A Hilly Surprise
Another day which was about to be full of surprises, but get used to it because this is going to be my Argentina experience. Let’s begin!
I woke up in the morning with a plan that I had made yesterday, per the recommendations of Tomi. Today’s excursion - Circuito Chico. This was a famous loop, about 27 km long, which was along a peninsula surrounded and containing lakes.
I started with the breakfast served at the hostel, and was relieved to find out that they prepared 2 fresh eggs for each person every morning. Was certainly looking forward to consume some eggs for the next few days, considering I had been on a carb exclusive breakfast every morning for the past week or so.
I had a quick with Tomi again to go over today’s plan, and to figure out how I can hike around the road. Most people do this route by bike, but I had a higher desire to walk around, and he helped me plan out a route. He did seem to tell me something about the road in Spanish, but as usual, I did not really understand it. I was to take the bus to a stop along the circuit from which I could begin my hike.
Randomly on the bus, I had a change of heart and decided to opt for the biking option, deciding that I was not in a mood to walk 20+ km. I got off at the beginning of the loop, where there was a conveniently located bike shop where I rented a bike.
At the bike shop, I had the option of a regular mountain bike or a electric bike, and I went for the regular bike. Everyone at the shop seemed to have pre-reserved, so I was happy to be able to get a bike with no reservation. When the guy was explaining the route, he mentioned that it was a hilly ride, with alternating steady uphills and downhills. I was already happy to have chosen to take a bike instead of walking, but was also curious to see whether people were going for the regular or the electric bikes. I did not want to make a decision which I would regret. Oh, I also almost forgot to mention that things worked out funny, where without prior planning, I arrived at the bike shop right as it was opening. Had I taken an earlier bus, I would have been waiting for a while early in the morning.
I was soon on my way on the track, which was definitely as they had warned us at the bike shop. I was also very happy to have gone for the bike, as the whole route would turn out to be paved road, not really what I would want to hike through. I met some people along my ride but that’s about it really. The first hill was really hard, as it was mentioned to everyone, so I ended up walking. From then on, I was able to go through the whole 27 km of the circuits, with some obvious difficulties on the uphills. Clearly, biking uphill is much different than climbing during my spinning, and the pedalling was harder and the progress slower. I
It was all worth it in the end though, since I was really met with beautiful views throughout the ride, which almost acted like a mental detox. The multi-coloured lakes, greenery, breeze, and overall scenery was just very relieving.
I had a stop for a quick lunch, which consisted of two cereal bars I picked up in the morning, along with Mate, on the shore of the Lago Nahuel Huapi near the Hotel Llao Llao. The views here were as beautiful as I had been told by everyone who had been.
Following my quick stop, I kept going, this time headed for the bike shop to return my bike. The last hundred meters were probably the hardest. It was literally an uphill battle, fighting the burning legs and slow movement, but seeing the finish line really made me feel like I was accomplishing something - and I was! 27 km of uphill and downhill biking is not the easiest!
So I returned the bike and grabbed to the bus back into town, arriving at a point where I was starving. Before even stopping by the hostel, I decided to grab a quick lunch, which in this case was an avocado-chicken salad. It honestly left a lot to be desired, as it did not have too much seasoning on it and the chicken was a little on the dry side.
I headed back to the hostel where I asked Tomi to extend my stay until the end of the week, opting to scrap the idea for a road trip along the 7 lakes route. I asked him for some food recommendations around the town, and he told me to check out his favourite ice cream shop and flavour - Jauja and the Mousse del Piltri ice cream flavour. It was an interesting flavour - a blend of dulce de leche and I am not sure what else, but was definitely unique and new.
After the ice cream, I walked again around the town, killing time until it was dinner time and restaurants would open. I discovered a cool street with lots of graffiti and art, more than I had been encountering around Argentina, and then decided to go for a vegetarian dinner at Chimi Deli which had been recommended to me.
Based on the amount of red meat I had been consuming, I figured it was a good idea to have a break from it for a day, so I opted for a vegetarian lasagna along with a homemade ginger ale. The whole meal was nice, but definitely nothing memorable like the meat dishes had been so far. But hey, sometimes health should be taken first.
After dinner, I went out to Mamuschka, the other famous chocolaterie from the area, for a hot chocolate. I waned to get a small pastry or cake with it but they did not have any, so I just went for the cocoa. It was very nicely done, and was very rich and not overly sweet - which was a sweet surprise for me.
I warmed up with it and then headed back to the hostel, as the tiredness had started to come down on me by this point.
What are your overall thoughts for today? Are you a fan of tough bike rides? How do you like your hot chocolate? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below, but until then, stay positive!
