Bariloche is a very busy, touristic town, near the Chilean border in Southwestern Argentina. We arrived via a domestic flight (Latam Airways), about 1,600 km (1,000 miles) WSW of Buenos Aires. Seemed like almost the entire plane were Argentine families on summer vacation. We were greeted at the airport and had a 1/2 day area tour. The town is a tourist mecca, way too crowded for us. The area was settled by immigrants from Germany, Switzerland, and Eastern Europe during the great immigration, same as in the US. Much of the architecture and cuisine is influenced by this. You could imagine that you were in Switzerland or Austria with all of the A-frames and half-timbered houses, schnitzel and fondue on the menus.
Our second day there we fished the outlet river, Rio Limay, from the massive lake Nahuel Huapi, gin clear water fishing for brown, brook and rainbow trout. Caught a few and raised many, driftboating. Our guide Marcos cooked up an excellent steak and sauteed vegetables shore lunch, featuring Argentinian Cabernet and beer of course. Almost universally, the guides on our trip were excellent, interested in the flora, fauna, history and culture of the region. Many carried excellent photography gear and took pics of interesting fauna, flora and sights. Most were excellent English speakers as well.
Our third day in Bariloche had us kayaking another nearby lake (we were in the Lake District of Argentina), Lago Mascardi. Had a great guide Toto, who led and instructed us and provided another great shore lunch.
