Nov. 23, Las Grutas to Villa La Angostura
We left early, and after the same green, desert brush for a couple of hours, we climbed uphill among yellow wildflowers lining the road and lots of sand. Then, quite quickly, we came upon multiple red hills in the distance a first and then closer—the Cerros Colorados, to our northwest and then we passed a few small lakes and lots of grasslands and desert flora, then up onto another mesa, the Meseta de Colitoro and then down into several small towns, and more salt flats amidst the desert. Plus, we had another several hours of high desert until we came into the town of Ingeniero Jacobacci, another old rail town, where we filled up on gas and a sandwich.
Then it was up and down and in between green desert and grass-covered, red rock escarpment, and more sheared sheep in addition to cattle and horses. For the rest of the way we had various detours onto dirt roads and then back again to asphalt along Route 23, which is in the middle of a very long and very complicated effort to pave the rest of the road into Bariloche. Finally, with 2 hours to go, we had our first glimpse of the snow-covered mountains of the Lake District to the west ahead as we descended the mesa.
We have 2 nights in Villa La Angostura. It is considerably larger and much more of a resort town than the last time we were here, 10 years ago. One of the staff said that during the pandemic it really exploded. With the goal being to avoid as many tourists as possible, and given that our hotel room looks right out on Nahuel Huapi Lake, we decided to forgo some sort of excursion (of which there are many, and some we have done on past visits), and instead take a short walk and relax on our extra day. So, we slept late and set off down the path lining Route 40 to the turn-off to Rio Correntoso, which connects Lake Correntoso with the large, sprawling Nahuel Huapi Lake. Apparently, it is the shortest river in the world, as you can see from the map. As in all of the Bariloche region, the views are spectacular, and in particular, at this time of year, the glorious, yellow Calefate flowers (the same we saw all over Chile and southern Patagonia)are everywhere in full bloom!
THE PHOTO/VIDEO LINK OF THE LAS GRUTAS toVILLA LA ANGOSTURA LEG IS HERE:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/WDLDqPR3gadvVbF3A
El Faro Botique Hotel and Spa: : Rated highly by all accounts, constructed into the hill that rises up from Lake Haupi, the main selling point is the view, which is nothing short of amazing. However, in addition, the room was spacious and very comfortable, the bathroom included a jacuzzi overlooking the lake, the food was excellent and the staff fabulous.
