How to Earn a Big Steak Dinner

It's been a big adventure since coming to Patagonia. The towns are remote, the bus rides are long and bumpy, the scenery spectacular. We've had our hands full with outdoors activities and have really soaked up the amazing landscapes. We've arrived in the "Lake District" of Patagonia and it's pine trees and blue lakes and very beautiful.

It's hard to imagine that the scenery gets more dramatic but to put it plainly, it does. Our latest venture was a three day trek through National Park Nahuel Huapi outside the lakeside city of Bariloche. After a couple of chilled out days in the city preparing, we packed our big bags with camping food and sleeping bags and hit the trails.

Being without a tent or camping stove, Nahuel Huapi is a perfect park for us because there are several mountain refuges that house hikers, providing simple beds and cooking facilities. We hiked 26 miles over three days and slept both nights at different "Refugios." The scenery was incredible with jagged rock formations, lagoons formed by mountain runoff, turquoise rivers, and spectacular vistas. Many of the views we've seen on our hikes have been amazing, but here the mountains just felt more dramatic, the colors more vibrant, the hillsides steeper, and the water crisper. The weather was brilliant to boot.

The hikes themselves were fairly easy on days 1 and 3, but our 2nd day's hike was the hardest walk of our trip. For 7 hours we climbed and descended steep ridges, many times scrambling over rocks using our hands and feet, all with our heavy packs. As much hatred as this produced in Kendra's soul, and as much as our quads burned we were rewarded at each peak with incredible views out over the mountain range. The refuges themselves were also fun with hordes of hikers crammed into bunks, tables inside and out for resting the weary, and just great outdoorsy vibes.

When we got back to Bariloche, which is touristy but pleasant and lined with breweries and chocolate shops, we were ravaged and needed proper sustinence. What better time to get our first taste of traditional Argentine "Parrilla?"

Argentina is famous for wine and giant, high quality steaks and it was just what our tired bodies needed. We headed out to the best "Parrilla," ("grill") in town, and ordered two massive steaks and a big plate of fries in addition to our tasty bottle of wine. We were first served a bowl of freshly baked bread with Argentinian "Chimichurri" (olive oil and herbs). Our steaks were then cut fresh and prepared on the huge, traditional open grill and could not have been cooked more perfectly. There's no steak sauce, just a little salt to bring out the natural flavor of the meat which was indescribably good. We gorged and soaked up this essential Argentinian experience and one which we intend to repeat.

Then we went out for ice cream. Not a bad day at the office.