This excursion held a couple of surprises. When we started the ride, a neighborhood dog came right along with us. Clint tried to send him home, but this dog was coming with us whether we wanted him to or not. He sprinted and raced us downhill, and patiently waited for us when we were going uphill. We got to an overlook about half-way through the ride and met a local man who was selling trinkets and drinks on the side of the road. He told us that this dog runs along with tourist cyclists on Circuito Chico every single day.
So we stopped and had a picnic on the lake with our new dogfriend (whom we named Zenith).
The second surprise came towards the end of the ride when we found a dinosaur "museum." Let me just tell you how excited Clint was to find a random dinosaur exhibit on his birthday. Zenith waited for us in the parking lot while we explored the dinosaurs, which happened to be more like giant dino. toys scattered around outside. Clint did his famous T-Rex... a lot.
That evening we watched Argentina beat Uruguay to qualify for the World Cup. The streets went wild after the game and it was a really fun sight. Most cars were honking and waving Argentine flags out the windows. Finally at the end of the jam-packed day, Mati came to our hostel and I made lasanga for our new friends. It was a great way to celebrate Clint`s 28th and a nice last hoorah in Bariloche.
We left a couple of days later and Mati and his friend, Lucas, met us at the bus station to say goodbye. It was bittersweet to leave our friends and such an incredible place... but we were thrilled to begin the next leg of our journey. On to Puerto Madryn!
We will post about our Puerto Madryn adventures soon, but are now departing on a 21-hr bus trip (YUCK) to El Calafate. Just a teaser: Puerto Madryn included dolphins, flamingos, guanacos, penguins, whales, elephant seals, and an armadillo.
Sounds like Clint had a kick ass birthday. I'm also glad to know that his famous T-Rex impression has now been enjoyed by people on 2 continents. Fantastic.
ReplyDeletedinosaurs! happy belated birthday, clint! This is such a nice way to keep up with you - I love reading about your adventures and dreaming of my own!
ReplyDeletemiss you hippo xoxo