Cerro Tronador

Our tour bus (with me the only non-Spanish speaking person)was soon out of Bariloche and at Nahuel Huapi Nacional Parque and on to dirt roads. These roads took nearly 2 hours to drive non-stop on the way home but we spent 6 hours on them going into the park, with all the various stops.

We were driving alongside one of the lakes with towering mountains the other side. Initially clouds hung round the tops of the mountains but then slipped down to waist bands and eventually disappered as the day turned to scorching heat. After many stops for photos we come into view of Cerro Tronador, a massive white peak, causing much excitement in the bus. The mountains had been good but this was something special.

We reach a viewing point that allows us to see the white glacier at the top of the mountain which drops bits down to form another glacier which must churn up the terrain as this is the black glacier.

The terminal morraine is some 400m away as the glacier is retreating and the lake is full of ice flows. One more stop to eat and to walk nearly to the foot of one of the waterfalls off the mountain. An excellent day in wonderful forest with those marvellous mountains.

I needed to eat so chose a nice looking restaurant to order down the menu. Chicken and potato salad with an empanada to start. (I have been chasing empanadas for some time). Whenever you order chicken they come and ask if you want breast or leg. They sent a more mature waitress to ascertain this from me, rather than the young pretty one that initially took my order. Perhaps they thought I would get too emotional over such a tricky decision! However if you don't know your pechuga from your pierna, the waitress will lean over the table and take a deep breath or step back and place her thigh across the corner of the table. Actually I made that last bit up if you hadn't already guessed. A pleasant evening spoilt only by all the foreigners there. I am getting defensive of my new country. One woman wanted a knife and made sawing motions instead of asking for a cuchillo. I am becoming a language snob and only have a vocabluary of 10 words!