Siete Lagos Route ... roughly hitting 7 of the bigger lakes (out of the dozens that exist between 2 national parks) between Villa Angostura and St. Martin de los Andes in northern Patagonia. We rented a car and braved the partially paved partially backcountry rutted road stretching through the mountains. Mostly had the place to ourselves as we explored a number of the incredible lakes and stunning scenery ... big peaks ... ice blue Andean waters, thick forests mixing tropical with alpine, and great swimming and cool people along the way. One river swimming hole we were joined by four great Argentinian ladies and we shared a sunny rock and some mate and just a perfect afternoon. We bedded down midway through the trip at Lago Traful at this stunningly pimp fishing lodge in the middle of the woods that we were lucky to stumble upon. Place was super luxe and we all enjoyed the hell out of the nice showers and fluffy beds and balcony/deck overlooking the lake. Had an amazing meal at this little mom & pop Patagonian restaurant in Villa Traful and macked large on local trout with capers and lots of lemon and butter and white wine. Wound up our trip in St. Martin de los Andes ... a Bavarian themed ski resort village and for lack of proper planning, got a suite at a really nice hotel (aw shux!) before shedding a tear and boarding a bus out of the mountains into the endless desert towards the central state of Mendoza ... wine country extraordinaire. We vowed to return with sleeping bags and make the most of the incredible summer in the Andes.
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