Pooky, I loved Chile. Thanks for the great response to my post.
Boy, you did a lot of driving!! ...and it sounds like you covered a lot of the territory I covered on the bus. If I had not been alone, it might have been fun to drive. Of course, I didn't do the drive down the coast of Chile. I'll save that for another trip!

What an terrible experience you had in Mar del Plata. My
close call fortunately had a happy ending. I caught the guy in the act.

I know you will love Chez Mariannes. The week I spent there was wonderful.
I'll be looking for your trip report.

( my misshap was part of someone's else's report. Perhaps Condu's. )

Reading your response makes me really want to return to Chile and Argentina.

I wrote about it, Kodi. As a warning to others and a tribute to you.

~Marnie

Here is the link:

http://www.fodors.com/community/sout...m-354071-2.cfm

~M

Thanks Marnie. I missed this post of yours. I was too busy enjoying the city!
I also wrote about it on another post, in detail, after AVRooster asked me to.
I'll have to find it.

I just found teh post where I wrote the details of the attempted scam. IT's under the post titled "A foodies month long adventure." I just brought it to the top.

If anyone is going to Buenos Aires or anywhere else for that matter, it might be worthwhile to read it. IT's near the bottom of the thread.
Everyone beware, and don't let anyone near you to help with any kind of spills or mishaps.

However having said that, I would highly recommend Buenos Aires. IT was just one of those things that could have happened anywhere.

OH NO!
A guy came to me and said are these your kids and distracted me from my car, while the other guy was getting his hand inside and stealing my fanny pack with, passports, money, pictures and camera. I couldn't shake the guy who kept saying "are these your keys", in a matter of 2 mins they got everything and got me stuck in Mar del Plata for 7 days.

Oh pookey that's aweful. It must have been such a hassle to replace everything.
IT's so true.. Don't let anyone near you for any reason. They really do try everything , don't they?

Aside from that, I loved Mar Del Plata. I walked and walked and walked.

Hi Kodi -- I'm rereading all the trip reports on this area as I plan our trip. On the boat crossing from ARG to Chile, did u think it worth it to stay over night as u did? thanks!

Hi Yes... it was very nice, but if I had to do it again... hmmmm, maybe not.. and here is the reason.. there were these HUGE horseflies everywhere.. so much so that it was not pleasant to be outside. there were some tours you could take, but when I asked if the horseflies would be going too, the answer was yes. and I wasn't just being a sissy.. The fellows that worked there actually encouraged me not to go on the tour..
And there wasn't much else to do. Some withstood the horseflies and went for a walk. But it really is in the middle of no where. a real pretty setting, but isolated. there is no town, nothing.. just 2 hotels.

I'm not sure if these horseflies are always there.. I'd try and find out.

AS for the rest of the crossing.. spectacular!!! When are you going?

Hi Kodi -- Thanks, so much. We'll be crossing at the beginning of March. The horseflies in your report were a bit of a put off and now they sound even worse. I think we may just do the one day crossing. Sounds like it might be nicer to add a day to Lake Country.

U did a day trip to San Martin from Villa la Ang. About how long did it take you to do that? And u stayed the whole time in Vlilla La Ang.? We're trying to figure out how to split our time. Also I've been trying to reach thru their website Chez Marianne B&B , but no response so far. How did u book it?
And one more question (at least for now!) Did u rent your car in advance? Again, thanks!

Yes, I stayed the whole time at Marianne's and it was great. She would tell me every day where to go and I'd follow her expert advice. She told me where to eat and I had some fabulous meals. I booked Marianne through my travel agent, Isabel, but I can try to get Marianne if you like.. maybe they are away on vacation.. I'll see it I can find out.

I loved my trip to San Martin, but it was a long day. I was wishing I'd had a bit more time to see the town... the road up is gravel for quite away.. so that kept me on my toes. I was afraid I'd get a flat.. but I was fine. Some of the sites on the way are spectacular. The gravel road keeps you going slow.. there are many lookouts along the way.
Again, Marianne told me where to stop for the well known fried bread.. mmm don't miss it.

Yes, I rented my car in advance. I got my best price from National, I think it was.. but then Marianne, gave me the name of a small local company... so I went with them.. Sorry , yes, but I'm away in Boston at the moment, but can let you know the name and phone number... they matched the National price and even drove me to Bariloche at the end of my rental. .I like renting from locals if I can.. The woman was very nice.. excellent service... nice car.

