Argentina has a very multicultural population, including boatloads of European descendants. There are Germans, Italians, Portuguese, Welsh, and even Swiss. Near Bariloche is a little Swiss style village called Colonia Suissa. Not only is it reputed to be a nice little day trip, it has a brewery! With me on the mend from my food poisoning, we decided I was up for joining Chad for a bus ride to check this place out.
But first, our morning wake up view:
Followed by another visit to the bus stop:
On this trip, it was abundantly clear that spring has sprung in Patagonia. It is a bit of a weird (yet awesome) feeling to go from a pleasant Vancouver fall (it started raining the day we left - lucky us!) to a pleasant South American spring. We are particularly digging that the days are getting longer here all the time.
Our first stop, Berlina brewery, is a bit reminiscent of Crannog Brewing in Sorrento, BC. A nice little house tucked away in the woods with farm animals in the yard, asado on the grill, and a friendly brewmaster eager to show us around. We were actually lucky because the night before Chad had met someone at another brewery who called ahead and told them we would be coming; without this phone call we would have been shut out with the rest of the general public, since they are closed Saturdays.
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| Bruno the brewmaster who trained in Berlin. |
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| A? Or B? |
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| I am holding this beer like I am going to drink it. The reality is that I took one sip and my body immediately rebelled. Not quite over the food poisoning yet... |
Berlina visit complete, we headed into Colonia Suissa. It is a loose collection of buildings along a dirt road that probably sees a lot of tourists in the summer based on the size of its mostly empty artisan market. Our walk into town was a feast of springtime views.
The beach at the lake nearby is virtually deserted at this time of year.
In the village itself...
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| Hobbit house? Nope, just another artisan market. |
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| A Swiss-style Salon de Te where we stopped for Chad to have lunch and for me to have herbal tea and a cracker. |
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| Trucha, the local specialty. The verdict? Delicious! |
Colonia Suissa is not particularly exciting, but the brewery and the scenery make it worth the hour long bus ride there and back. We returned to Bariloche for the afternoon, where I captured an obligatory Saint-Bernard-outside-civic-centre shot.
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| If you want to get any closer to the dog - or have your picture taken with it - you're obliged to pay for it. So this is as close as we get! |
That evening we hopped on the bus again to visit two more brewpubs - the first called Blest, and the second Berlina's pub. This was a touch torturous for me as I drank Sprite and water while Chad tried out the beer (the peanuts on the table didn't help, either). That said, it's always fun to check out new places and see what the locals get up to on a Saturday night, and both pubs were cool places to spend an evening.
First up, Blest:
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| Just another brew pub in the Andes. |
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| We should have brought some BC beer paraphernalia for them to hang on the wall! |
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| No, I'd really rather be drinking this Sprite. Really. |
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| Beer samples plus a cider. |
Next up, and even better, Berlina:
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| Salud! |
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| It is fair to say that their portions are generous. |
That concludes our week in Bariloche. Craft beer, mountains, friendly people, and a super comfortable town make for a winning combination. Despite me getting sick, we had a fantastic time and highly recommend a visit to anyone heading for this part of the world!
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