Friday four of us from the hostel shared the cost of a car rental to check out the famous seven lakes between Bariloche and San Martin. We left at 11am and drove 600km, returning at 2am. There was an Argentine couple and a young Israeli woman. Pablo drove the whole way, at about half the speed limit. I offered to drive but my name wasn't on the rental contract. It was painful for me as I am a much faster driver and efficient with time. Pablo almost killed us all at about 1am when I noticed the car drifting off into the incoming lane. Luckily I was watching him like a hawk from behind and shook him. He insisted to continue driving. I told him one more mistake and I was taking over despite what the rental contract said. We made it back in one piece thankfully.
The seven lake trip was like a treasure hunt for the Argentine couple. We had to go to each official lookout for each lake. Even when it started to rain and storm, we painstakingly found each lake. So here we are finally in San Martin, ate dinner, and a storm was blowing outside. It is 10pm and darker than mollasses. The Argentinan couple insisted to go to the official 'view' of the last lake after dinner, another 30min. I pointed out that even though we might go there, we would not see a thing through the driving rain and darkness. Never the less, they wanted to go to say they did it. After driving 30min on this mountain road and Pablo confirming we could not see anything, we proceeded to finally head back. It was painful as Pablo drove half the speed limit and car after car passed us. It was painful because I was tired and wanted to sleep. But we made it back.
Despite Pablos driving style. He is a wonderful person and we had a great time. I got to work on my Spanish as neither spoke English. To share everyday life with the local Argentine is why I am here. We learned about our lives, saw pictures of their kids and shared hearty laughs like talking about whether it was okay to throw toilet paper in the toilet in Argentina. All in all, a great time!
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