More Bariloche

As the week progressed in Bariloche, I begin my Spanish classes at La Montana Spanish School.  The previous continuing education Spanish course I took was a long time ago, and my brain was very challenged every day, but it felt good to have a bit of a routine again!

One day after school Chad and I took the bus out to Cerro Companero, a mountain just down the road.  You can either take the chairlift to the top, or you can hike to the top underneath the chairlift.  You can probably guess which one we chose...

I'll admit it - this is as far as I made it.  The trail is much steeper than it looks in this shot, and mostly loose gravel/volcanic ash.  Chad forged on, though.

Some shots of the beautiful 360 degree views from the top:

After dinner that night?  More beer, this time at a little cafe/brewpub down the street from my school called Manush.  It was recommended by one of my teachers, and the milk stout was actually pretty good.

Super cozy space.

Yummy appies that came for free before the main meal.

Trucha (trout) is a local specialty. 

Doesn't this pizza with arugula and cherry tomatoes look great?  Why, yes - it was!  Little did I know that this (as far as I can tell) would cause the worst case of food poisoning - by far - that I have ever had.  Thank you, arugula, for an illness that seemed to last a lifetime and caused me to miss a day of Spanish classes, spend two days in bed, and never want to eat again (luckily this feeling has now passed).

Bariloche, in particular a place called Jauja, is renowned for having the best ice cream in Argentina.  Chad checked it out and confirmed that it is indeed very tasty.

Doble Dulce de Leche on the top, Profundo (extremely dark chocolate) on the bottom.  Dulce de leche is a sweet spread (caramelized condensed milk) that the Argentines (and to some extent, the Chileans) use a LOT.  Including at breakfast.  A little sweet for my taste, but when in Rome...

A bit more wandering around Bariloche...

Winner: Best view from a gas station.

Mural of Mother Earth in the artisan square in downtown Bariloche.

[Note from Chad: Yes, I made Sarah include this photo, so blame me. :-) I just don't think I could take my babies & kids shopping here: "Hey kids, let's go see what Mr. Cock has in store for us."]

Bariloche is also known for its chocolate shops - the main street is lined with them.  Mamuschka and Abuela Goye are two of the most highly recommended.  They're all pretty touristy.

Mamuschka on a rare moment when tourists aren't fighting for the front of the line to get their chocolate.

Chad tries out the chocolate at Abuela Goye (a mannequin of whom you can see in the window).  Sadly, he was underwhelmed with his choice.

On Wednesday, we took a cooking class at my school where my teacher Gaby showed us how to make alfajores, a traditional Argentine cookie.  Think of two less-sweet sugar cookies (incorporating lots of corn starch) with dulce de leche in the middle, the edges rolled in coconut, with maybe a little chocolate on top.  Um, wow.  A special treat for me, since it was nut free so I could actually try it!  [Note from Chad: my ice cream cone earlier in the day was coincidentally the same flavours.  Highly recommended.]

Gaby shows Roman, the Russian student in my class, how to cut cookies.

Alfajores and coffee, together at last.

It is no surprise that Chad was a master at alfajores construction.

Enjoying the fruits of his labour.

And later that day, Chad partook in the tradition of mate (MA-tay) after "seasoning" his new mate (the cup) for a couple of days.

[Note from Chad: I took a "class" on mate-making at our hostel in Mendoza - there's a whole procedure & etiquette for making it.  I won't go into such detail here.  Basically, mate is like a bitter green tea made of yerba mate leaves.  You fill the mate (cup) with leaves, insert a metal straw with a strainer on the end (bombilla), then pour one sip at a time of hot (not boiling) water in, sipping it in one gulp through the straw.  When several people are drinking, only one person is the mate preparer, and he/she pours for everyone in turn, handing the mate out & taking it back after each sip.  You actually see some people walking down the street with mate, bombilla and water thermos the way we would hold a Starbucks cup.  Apparently the Uruguayans are crazy for mate, and huge numbers of people walk around with thermoses and mate "kits" - can't wait to see that.]

My newly-purchased equipment.  This yerba mate is non-traditional, as it has a bit of mint and other herbs mixed in.

The mate in action.  It does grow on you.

[Another note from Chad:  Argentine pronunciation is a bit different than in Mexico, Chile, etc.  An initial "Y" is pronounced as a soft J (jz) like in the French "Je".  So yerba mate is pronounced "JZER-ba MA-tay." Also, "LL" is pronounced like "sh."  So bombilla is pronounced "bohm-BEE-sha."]