On our second day in town, we left the car in the garage and explored town on foot. Our first stop was the waterfront for lake views including the Bariloche sign.

We walked along the lakewall for some city views, then back toward the Civic Center and along Av. 12 de Octubre.

The ground around the town square was covered in these headscarf drawings with both names and the term, Nunca Más (never again), referring to the report from the National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons (wikipedia link).

The Cathedral Our Lady of Nahuel Huapi was closed for mass when we stopped by at 11:15ish, so we returned around 6pm to get photos of the much exalted stained glass windows. Returning was worth it! The windows were quite beautiful, featuring indigenous people in some of the windows. Oddly, the church looks unfinished on the inside with raw concrete and rebar in some of the higher areas.

We headed to Mitre Street, the main shopping area, where my goal was to find some mérken spice, a local blend of goat’s horn chili peppers, salt and coriander. I saw the same brand for sale at several spots in town but the prices varied by a few dollars, so I was happy to pick it up in the grocery store for about $5 USD.

Eric’s goal was chocolate! Bariloche is famous for chocolate shops, and we made stops at Abuela Goye (for passion fruit bonbons), Rapanui (for fresh raspberries coated in chocolate – absolutely divine!) and Cathedral (for passion fruit and pistachio bonbons). Results of the bombon taste off: grandma wins! 🙂 Most places were charging between 50-60k per kilo.

We also purchased some fresh raspberries from a street vendor near the supermercado!