Today January 18, 2008, we are leaving Bariloche. Yesterday we took a tour around the perimeter of Lago Nahuel Hapl, driving along the lake and taking a lift to the top of Cerro Otto (Mt. Otto). The view from the top of the mountain is breath taking. It truly is a wonderful area, much like our Lake Tahoe.

View from top of Cerro Otto

The four hour Spanish class is over today and I finally got the usage of ser and estar. For those who have studied Spanish you know what I’m talking about. I’m also getting a dose of irregular verbs, which at times is like a Chinese cross word puzzle to me.

Yesterday, in class, I received a remembrance of the hard times that Argentina had in 2001. Many banks closed, a large number of people could not find work. The exchange rate was seven pesos to one dollar. The fortunate people who saved their money in dollars could draw money out once a week, But you could draw out only three hundred pesos or the equivalent of forty two dollars a week. Try living on that in a country racked with inflation.

Since then, a new president turned the country around, and his wife has been re-elected after his turn which he just finished, to take his place, continuing the return to stability in Argentina. A woman president, humm, thinks it will ever happen in our country?

Another view from the top of Cerro Otto

On Wednesday, before class we took a taxi to Lao-Llao, a very expensive resort-hotel. You can only get to the grounds if you have a reservation. Our school director got us a reservation to get in and we had lunch there. Like all great hotels, the food was expensive and not that great.

Our guide told us at least some of the rooms rent for $3,000 US a night. The Bustillo family designed, built and owns the hotel. At first they built it all out of wood, but in a year, it burned down. They immediately re-built it with stone, and wood accents. The family also owned a vast amount of land and gave most of it to the Nation of Argentina to be placed in a national park. They kept a very small portion for the hotel.

The buildings are truly a work of art, stone and wood in a combination that blends the building to the surroundings. The construction is reminiscent of the buildings in Yosemite. I have included several pictures of the building and a view from the hotel. Between the ski season and the summer season, there are only has 2 “down” times from tourism, May, and November. (Remember it is summertime here now, as we are south of the Equator. It is light until 11 PM at night! Quite a change from Sacramento right about now??)

Picture of hallway inside the hotel