Have I Told You How Much I Love Bicycles?

So, I finally got my bike out of its damaged cardboard cage and, my goodness! I love bikes. I went about three weeks without riding and was beginning to go a bit crazy. I feel that I have made good decisions in waiting until I arrived in Bariloche to start my tour, but I feel a great freedom and relief from being on my bike after so long without it.
It´s quite beautiful here, as those of you who have been here or seen the pictures in travel brochures know, with several grand lakes filling the basins between the mountains at the eastern edge of the Andes. The scenery reminds me of what I was fortunate enough to see in the Italian Alps around Como, and the town, like others in the lakes region here, markets itself as the Switzerland of the Andes. It has a certain chocolate-making elf-village feel to it, where everything is made of designer lumber and glass panels. It is a popular tourist destination, but like most popular tourist destinations it is a lovely place.
I have been staying 18km to the west of town in a hostel called Kahuin, and am about to embark on the first leg of my bike tour to El Bolson and Esquel. There are hostels in each of these towns, which are common destinations for backpackers on their way further south, but I will camp out along the way and take my time. I am heading south before I come back through here in a couple of months.
I went yesterday for a lengthy ride, one of the highlights of which was a visit to a Geology and Paleontology Museum some 15km from the hostel. There, an often winking older gentleman with a thick, silvery moustache displayed his findings from numerous expeditions in Patagonia and elsewhere. The small building was full of impresive gemstones, stuffed birds, dinosaur bones, plant and animal fossils, enormous ammonites, charts and photographs, and other articles like small mammal craniums and sharks teeth. The display was certainly that of an eccentric collector with years of experience.
I purchased another digital camera, so the next post will have pictures, and probobly some Moby Dick references as well. Send me emails anytime! I hope you are all well.