Christmas drive to El Bolson

Christmas morning means a little more that yoghurt and fruit so it's time for some eggs, ham and cheese before heading down the road to El Bolson. We travelled this route coming into Bariloche, we new immediately we needed to do this route again stopping to capture the beauty of the road.

Heading out of town the road soon turns into a mixture of purple, yellow, pick and white flowers along the roadside with towering cliffs behind. The lupines are a mixture of all colours with daisies and a yellow "honeysuckle" thrown in. Stopping constantly to capture the beauty along side flowing streams. The mountains also tower the road making this a memorable drive.

El Bolson is 126k south, when we reach the town it is clear that like everywhere else everything is closed on Christmas day. I would love a coffee but doesn't look like that will happen. Finally we find a service with a restaurant open. I wish I didn’t the coffee was awful. We even found our own real Christmas tree which will get decorated with whatever baubles we find in the unit.

Once home it is time to get ready for Christmas dinner. I do the peeling while Mel does the cooking. We have no idea how to start the gas oven so after 3 attempts to get assistance form the front desk I finally go face to face to get help. It takes the receptionist 30 seconds to show us when he finally decides to come over. Unfortunately on opening the chicken we find it smells and the only option is to toss it. Not sure if it was bad when we bought it or we left the fridge open but either way it is going to be a basically vegetarian dinner.

Matt, from our Antarctica adventure, joins us for dinner. The meal is scrumptious and more than enough. Mel managed a chick pea and corn salad, roast veggies, boiled eggs, cheese and ham. The 2 bottles of bubbles and 4 wine go down a treat - although I’m sure I’ll feel it tomorrow.Read more