The Seven Lakes and The Amphitheatre

After the insect escapades of the previous days we were quite happy to wake up to a rather windy but still clear morning in Bariloche. My head was still a bit dizzy from the copious amounts of internal insect repellent aka Malbec consumed the day before but the fresh air, the sunshine and the prospect of a great day trip made me quickly forget about the headache.

We were about to discover the route of the Seven Lakes, drive up to San Martin de los Andes and then back t Bariloche. This road, according to all the guidebooks we read about Argentina is one of the the most beautiful things you will ever see in Argentina and / or Patagonia as a whole. I always give respect where respect is due, the lakes were alright but they could not compare in beauty or adventure with the road we took back to Bariloche. A road that wasn’t mentioned anywhere. A road we found by complete accident. How did we get there?

The Christmas Taliban

Surprised by the title? Well so were we by the little beasts that were set out to suck our precious European blood (in fact ANY blood that came into proximity) in the Andean forests of Patagonia at Christmas. We were vastly outnumbered but we won. Not because we beat them, but because we had a reliable little steel horse (our luxury Chevrolet Corsa) we could jump into and escape.

We were warned. We can’t say we were not. But still. Nothing can prepare you and we were not prepared either. Tabanos are horse flies (the type that like to suck your blood) and when I say horse, I mean it. The size of the beasts is around 1.5 inches (4 centimetres). That is big for an insect. And when they circle around your head and your whole body by the dozen, this is an understatement. Circling would be nice, but they actually want to land and land they do, dear padawans. They also have stingers that go through your clothes. Now I think everyone will understand the title as I decided to call tabanos Los Talibanos. These beasts are relentless terrorists.