The kindness of strangers.

Good things come in threes so they say. I had another great start to the day today as one after one our new friends from the campground came by our tent to say goodbye as we are planning on moving on. Each one left us an unexpected and generous gift.

First was Marian and Fabien, our friends from last night in the main lodge, who came by to tell us that the big blanket they lent us last night to keep us warm (hurrah!) could be ours for the rest of the trip. Seriously. Guille and Marian exchanged addresses, email, and mate and it was done. We would mail it back to them after our trip. Talk about trust! And this was a no ordinary blanket but one made by Marian's mom.

Next we were visited by the Rango family. I wanted to give Maximo a Canadian loonie for his coin collection. Then Guille got to chatting with Cristina and the next thing I know we're staying with them when we pass through Neuquen on our last night before heading back to Bahia Blanca! Wow! They are such a lovely family. We're both looking forward to visiting with them again.

Next came the lifeguard, Eleana, who brought us a map of Bariloche and lots of great advice for visiting the region.

At the end of each of these visits, there were kisses on the cheeks and good wishes as we all parted. I sat back and just watched in amazement. I asked Mariana in my broken Spanish if all Argentinians are this kind and generous. I've certainly been impressed. She responded that likely not but there's a community of people who are just kindred spirits. You tend to find them more easily in campgrounds vs hotels.

No matter where they're hiding, I know we'll meet more as we go. The language barrier limits my initiation of such interactions but Guille's magnetic personality more than makes up for it!

As a result of a very social morning, we didn't finish packing up the tent until late. Once our site was clear we went to the lake shore to have breakfast...at 14:00! It's so glorious there when the sun shines and the air is still but those moments were few and far between. As another gust of wind sent our bowls flying, we decided it was time to head out and say a fond farewell to Bahia Rosales.

We moved north along the lakes to Lago Verde and the pish-posh campground there. We looked at the 'agreste' campground next door with limited facilities but opted to spend the extra 20 pesos (~$5) each to stay at the nicer campground. It was a bit of a splurge but still, 120 pesos each for 2 nights (~$15/pp/pn) isn't bad!!!