FEBRUARY 27, 2014 - THURSDAY
BOTTOM LINE:
Kayaking on Lake Gutierrez
Drive to Lake Nahuel Huapi for lunch
NOTEWORTHY:
It was such a beautiful day that we didn't take any pictures of our outing!
BACK STORY:
Today we left the resort around 9:30 to drive to Lake Gutierrez where we were to join up with Pablo for a kayak ride on the lake. When were arrived we were greeted by "Chris" who informed us that Pablo was running a little late. He was more than happy to get us set up and let us know that we would be joining a group and would paddle with Natalia.
It turned out that Chris was an attorney. His partner was Natalia and they both had been ski instructors at Kirkwood and Heavenly in Lake Tahoe. During the summers in Bariloche they were water excursion guides and in the winter months taught skiing up at Cathedral (where we were staying) which is the largest ski resort in South America. The two of them were very familiar with the Sacramento area.
Chris wanted to know if when we were in Montevideo, Uruguay we might have time to took up with his parents (who live there) and have a tour of the Colonial Sacramento district. Apparently they love giving tours and welcoming visitors...plus they speak English. We hope to make that happen. Very thoughtful!
Pablo showed up and after getting dressed in our spray skirts and life jackets we climbed into our kayaks. Bruce and I were in a double and immediately started asking where the foot pegs were? They answered that they had removed them because no one really liked them! Hmmm? We shoved off and instantly could feel the instability of the kayak. We tried pressing our knees against the inside of the kayak, digging our heels into the kayak bottom...anything to set our body weight low and balance ourselves in the craft. Nothing worked. We were simply going to have to be very careful NOT to make any quick moves that might cause us to tip over. The water was cold and a brisk morning dip was not in the game plan!
Natalia paddled along side of us the entire way giving us great commentary about the area, Argentina and nature. She was great! It was a tough paddled against the wind with no rudder. The rudders had been removed as well. Our kayak kept "listing" to the left which took extra effort to correct.
The group paddled to a beach for morning tea or mate' before heading back and returning at 1pm. Great time with great people!
Heading back to the resort we decided to drive down to Lake Nahuel Huapi (where Bariloche sits) and find a place to grab lunch. We found a great place Playa Casa. We sat out on the deck and shared some salad and steak.($25 with drinks) We then explored a little of the water front before finding a chocolate/helabo artisanal...that would be "ice cream." This time I went in. It was a very nice store with friendly employees eager for us to sample. I ordered a child's cone...the smaller the better for me. Bruce sampled three flavors in a cup.
When we went to pay, Luciano (the 33 yr old owner) stepped up and asked where we were from? We answered, "San Francisco," to which he said, "Oh Alcatraz! I love Alcatraz history! I love San Francisco. I love music from the sixties!" He was soooo cute in his enthusiasm and very sincere about music performers affect on him. We paid and then he brought out samples to keep us there longer to talk more. Ha! Fun place even without samples! #Dolcerama
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