One of the activities I was most looking forward to on this trip was trekking in the el Bolsón area of Patagonia.

When we arrived in el Bolsón on March 13, 2020, you could tell the rumors were true — you couldn’t swing a gato here without hitting a brewery. We’d scored an awesome and inexpensive Air BNB within walking distance of town (an important feature given the previous narrative). The owner is an artist and the little apartment was like a gallery.

This would be base camp.

Soon we landed at a brewery called Cosecha (harvest), and the owner/brewer’s brother enjoyed practicing his English on us. Chef, who doesn’t have many Spanish words, also appreciated this. Leo spent the evening giving us the skinny on where to eat, hike, and what time to go to the big Saturday market.

Chef declared Cosecha’s IPA (pronounced EEPA) to be cerveza muy buena, and Leo immediately invited Chef to brew with them later in the week. This trip just kept getting better and better!

The market filled the little town’s central plaza, and aside from conspicuous hand sanitizer at the food trucks, nothing seemed amiss.

Leo’s dining recommendations were legit. On Saturday night, we dined at A Gusto (committed to the idea of consuming at least one cow each during our 3 week visit), and on Sunday afternoon, we headed to the outskirts of town to el Quincho, a restaurant owned by Leo’s family. Grilled lamb and a penguin full of wine. That’s right, a penguin of wine.

The gluttony would soon be eclipsed by all the hiking, I whispered to my waistline.

But you guys remember what happens next, right? Yep, there’s beer and wine being served on top of the mountains!

In Episode 6, we’ll cover how Podunk and the Iron Chef discover that sometimes re-entry from vacation is hard.