Backcountry Birding

After my time chasing the Pampas Meadowlark in Bahia Blanca, I caught the bus to Bariloche, on the opposite side of the country. It left Bahia Blanca at 2 am, and got into Bariloche at about 5pm the next day (15 hours). This brings the total bus time to about 27 hours so far!

I am suuuper digging buses as a form of transport, it’s so much more relaxed than taking the plane, you just walk to the ticket window, hand over some cash and they hand you a ticket, then you arrive 15 minutes before the departure time (Very Important) hop on and sit in your seat. At the stops along the way you can buy whatever sandwiches, chocolates and sodas your heart desires, and you get to really see the countryside out the window. There of course are some hiccups, like on this trip when something happened with the oil system and we had to chill in the desert for a couple of hours to wait for the repair man.

But we were soon on our merry way once more, cruising through the Chaco, and then the Patagonian Steppe, and finally into the wooded valleys of the “Lake District” nestled between toothy cliffs and spires.

I didn’t find ALL that much birding to do in Bariloche (not any particular species or reserves right by the city) but there were a few highlights for sure. A couple of sights from right near the city center:

Once I was done taunting the local fauna with dreams of dropped hot dogs, I cooked myself a typical Argentinian meal, all purchased for the equivalent of roughly $6 USD:

I NEVER eat steak, and rarely eat any form of beef in the US, partially because it’s so expensive, and partially because it’s generally one of the least environmentally sustainable things to do. That being said, it’d be pretty tricky to survive in Argentina as a vegetarian, and impossible as a vegan. At least with my budget…

The next morning I woke up at 5 and walked up the hill nearest to town to watch the sunrise. I was rewarded with a very sleepy Band-winged Nightjar on the side of the road which grumpily flew away before I could get a picture, and one of the most incredible sunrises I’ve seen:

After my couple of days here, I caught the next bus down to El Calafate, MUCH further south. The next blog post is almost written, so it’ll be coming out soon!