Edelweiss San Carlos de Bariloche

... last day in Argentina was rainy, cold, and windy - good preparation for returning to NZ perhaps? We spent it pigging out in Bariloche's excellent artisanal chocolate shops, buying alfajores to take home, and choosing a very cool leather jacket for Al.<br><br>We were sad to come to the end of a fantastic trip. Argentina is a great place to visit - amazing scenery, fun outdoor activities ...

... So, why Ecuador you ask? The country is very small and bio-diverse. I can get anywhere in a few hours. So, I can surf in the morning and be deep in the jungle by nightfall. Jon and I saw the Galapagos and Quito, but never really got to see the coast or country-side. Also, I need to eventually fly home from Colombia, which is next door to Ecuador. So, San Carlos de Bariloche is the furthest south I am traveling. A mixture of lakes and mountains on the cusp of ...

... must have been fate! Whilst I treated myself to the excellent different local ales, Caroline rested her aching hands, calves thighs &amp; bum with a delicious ice cold Coca Cola! What a treat! Bariloche was a pretty little town on the edge of a huge lake and is busy all year around - in the summer it is full of trekkers (&amp; part time cyclists) and in the winter it is great for skiing. The town is full of wooden chalets ...

... l'hostel vers midi, ce qui me laisse le temps de faire le parcours du Circuito Chico l'après-midi. Je me lance sans tarder après avoir loué une bicyclette à un marchand à l'entrée du circuit. Contrairement à ce qu'on pourrait croire, le Circuito Chico ("Petit Circuit") n'est pas aussi chico que ça: environ 50 Km dignes des meilleurs moments d'une étape du Tour de France qui traverse les Alpes !!! Le circuit passe par différents points d'intérêts dans la réserve Llao ...

... We were supposed to go hire bikes that afternoon but Ruth was hungover so we decided the next day would be better. And that´s now onto today. Today me, Ruth and Brett got up around noon and got the 1.30pm bus to Colonia Suiza, about an hour away. We hired bikes and set off on the short circuit of 10km. Ruth cycles back home in UK and wanted to do the big circuit of 25km. I complained until i got my way and we did the short one. Ruth is now grateful as it ...

... she found somewhere local with a double room. <br><br>The place she found wasn't in our guidebooks and as we had the car we figured that we'd head off and try and find somewhere ourselves that was in the book instead.<br><br>Bad idea, there was nothing, nowhere, nada, nuh-uh... All the best places were chocka.<br><br>About 45 minutes later we ...

... to fly combat misisons and possibly die (this is where the everyday use of the term Catch 22 comes from btw). Anyways, we walk about 12km today in total and about 2km up. There are flies everywhere buzzing around my head and they are driving me absolutely nuts. I think they are horse flies as they are larger than normal ones and they bite as well. It tell Olie that I would pay $50p for no more flies, they suck that bad. Olie (hah, what an ...

... unto the world. The next 2 weeks revolved solely around such worries as how to blag a free lift up the mountain when we missed the bus and discovering the awesome Apres Ski atmosphere. Having never been introduced to the well used method of hitchhiking into snowy realms I was thrilled to experience the warmth and generosity of many fellow snow chasers who stopped and squeezed me into ...