A Week with Paula

Paula and Trish on Lago Nahuel Huapi

Somewhere in the recesses of my mind I knew the lakes district of Argentina would be a place that Paula and I would love. So when my guide-book reading started to include lake district chapters, and I could project a rough time frame for when we’d be there, I fired off an email.

It went something like this: Paul, (I always call her Paul) I know it’s a long way to come and I know you have additional travel plans for after the first of the year but we’ll be in the lakes district in early December and maybe you would want to think about meeting us. I understand if it’s not in the cards but I thought I’d throw it out there.

Her reply was swift. Of course there was her work schedule to consider…..and her other travel plans…..and it would be hard to be away just a couple of weeks before Christmas…..but….she was already looking into flights!

A whole pile of frequent flyer miles later her flights were confirmed and Mike and I pressed south to meet her in Bariloche.


Once we knew she was coming we began a wish-list that included (of course) car parts but also a new camera (the zoom on mine died several countries ago), peanut butter (desperately absent in Argentina), coffee (also absent in all but the big cities), and chiles in adobo sauce (a favorite ingredient that is unknown here).

Paula could write a very funny story about travelling with the car parts, especially the self-adjusting push-rod tubes that are aluminum tubes and therefore could have been construed to be a terrorist tool. Looking nothing like a terrorist but still worried about being delayed for questioning she nervously made her way through customs in Buenos Aires and caught her onward flight to Bariloche.

The plan was for Paula to stay in small inns and/or B&Bs while Mike, Chettie and I camped nearby. That plan quickly morphed into Paula and me staying in hotels and…..you know.

But then the four days before her arrival were absolutely spectacular: sunny, warm, and oh, so picturesque. Mike and I camped alongside lakes and rivers and couldn’t believe how beautiful it was. I began to send emails asking if Paula would consider camping with us. I wanted her to get the full experience of our trip. She hemmed and then hawed but graciously said yes, if there was room and if it wasn’t too cold she was game.


Meanwhile we scouted out a small lakeside hosteria for her first night. We met her at the airport and worked our way to the Hosteria Lago Gutierrez where she and I stayed and sent Mike and Chettie to the campground in the national park on the other side of the lake.

First of all it was hard to believe we were together and in a place so far from either of our homes. And then she began to unpack her suitcase and in addition to the camera, aluminum tubes and other requested car parts, she brought lots of great booty. Books! Music (from Phil)! Crossword Puzzles! Chapstick! I know, it doesn’t sound like much, but it felt like the best Christmas ever. Yes, the peanut butter and coffee made the trip too; the adobo chiles got nixed in favor of the aluminum tubes. (During one email exchange in which she said the peanut butter and coffee were out as they didn’t fit with all the car parts and fleece she was bringing I bribed her saying I’d give her a lilac colored Mountain Hardware fleece I had picked up in Chile but haven’t really been wearing.)

Okay. She’s here. We began to make plans. Hiking was our primary focus. The whole lakes district is rife with trails of varying character and we sketched out our itinerary. We wanted to sample different areas without spending all of our time driving from town to town.

Ever patient Mike went along with all our plans. He shuttled us to this trailhead and picked us up at that trailhead. He waited while we hiked. He waited while we hiked to lakes. He waited while we hiked to miradors. He waited while we hiked to cascadas. He waited while we hiked to more miradors. He waited while we hiked to a refugio had lunch and hiked back down.

And the whole time we hiked we chattered away about everything from childhood memories to future plans. We laughed about silly things we did as kids and shared the sorrow of no longer having Ma and Dad around. We gabbed about what our friends (who are by now well known by each other) are up to. We talked about Phil and John, Thomas and Heather, Liam, Doug and all the other characters in our lives.

As the days went on the weather deteriorated. Paula, a self-admitted weather jinx, wasn’t about to let that bother her. Her Cape Cod vacations have taught her you can’t let bad weather dampen your spirits and it did let her off the hook for camping in the van.  

Evenings, we’d all go out to dinner. Afterwards, bellies full, Paula and I would head off to our warm, cozy hotel room and Mike and Chettie would head off to their camping spot. Somehow, I felt bad for Mike camping in the rain and cold, but I shouldn't have because he and I have spent many a cold night in the van and it's pretty cozy in its own way.....but those down comforters sure were nice.....

Those who know Paula and I know that some of our visits have been clouded by fighting. Hard to explain how it happens but it does and when it does it leaves both of us sad that our precious time together has been marred by strife.

This visit was different. It was one of the best visits we’ve ever had. We didn’t fight and we spent every minute enjoying being together.

Paula on Lago Gutierrez

Parque National Los Arrayanes

Warming up with some hot chocolate after a chilly hike in NP Los Arrayanes

Trish, Mike and Chettie on Nahuel Huapi at the Hotel La Angostura

Paula on Lago Traful

Springtime in the Andes - Villa Traful

Super windy mirador - Lago Traful

Lago Traful

At the cozy Marinas Puerto Traful

Refugio Cajon del Azul - Outside of El Bolson

Sheer relief after the first of 6 obstacles

Crossing one of two suspension bridges the book describes as "hairy". How did I know Paula didn't like heights??

Feigned terror at the thought of crossing the bridges taken after the crossing was completed

Paula on Lago Nahuel Huapi

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