollar were equal then).
After I ate, I asked for my check, and realized that they had made a mistake, charging me only $6. When I took the check to the cashier, I explained that there was an error on the check, but she said to me, "No, seņor, el mozo me dijo que usted comió poco."
My reaction was to wonder if there was anyplace in the United States where they might give you a break on the price of a meal because you didn't eat much!
It's a pleasure to read about your exploits.