Another lovely day in Patagonia. We left Bariloche fairly early this morning and headed south, to the town of El Bolson. The scenery continues to be amazing with every turn on the road.
All our lunches come with either cats or dogs keeping us company
El Bolson is a small town, but very popular with young people. It was established in the 60s as a hippie community, and it still has very much of that type of vibe. Street musicians abound, and some are absolutely excellent, like the group in this photo, they were truly amazing. The town has become a beer-lover paradise. So many micro-breweries have set up that you can basically find a dozen on every street. Not surprisingly, the area’s main crop is hops.
At lunch, and at dinner, I was reminded again just how much impact my home city of Genova has had on Argentina. Over the past several days I have discovered so many habits and language that have their roots from there. In the early 1800s, when the first Genoese established themselves in the country, Genova was not yet part of Italy, but was its own republic, and the language spoken there was Genoese, which is now considered an Italian dialect, even though it is a language in its own right. Well, so many words of Genoese have found their way in the Argentinian diction, and the locals are completely unaware of it. You will recall that the soccer team from Buenos Aires, Boca Junior, is nicknamed the Xeneizes (Genoese), but also, pasta sauce is called Tuccu (Genoese for sauce), old sailors are called Baciccia, also a Genoese word. Focaccia is called Fugazza (the Genoese word for focaccia), and small focaccias are call Fugazzette (also Genoese). Menus are full of items with Genoese roots. For lunch, Diane had Pansoti with walnut sauce (a strictly Genoese dish), and for dinner we had Farinata, another Genoese specialty made with chickpea flour, and amazingly, it was not called Farinata, but Faina’, the name for Farinata in the Genoese language. I’m simply amazed.
In the afternoon we found an idyllic lake, by the name of Lago Puelo, with majestic views. We were surprised how crowded it was, for being in such a remote place. But the views were great, ahah.
Today we had a bit of problem with the passenger side window. We were not able to close it, so we stopped at a place that looked like the right stop to fix it, and they did. We decided not to open it again.
We are housed in a lovely cabin with two bedrooms, a living room, a huge bathroom, a porch, and a large kitchen, but we got back too late to take pictures, although I took this shot from the property, when leaving for the lake. It sits on the main Patagonian Highway, Rt. 40, which in Argentina, has the same significance as the fabled Rt. 66 in the USA.
Well, it’s late, and tomorrow is another early wake-up call, as we continue venturing southward. As the Genoese say, “Bunn-a noette”, Good Night.
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