Panamericano Bariloche Hotel San Carlos de Bariloche

... in the cold watching my breath form in clowds of smoke waiting for the steamy loveliness to rise. 7 minutes later the steam started to form and I rush to get into the shower not knowing how long the water would be hot. These are the moments that I miss the USA, where the water is hot and the HEAT is Centralized. I sing a little song and am swept away in my own thoughts. I think of the week that has just passed and the rest of the week yet ...

... to drag ourselves away from Bariloche after four days...our bank balance was beginning to detoriate rapidly.. got a 3 hour bus ...

... Strategic decisions along the way included those relating to food and diesel. In general, we filled up the tank where we could because petrol stations were few and far between. In some of the bigger towns, we had the luxury of comparing prices at different stations and choosing the cheapest. A miscalculation on 'fuel left in the tank' meant we did not make it to Chaiten, the town that was evacuated two weeks prior due to an erupting volcano. As Chaiten was near the end ...

... wierd in the sense that because the roads are narrow, it changes direction of traffic depending on the day.. weird... anyways, the whole day was spent driving, walking clicking photos and just sitting with our mouths gaped wide open in awe at the scenery... we would highly recommend renting a car and coming out to this area... last day was just relaxing, roaming around town and finally boarding another bus for Mendoza and argentina´s wine district

... 9 PM to chat with other guests. We meet a young woman from London who is traveling independently for four months, and a couple who are from London and Australia, traveling for six weeks between their relocation from London to Sydney. There seem to be many young people in Argentina who are traveling for an extended time. At 9 PM, Anna and her husband, Gabriel, arrive. We kiss on both cheeks and warmly greet one another. We sit on the couches ...

... it was great fun and no-one ended up in the water. We rafted all the way to the Chilean border and when we got out both said that we could easily do the whole thing again. We then headed back to the starting point and had a lovely bbq before heading back to Bariloche. We left Bariloche the next day, still feeling good after the rafting, with the aim of going to a small town north of Bariloche. We were hoping to spend a few days there and enjoy more of the beautiftul Lake District.

... for red lights, but not for long, frequently setting off before they turned green. We didn't see any accidents, but there were lots of cars with minor dings in the wings. Not many motorbikes around, and those we saw tended to be sub-125, ridden by typically macho Latins wearing no helmets, but normally carrying one ...

... car hire joke that was San Martin, we managed to find a reasonable quote for tomorrow with a local company and then went to book our transport to El Calafate, which our guidebook describes as 'one of the trekking capitals of Patagonia'.

We looked at flights (which were sold out on the day that we wanted and also very expensive) before begrudgingly settling on another VERRRRRRY long bus.

In fact, the SHORTEST service offered ...