We had just said goodbye to Juan and Isabel and Marcos and Susana in Corcovado to continue north. Our destination was Bariloche because that's the closest really big city we could get to to have the roof repaired. On the way there we visited Esquel, a very nice and pleasant little town in the mountains, which basically has everything except for a boat builder who can help us with our roof.
We stayed right on the shore of Laguna Zeta above Esquel. A fantastically beautiful mountain lake, which allowed us to experience a beautiful sunset. We got to know Helena and Christoph from Soest, who were also camping here. The two were on their way south with their MB Düdo and stayed here in Esquel for a few days. The next day we met Juan and Isabel again, who had something to do in Esquel. Fortunately, that gave us the opportunity for a farewell gift, because Juan and Isabel were currently dependent on either their horse or Christian's car on Lago Vintter, as their own had a dead battery. So the gift was clear and the joy about it was very great.
Already in the morning, we had decided for another night at the Laguna Zeta, bought the most necessary things in town and then drove back up to the other two to have dinner together. It was very tasty and cozy in her dudo. When we left the next morning, we gave the two of them our compressor so that they were a bit more flexible and could drive more gravel roads, because we don't really need it anymore. And further north there are also more gas stations to inflate the tires a bit.
We continued to El Bolsón, a town known for its good water and the opportunity to grow hops, ergo a town with many small breweries. Of course, that suited me very well and so we tasted a little more beer than usual. We had already learned to appreciate Argentina because of other things, but they can definitely brew beer too (apart from the honey beer). We found a beautiful spot right at a riverbank, where we also celebrated Jonathan's second birthday the next morning. Of course, we had baked a delicious birthday cake in the Omnia oven the night before 😉
After a bit of partying and unwrapping gifts, we packed up and headed to San Carlos de Bariloche. The plan was actually to find a boat builder right this Friday, but we arrived at exactly 6 o'clock in the evening and everyone was already closed. So we visited a small but fine beer tavern (El Rancho Beer), which we discovered on the street and had the Manush beer and burger restaurant recommended for the birthday dinner in the city center. It was incredibly delicious and the kids loved the fries too, what better way to celebrate a birthday?!
Then we looked for a place for the night and unfortunately only found something on the third attempt. The following Saturday we tried our luck in the city again, but in vain. In the afternoon we were invited to Alejandro in the neighboring town. He owns a T3 Westfalia and belongs to the small but fine T3 community in Argentina. It was like almost always with other T3 drivers - very pleasant and personable. He immediately tried to organize another option for us to have our roof repaired, which seemed to be really difficult. The next day we finally went climbing again, right next to our sleeping place, so to speak. Easy, well-drilled routes, ideal for us as a family. And Luisa and Jonathan also had fun. Lo and behold, the next morning Alejandro wrote us that we have a date on Monday evening with Eduardo from Mercury, THE boat repair shop in Bariloche.
Eduardo took a good look at our roof and the luggage tray and then said that it can be repaired quickly if it doesn't have to look smart. That was perfect for us, because there wasn't much that was chic about our bus anymore, it just had to work first. So we left the luggage tray directly with him and then came back the next day to pick it up and also have the roof repaired on the train. Before we actually had a lot planned, but we only made it by cable car up the Cerro Otto, Bariloche's local mountain with a wonderful view of the city, the lake and the Andes Cordillera. Unfortunately, there was too much wind and everything was extremely poorly organized, so we waited about 1 hour at the top and then took a bus down again. So we only had time for a short shower at Alejandro's and then quickly drove back to Eduardo's. It was excellent, we were able to use the luggage tray again for our big black bag and it stopped raining in on the roof. And the whole thing for about 120€.
Before leaving Bariloche, which by the way is also a very pretty city, we strolled through the city, bought new shoes for Jonathan, ate delicious Patagonian ice cream and then drove further north along Ruta 40 through Lanín National Park. Unfortunately, we drove into the night, but anyway it rained the whole time so it wasn't too tragic. At the end of our drive, we looked for a place near San Martín de los Andes, where we went for a little hike the next morning and then drove on to Junín de los Andes.
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