Back into Argentina - no problems at the border :)

This is what could happen to you after 5 months together in a Pleasureway Van!! 😂😂😂

We left Chile Monday morning to head back into Argentina.  Checking out of Chile was of course no problem. Then we have to drive about 40kms to the Argentinian border!  I had read to make sure not to stay overnight in-between the to borders - even though there are a few nice lakes and areas to spend a night :)  Once we get to the border for Argentina there is a bit of a lineup but it goes quickly. We get stamped in for another 90 days and then go to get our TIP for Vanna, another easy step and then asked if we bring the van to the office to be inspected and the customs guy said no just drive thru. WHAT?? Not going to check anything in the van?? Wow, nice, not that we had anything to worry about other then a package of celery that I wasn't sure if they would take. We ate everything else we thought might be a problem, other then the meat we still have in the freezer.  So guess all is good again until we cross the border again into Chile further south.  We need to enter and exit Chile again to get to Ushuaia, Argentina, the last city on the continent :) 

The black line is the Chile/Argentina border. 

 The first village we visit in Argentina has lots of German influence also. Very quaint little village on the edge of the huge lake Nahuel Huapi which has a few islands in it that can be visited by boat. 

We find a cute place to have our coffee and cake break 😍 and then head towards the lake to walk around a bit.  Again to get into the national park it costs double what the locals pay - can't even get a senior's discount because a foreigner 😝. Oh well guess we'll head to the next city since we have to look for new shocks for Vanna.  Bariloche is only about 50kms away on the other side of the lake. 

Nice beach on this lake

The lake is so clear I get a shot of a fish swimming by :) 

House here are made of wood and stone

We find a grocery store once we arrive and fill the fridge again. Then drive around looking for a place to buy shocks.  Finally after asking at a few places we find the place. But since Dodge has never been brought here Dwayne would have to take the shock off and bring it in to match with what they have.  So we find a place to park for the night on one of the side streets. While I get supper ready Dwayne checks to see if he can remove one of the shocks.  Seems like it's going to be a lot more work then he wants to get into without the right tools.  Tomorrow we'll go back to the shock store and ask if they know a mechanic that can help us. 

The night is quiet on this side street. It's in a new area, so we were able to park in front of an empty lot, so shouldn't get any complaints from the neighbours :) 

As usual it's very windy in Argentina! All night the wind is blowing pretty good, so good that it blew out the pilot light of our fridge which I didn't realize until later in the morning! The meat was just starting to thaw so should all still be good. 

We go back to the shock store and I ask if they know a mechanic that can change our shocks, and they were very helpful by phoning up a place for us and telling them that we were coming. They explained the route to get there and then one of the young guys that works there volunteered to go with us and show us the way. As it turns out it was only about 3 blocks away but because of all the oneway streets it takes a few extra blocks to get there. 

The mechanic looks at the shocks, they then remove one and Dwayne and another mechanic walk back to the shock store to match it up and buy a couple of new ones.  This should solve the problem of the one tire "cupping".  Total cost for shocks and replacement $350C. 

Then it's off to see the rest of Bariloche.  We walk around to see the sites, leaving Vanna at the shop to be worked on.  It's lunchtime so we find a nice outdoor restaurant to have pizza at. A simple cheese, roasted pepper and salami one, with a few olives on top :)  Tasted pretty good!

Then it's time to walk back and pick up Vanna and drive around some more. We go to their main square which is called Centro Civico which is built to look like a Swiss village.  It's nice but there is alot of graffiti damage on the side of the buildings :( Why??? We then head down the main street which has MANY chocolate shops! Another thing this city is known for along with all the outdoor sports summer and winter.  Very busy place. 

Main shopping street with lots of sport stores AND chocolate stores :) 

Mini San Fransisco :) 

Entrance/exit to Centro Civico

Hotel on the right side with nice window boxes

We then drive over to take the gondola up Otto Mountain.  Not a long ride but we get a great view of the city and the lake and also enjoy the views from the rotating restaurant at the top. 

Here comes our little gondola 

We're not to far from home, only about 12,000kms 😉

View of Bariloche and the funicular - which only goes to a small parking lot for those that drive up

Picture of it during the winter season which is June to Sept 

Another lake in the background that we will be driving by tomorrow

At the revolving restaurant waiting for our coffees - with the lake in the background 

Now it's already 6 but also want to see the cathedral since it was closed for the afternoon. It has beautiful stained glass windows that should look good now in the late afternoon sun.  The church itself is not very old, built in 1946, but it has an old look to the exterior.  The interior is also very different, it's all concrete and rock. No wood on the ceiling at all.  Different that's for sure, I do like the rough look of the rocks. 

Rough interior but looks good 

Here you can see the rough rock in parts of the interior 

Now it's time to find a spot for the night.  I found one on Ioverlander that is suppose to have a nice view of the lake. We pass lots of different types of accommodations all with a great view of the lake

View from Vanna with the snow topped volcanos in Chile in the background