Villa la Ang. is a beatiful little town.. I loved the whole area. Don't hesitate to ask more questions.. and I'll see if I can get a hold of Marianne.. something tells me she might just be on holidays...

I just wanted to add... my trip to San Martin could have been a bit longer, but I wanted to get back before dark on those gravel roads.

Thanks again, Kodi -- really appreciate all your helpful info.
I'm with u and prefer to rent with a local as long as they have been recommended by a local. Knowing that u got good prices from National is a help. When u get home if u still have the name of the local I would appreciate knowing it.

U may be right about Marianne being away. I'm finding some places I contact get back a week or so later and apologize saying they were on vacation. I'm sure she'll get back at some point. I just wanted to check that reaching her thru the website is the best way to go.

Still trying to figure out how to spend our time in Arg Lake District. We may end up with a couple days outside Bariloche and then stay in San Martin a couple nights which means we would be missing staying in Villa la Ang altogether and just do a day trip there. Don't blame u for not wanting to travel at night, let alone on gravel roads...no fun.

Fried bread?? sounds like something to try.

Hope you're enjoying Boston and it's a bit cooler there than down in here in DC...

R u on Trip Advisor by any chance? It would be nice to contact u directly if u don't mind. Sure wish Fodor's would get that feature.

Again, I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions.

Hola Kodi, my friend,

DH and I will also be following your lead and spending ~a week in Bariloche (area) this winter. So all of yestravel's questions are mine too, and your responses are helpful to us both. Many thanks. Hope you are fine.

~Marnie

Marnie . Hola'!!! So good to see you.

Yes and Marnie, more when I get home. Yes, my email isn't working right now but stay tuned here. I'll be back!

I'm going to tag on here with some suggestions. We did the lake crossing from Chile-Bariloche a few years ago, I would recommend doing it in one day. As kodi indicated, there is not much to do at the hotel where you stop overnight. Yes, it's a long day, but the scenery is magnificent. We did this in March and the weather was perfect. On that trip, we stayed at the Llao Llao, which is right across the street from where the boat docks.

Last year we returned to the Bariloche area staying in VLA. I highly recommend this town, we loved using it as a base, it's only about 45 minutes from Bariloche on very well paved roads. It's a small village, extremely quaint and pretty. Bariloche is a larger city, still ok, but prefered VLA. Also, we did the day trip to St Martin on those very bumpy roads, it was a great adventure.

We loved this area so much that we've included it in two of our three trips. I would spend a NY winter down there in a heartbeat.

Have fun!

Gracias, Owlwoman. Your good advice is noted and saved. Probably more questions to come.
Best,
~MarnieWDC

owlwoman -- thanks for your input! I think I have one of your TR from this area.

I'm so glad this trip report was topped! I missed it the first time.
How I admire you, Kodi, for your adventerous spirit! I'm loving reading your trip report!

Thank you Starrs. It was such a wonderful trip for me.

Yestravel, you can email me at kodi at westiemail.com
I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Marnie, and Yestravel. I agree with Owlwoman and highly recommend VLA. I would stay there or in the immediate area, and perhaps tour Bariloche for a day. I stayed at Marianne's B&B in Puerto Manzano, which was just a 10 minute drive south of VLA. I loved this area.
You really do need a car in this area to see the surrounding mountains and lakes.
The road up to SAn Martin de los Andes really offers spectalular scenery.

I went for a walk around Puerto Mazano and there were many great looking small hotels. The area looks very upscale with all the houses and buildings being built with the beautiful local wood. ( sorry, darned if I can think of the name of the tree.. I think it's a type of Pine)

Marianne's email is [email protected]
the car rental company is
Andes rent a car
email. [email protected]
Belen is the woman who runs this company and she was a pleasure to deal with.
The only thing to be careful of is if you rent a GPS and it gets stolen, you are responsible for the full cost. It was $358 that I had to pay. So if you do rent one, take it out of the car every night.

Also not to be missed in this area is the boat trip to Victoria Island to see the Arrayanes trees. I hope I have that right. Beautiful trees that are only in this area.

Marnie and Yestravel, please do email me with any questions.