Do you want yoga with that?
- Mar 10, 2016
- 3 min read
Would you like Yoga with that?
I declined the offer of yoga for three mornings. I’m not against people stretching and contorting their bodies into all sorts of positions and shapes. Hell I wish I could.
I declined because I didn’t want to fart in front of all those stretchy folk as I tried to put my left foot behind my right ear. And I didn’t want to snap a body part only three weeks into my journey trying to become a four-legged creature. My dodgy knee, creaky back and increasingly unreliable ability to control my bodily functions made the decision to pass on yoga each morning at La Casona de Odile in the slightly hippy town of El Bolson in Argentina pretty easy.
I’d rolled into the organic community nestled at the foot of the Piltriquitron Mountain after crossing from Pucon in Chile to San Martin de los Andes.
After nearly having to feast on my own Wagyu marbled body parts on Vocan Villarrica a day earlier, it is nice to stare in wonderment up at Volcan Lanin as I ride past en-route to the border.
The crossing is almost smooth. My ownership papers have apparently become invalid the day before. The details are all exactly the same but the official government header has changed. I am told I need to backtrack to the nearest computer and enter the exact same details and print them out with the new shiny letterhead. My despair catches the attention of a kindly customs officer who takes two minutes from his lunchbreak to punch in my numbers and print me out a shiny new up-to-date document. We are on our way.
Beefy Bariloche. I eat steak for 4 out of 5 meals in this tourist town selling chocolates on every corner - the fifth was lamb. If you ever pass through this place, eat the meat at Alto el Fuego (www.altoelfuego.com.ar) and drink the beer at Cerveceria Manush where you have a choice of about a dozen craft beers.
Between the beef and beer I manage to explore some of the area around the town with a day ride out to Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi. The park is named after the large glacial lake surrounded by the summer snow-capped Andes. It is also where you can find the impressive and imposing Llao Llao Golf and Spa Resort (http://llaollao.com/en/). Sadly I can’t fit the clubs on the motorbike. I also find another craft brewery in the park with a pretty decent view.
The ride from Bariloche to El Bolson through the Lakes District is majestic. At every curve and bend is another shimmering blue body of water with mountains reflected on their mirror surfaces. I get caffeine hit at a historic roadhouse café. The history of the area is told on the wooden walls and the smell of lamb stew wafts out of the kitchen.
When I check into La Casona de Odile I’m told of fresh bread for breakfast, home brew and hammocks. It’s impressed on me the highlight of my stay will be the morning yoga sessions. I’m happy to settle for the bread, beer and hammocks. Why try to do it all?
It’s not all lazing in a hammock eating stolen fresh breakfast bread baked by a cute Dutch girl and drinking beer. There’s a mountain to climb! Piltriquitron’s jagged peaks summon. And when I learn there is a refugio selling pizza and beer up high my determination to scale the mountain is steeled. The Bosque Tollade – carved forest – is also an added attraction. After a fire destroyed the beech forest, sculptor Marcelo Lopez brought the dead trees to life through his art. Now dozens of wooden sculptures create an art museum on the side of Piltriquitron.
The pizza and beer are worth the climb. And the views are sublime. But jeez I’m stiff. Maybe I should have taken a yoga class.
I can see far to the south where Hank and my path lie. For a moment I feel like Frodo Baggins and Hank is my faithful Samwise Gamgee – the true hero in this ongoing tale.
“Sam: I wonder if we'll ever be put into songs or tales. Frodo: [turns around] What? Sam: I wonder if people will ever say, 'Let's hear about Frodo and the Ring.' And they'll say 'Yes, that's one of my favorite stories. Frodo was really courageous, wasn't he, Dad?' 'Yes, my boy, the most famousest of hobbits. And that's saying a lot.' Frodo: [continue walking] You've left out one of the chief characters - Samwise the Brave. I want to hear more about Sam. [stops and turns to Sam] Frodo: Frodo wouldn't have got far without Sam. Sam: Now Mr. Frodo, you shouldn't make fun; I was being serious. Frodo: So was I. [they continue to walk] Sam: Samwise the Brave...” - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers
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