I wish I had tales of wonder to regale you with about Bariloche, but other than the local goodies, I experienced very little. It rained heavily or snowed every day I was there, with weather forecasts to do the same for at least another week.

This has got to be the most logical and delicious way to make hot chocolate - and there’s not a better place to enjoy it than the self-proclaimed chocolate capital of Argentina. A submarino comes out as a glass of steaming hot milk with a side of one or two small, rich chocolate bars (sometimes they’re already in the bottom of the glass). Stir for a quick minute and it’s ready. ¡Qué rico!

There doesn’t seem to be any reason for this, but the main streets of Bariloche are filled with upscale, artisanal chocolate shops. One after the next sells bonbons, thin chocolate pieces with cookies or mint layers, alfajores and rich, creamy gelato (helado). At the Museo de Chocolate, the only reason that they are able to give for this chocolate explosion is the weather - I guess people were just bored and thought they´d get really good at making chocolate during the cold winter here…

After months of almost nothing but Quilmes and the occasional ‘local’ beer that tastes nearly identical to Quilmes - watery, refreshing but with little flavor, I find myself in what must be the microbrewery capital of Argentina: Bariloche, in the province of El Bolson. At least I know that those Oktoberfest beers weren’t just a show.

El Bolson, Manush, random beers made in house by the restaurant or bar. In a country known for its wine, perhaps I shouldn’t even have tried the beer - and I’ve met tourists on beer hiati, unwilling to stomach the thin pale ale (cerveza rubia). But here the beer even deserves the meat.

Southern Right Whales, so named because they were the right whales to hunt - mainly because they come very close to shore. This trait also makes them an easy spot while whale watching, especially in the miniscule town of Puerto Pirámides on Península Valdes, where they’ve never been hunted.

People have been running whale watching trips out of this port (there’s basically nothing else there, and the port is more like a sand bar) for about 30 years, and the guides are quick to mention that their harmony with the whales has encouraged the animals to trust them over time - i.e. come right up next to the boats.

About 500 whales come back to this area every spring/early summer to mate (with multiple partners), give birth (after almost a year of pregnancy) and raise their young.

Driving out - literally out to sea - from Puerto Madryn puts you on Península Valdes, a wildlife protection area filled mostly with desert grasslands. Most of the land is divided between private estancias (ranches) that mainly raise sheep. Lots and lots of sheep and lambs, with some horses, ostriches and guanaca - the undomesticated ancestor of the alpaca, the only member of the camelito family in southern Argentina. Along the coast of the peninsula, however, a whole host of marine life finds its home for part of the year: most famously, dolphins (of which I haven’t actually seen any), whales, elephant seals and penguins.

All of these animals are cool, but seeing penguins was a real first for me. The number of stoner penguin movies that have come out in the past few years of course made them seem even cooler, but mostly I just never thought I would see live penguins (unless I someday visit Antartica).

These were Magellanic penguins, who are in this part of Argentina to birth their young. Interestingly, both the mother and father penguins take care of their babies, which partially accounts for the sheer number near each other at a time.

The most touristy place I’ve been in Argentina, Puerto Madryn doubles as a beautiful beach (in summer) and the largest town near a wildlife reserve - and several other spots for watching sea animals, many of whom spend part of the year near Antartica. The town has grown exponentially in size since 2001. (After the Argentine economic crisis in 2001, both internal and foreign travel to Argentina has skyrocketed. In the 1990s, the Argentine peso was tied to the US dollar, making foreign travel affordable for Argentines and travel within Argentina less attractive to foreigners. It’s currently about 3.8 Argentine pesos to the US dollar, creating the reverse situation.) The town is filled with travel agencies advertising excursions like whale watching or snorkeling, car rental agencies, gift shops, restaurants, artesianal chocolate stores, hotels and buildings under construction - i.e. soon to be hotels, hostels and expensive vacation homes.