Thinking Allowed: At the Island of the Jaguar

Next we flew 1,300 km due north, to Bariloche. We're back within striking distance of Buenos Aires, and the vibe is very different. Bariloche is much bigger - over 150,000 people - and more developed than our southern towns. I grilled my taxi driver on the way from the airport (he reminded me very much of my grandpa) and learned a dozen facts on the 20-minute drive: the lake, Nahuel Huapi, is the second-biggest is South America and means "Island of the Jaguar" in the local Indigenous language. Rio Negro, this province, stretches from the Andes to the Atlantic, and its governor is pretty popular. The lake is actually warmer now, in autumn, than in the hottest months of summer, because the glaciers are no longer melting as quickly: less frigid water is flowing downhill.

Tamar's parents both visited us here, so there were lots of sleepovers, hangouts in chocolate and coffee shops, and outings around town. The girls frolicked in their pool, got to ice skate, visited a chocolate factory and skate park - lots of fun!

Our family has continued battling a whole host of sicknesses, including a bout of Covid a couple of weeks ago, on top of which Levana finally got her first round of "newborn" vaccinations at the age of 8 months; while "sixth try's the charm" in our efforts to get her immunized, the tender thunder thighs (TTT, for short) left her surreally cranky for several days and, especially, nights. Sophia stumbled through a high fever, Tova coughed like an old car, and Aurora slumped on the couch nursing a stomachache.

I didn't see as much of Bariloche as Tamar and the girls did, as I spent a few days in Sao Paulo for work. But it's a nice place to have visited. The lake is beautiful with its mountain backdrop, the city is alright, our local fruteria was AMAZING and yielded day after day of gorgeous fruit salad. Now we're in San Martin de los Andes, which is Bariloche's younger, cuter sibling and deserves a blog post of its own.