After having consumed our combined bodyweight in wine throughout our past couple of weeks in Argentina, we were desperate to get out of the cities and actually do something active – cue Bariloche.

This town is the last major populated area in Patagonia and therefore has a wealth of outdoor pursuit shops and tourist attractions (namely chocolate shops). Situated among snow-capped mountains and perched on the edge of Nahuel Huapi lake, it is perfectly placed for outdoor adventures. In the winter, it transforms into a skiing paradise but now, in the height of summer, it is the perfect refuge for city-dwellers to escape from the oppressive heat, with its many forests and pebble beaches around the lakes, forming the perfect oasis.

We decided to spend a week here. Upon arrival, we headed straight to the lake to take in the views and were not disappointed. The water here is crystal clear and the lake – 11km wide and 80km long – provides the perfect foreground for the mountains and forests around.

The town itself is cutesy in a chocolate box kind of way. Many buildings are traditional wooden log structures and it highlights its status as a tourist destination with every other shop on the high street catering for tours and excursions, interspersed with chocolate shops and cafes. Slightly off the main road, you can find your outdoor adventure shops where we saw a group of people purchasing everything they could possibly need for a camping trip down south.

Our main priority was to get outside and get moving, so our first day was spent investigating our options. We decided our three top priorities were paragliding (sorry, Liz!), kayaking and hiking. We found the website of a flying instructor who spoke English and contacted him via WhatsApp, as this was the only method of contact listed on the page. He replied letting us know that he had availability the next day and that conditions were looking good. Giving us the price, he asked if that sounded good. It did and so we replied saying so. We were more than a little surprised when he confirmed our booking there and then. Upon asking about payment, he reassured us we only need pay upon landing and signed off cheerily. Well, at least if health and safety standards were lower here than in Europe and we sustained any injuries, we at least wouldn’t have to pay for our flight!

Fortunately, there was nothing to worry about. The next morning was bright and clear – perfect conditions for jumping off a mountain. Tom, being a gentleman, let me choose whether I wanted to go first or second so I excitedly jumped in the truck to be driven up to the launch point. The safety briefing was short and to-the-point. Lean forwards, keep running and DO NOT SIT DOWN. Andres, the instructor, clipped me in and off we ran.

It was a peaceful and gentle descent which offered beautiful views. I was a little disappointed that my flight only lasted around six minutes in total and that we were only anle to descend, but once we landed, Andres took Tom up for his go. By this point, conditions had improved and I watched – only slightly jealous – as the two of them caught a  thermal and glided upwards effortlessly. Half an hour later, Tom landed with a huge grin on his face.

The forecast for the next day was warm but with showers, so we decided it would be perfect for a hike. We caught the bus out to the starting point of the Circuito Chico which would take us through a forest and past two lakes.

The views were stunning. Everywhere we looked, we were surrounded by nature, the quality of which deserves to be immortalised in paintings or sonnets – it was truly that mesmerising. The forests were huge, straight, narrow trunks which towered overhead and created a delicate canopy to shield us from the sun. Rocky outcrops meant we could perch above the lakes on breaks from our walk and take in the vistas. At one point, we even came across a helpfully signposted bridge in the middle of the forest over a slight dip in the terrain which contained no water. This was apparently a Roman bridge which caused some confusion over historical periods of time but we took an obligatory photo anyway.

We finished our walk after around 18km and several hours. We caught a bus back to the town and as we disembarked, a light shower started. It eased off long enough for us to reach our Airbnb, then came down hard. The rain was joined by thunder and lightning and we watched from our window as it remained directly overhead for several hours, cutting our power and keeping us inside.

After a quiet day to save some money, the following day was deemed to be a perfect day for a paddle on the lake. It was warm but not quite so hot as it had been and there was a refreshing breeze coming off the lake. We thoroughly coated ourselves in sunscreen – #palepeopleproblems – and loaded ourselves up with full, chilled water bottles to head down to the town centre. We hired a double kayak from one of the shops and carried it down to the water’s edge to launch. Not wanting to get caught out when we were tired, we paddled into the breeze along the coast, planning to stop off at quiet beaches en route until we were hungry enough for our picnic. This plan would have been perfect, but after our first stop, the wind picked up and we ended up battling pretty big swells and waves for a lake. After our lunch stop, with no signs of the wind dying down, we headed back to our starting point. The next day, our arms and shoulders ached and we realised how little we had used these muscles for the past two months.

As we write, we are waiting for a bus to Esquel, a small town five hours south of here, where we will spend a night before heading on again. ¡Hasta luego!