Bariloche is to Aspen as Harry Connick Jr. is to John Tesh

I've never been to Aspen and I don't think I've ever come across a John tesh CD at Amoeba (or more recently iTunes), but in my imagination, in the hypothetical world I live in, these are the perfect comparisons (not to mention Lonely Planet told me so).

Without further tainting the name of the saintly John Tesh, I'd like to present to you Bariloche, Argentina: Land of the lakes and Home of the jurassic dog, milk chocolate, natural beauty, 80's souvenirs, the aerosilla and the greatest choripan on earth.

Us. Bariloche. Mountains. Pretty.

St. Bernards are as much a part of the winter culture as they are a part of the tourist culture in Bariloche. Locals bring their dogs as well as their cameras to the city center and for a nominal fee you can become the proud owner of a picture of you and the monstrosity that is St. Bernards. That is, unless you are Beth, who just sneaks photos of the dogs when their owners are distracted. This particular giant lives at the campground we stayed at, he and his 200 or so pounds are only 8 months old.

Both of these pictures are of Lago Guttierrez about 15 kilometers outside of Bariloche and deserted at this time of year. We camped a few kilometers away and took a ¨hike¨ along the shore of this lake. Part of the reason that Bariloche is such a big tourist destination is because of the extreme amount of snow fall in Winter. We heard that at the end of the season they can get up to 2 meters of snow fall.

We camped right next to a quaint little river. Just before (or during?) dawn the outside temperture is cold enough to cause the river (fed by glacier melt) to steam up.

The city center plays up the woodsy, yet abnormally classy, Aspen-like architecture. It´s really quite beautiful, but feels completely contrived, which it probably is. On the left you can see a St. Bernard and it´s opportunistic owner waiting for some less-than-savvy tourist to come along. In the center is a clock tower with the wood and stone construction typical of Bariloche. Just underneath that you can make out some white paint. The day before we took this picture there was a peaceful gathering protesting the lack of prosecution of the perpetrators behind the Dirty War--http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_War--in which people painted white bonets on the ground memoralizing friends and family who ¨dissapeared¨at the hands of the goverment.

On the left: Choripan. On the Right: Hamburger. Dead Center: Bliss. This 5 peso Choripan is perhaps the greatest culinary achievement since the Double x Double. It´s amazing, it´s cheap and you can lather it up with homemade chimichurri and freshly pickled vegetables, which I did with abandon. Please feel free to make your own double-fisting joke here.

It´s a ski town, it´s full of lazy tourist, and epic views. Why not run the ski lifts in the offseason. For the record, we hiked up the hill, but because we are cheap, cheap people who plan to stay in South America as long as possible. Those are the Andes in the background.

Just in case you wanted to see what all the postcards, billboards, advertisements and tourist information offices look like. National Geographic says that this is one of the ¨Ten best views in the world,¨and when I say National Geographic I mean a brochure that claims National Geographic says this, it´s unverified at this point.

Important Note, directions to the Choripan Man: Go to the main center square.  You'll know you arrived when you feel like you've just entered Abraham Lincoln's house on steroids.  A series of Log Cabins doubling as a city center all surrounding a square.  From there head away from the water towards the janky craft market beyond the left hand side of the plaza (left if you are facing away from the water).  A block up there will be a diminuitive man wielding a spatula inside of a gas grill on wheels.  go up to him and immediately order two choripans.  Once delievered slather in chimichurri and pickled vegetables, then devour.