Northern Patagonia Lake Region

From Puerto Montt, Chile, to San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina. The latter is a ski resort.  Reminiscent of Lake Tahoe.  Not Latin feeling at all.  Seems like the wealthier countries like Chile and Argentina have the easiest border crossings.

Before crossing over to Bariloche, I stayed one night at the Playa Maqui Lodge, at the shore of Lake Llanquihue in Chile.  Beautiful historic home run by one of the family's German descendants.

Argentine ATMs will only dispense roughly the equivalent of $40 USD at one time.  The restrictions are apparently to curb inflation, which is rampant.  I've read that you can use your credit card to buy chips at a casino, and then immediately cash them in.  I tried that at a casino in Bariloche, and was told they only accept debit cards, which I don't like using except at ATMs.

A fellow overlander said that one can ask a gas station attendant to charge you double the actual gas charge on your credit card when you're filling up, and give you the difference in cash.  That actually worked, to my surprise.  But getting about $30 in cash every time I fill up isn't very efficient.