Let me get the bad news out of the way first... I missed out on my chance to go paragliding over the Andes here in wild Bariloche. There is currently only one operator in the city. The other is vacationing in Buenos Aires, so if I get a chance to find him there in a couple days, I'll give him a piece of my mind. Anyway, Federico, the sole operator, is booked solid today, and this is my only free day in the city. Tomorrow I catch a 24-hour bus to Buenos Aires at midday. So while I didn't get a chance to soar like the massive condors over the majestic mountains, I will get a chance to visit the Fabrica de Chocolate... Yes, the Chocolate Factory. This is not your run of the mill Willy Wonka movie. These guys are professionals. Trained in the Swiss style, the Bariloche residents know a thing or two about chocolate. I may even try to grab a gift or two if it'll keep. I may just eat it all. I'm also gonna wander through the city center. This place is bigger than both Pucon and Puerto Varas put together, with about 100,000 residents year-round. But it's also home to a large number of back-packers, travelling through Patagonia hitting all the wild places they can. With internet cafes nestled between hiking stores and pizzarias, the place is a back-packer's dream... And the scenery ain't bad either. I've got some stunning pictures of the mountains and glorious wild flowers on my walk to the bus stop. There are hostels and cabanas everywhere, and they're building more by the dozen. Turns out "Se Vende" has crossed the border into Argentina, as well. I haven't driven through too many agricultural areas for sale, but small plots to put a quaint hostel or restaurant are squeezed in every which way from Sunday. And while I still have my reservations about Argentina's economy in general, Bariloche is truly benefitting from the turn of the seasons, and probably its proximity to Chile. It took us about seven hours to cross the border from Puerto Varas, and that includes the passport checks. Now, I have to say, Santiago is turning out to be the "low point" of this trip so far... Aside from its all-important commercial stature, it doesn't have much to offer the traveller. The Bellavista neighborhood is very bohemian, and quite fun, but aside from that, you can find out much of the facts and feel of the city from the virtual world of the internet. What's been much more useful to me is visiting these smaller places, touristy as they may be. Getting close to the locals, taking local buses and - like now - enjoying an espresso in a local internet cafe, has really gotten me deep in the way of things here. You can see that the cars on the streets are mostly German, and mostly old. You can see from the hostels that the wood used is local, and that smaller construction companies, or even families have done much of the hard work. But you can also see that things are starting to change. There are some newer cars on the road, too. The rental agencies offer both American-made and Japanese-made vehicles, and some larger resorts are being build by bigger construction companies. And yet, these picturesque places aren't losing their quaintness. Even if a North Face store sets up shop on the corner, you'll still find a lone man offering kayak rentals on the beach, unassociated with any tour company. In a word, both Chile and Argentina seem to be entrepreneurial. Perhaps opportunistic is a better word, or industrious, but everyone, from the icecream vendor on the beach in Puerto Varas to the Artesian shop selling locally made textiles is trying to make a buck. From my point of view so far, particularly in Chile, people are buying. I have a sneaking suspicion that Argentinians are also shopping, and that gives me a bit more hope for the economy at large, but I'll withhold my opinion for another couple days. This is a resort town, after all.