Bariloche is the name of this area of 100,000 people. It got its name from the native Indian people who called the people who lived here Bariloche which means “the people on the other side of the mountain”. Its full name is San Carlos de Bariloche and is named after a man named Carlos who was of German descent who had the local general store in Bariloche in the early days of settlement. One of his friends sent him a letter and addressed it to San Carlos instead of Don, Senior or Mr. by mistake. He was so amused at being called a saint that he changed the name of his store to San Carlos and the name stuck on the town as well. The town is named for a mistake!