Patagonia Plaza San Martin de los Andes

We have traveled up through, what is meant to be, one of the most beautiful roads in Argetina today but of course it was raining when we did it and we couldn´t see anything! However we have arrived in San Martin which is a lovely little town.<br><br>The next day we hired a car and headed for a road that headed off to Chile. The road was somewhat bumpy but was worth it ...

... re watching. But that's half the fun of being here, to have time to learn and collect the correct data. At the end, it's repairing holes in tents, testing zips to be replaced, cleaning stoves of soot and muck, meeting for last goodbyes till next time. And dining out on some steak and wine. Ice cream too. As for TV, it doesn't seem to change much. Books are read and other things excite. Like receiving my iPod and entering the 21st Centaury. Still plays ...

... out Hyundais, this proves to be quite a mission but after an amusing morning of running up to strangers in our spaceman bike suits and asking where we can get our hands on a venereal disease (gomeria) we hit paydirt and rustle up a single tyre for Pierpaolo's bike. Strapped to the back of his bike, we are chased out of town by the same mad dogs that welcomed us in and hit the road toward Puerto Natales. The morning is grey and dull in every way - road surface and sky above ...

... of Josefina (the receptionist at the hotel in Buenos Aires) we had booked a couple of nights at a small hotel in the resort of San Martin de los Andes, which is about 160km north of Bariloche. However, that 160km took over 4 hours to drive, due to the interesting road surfaces half way through the journey - At least 80km of the journey was over dirt, gravel, rocks, sand and any other useless road surface you can imagine. The roads wind their way round the route ...

... could have driven to the village of Meliquina for lunch). Then we drive a short distance to Lago Hermoso. This is another beautiful inspiring site! If it had been a warmer day, we could easily have spent the day at either lake with our books and Harvey's guitar. To warm up, we head back to Rio Hermoso. When you can be in such a beautiful location and be warm and comfortable, go there! We are reminded of a ...

... suit your growth and assist you in expanding your mind, opening your heart and nurturing your body. Become the witness of your thoughts and the many ways in which patterns flow through your consciousness. The pattern or template through which you operate pervades everything you think, say and do. You cannot run away or hide from yourself. You can only be come enlightened to what you are thinking and the patterns you create in your life ...

... Eisenholzes auch warm. Ein toller Pfadfinder der Beat: Eine Ladung Holzscheiter ins Cheminee, eine Tasse Benzin dazu, ein Streichholz und wir hatten den ganzen Abend warm und ausserdem eine perfekte Glut fuer ein feines Stueck Rindfleisch. (Da brauchst keinen Heissluftfoehn;-) ) Fuer Martina gabs indischen Kaese aus Backofen und auch sonst war einiges Ïndisch oder Chinesisch hier ;-) Mit Beats herrlichen Ausfuehrungen ueber das Leben hier verging die Zeit ...

... speaking, it was nothing to write home about. The interesting part of my journey was actually my conversation with a 45yr old man who previously lived in BA but was now in the process of starting up a business in Bariloche... and who spoke English! I was glad to be finally able to get a local perspective. He talked of the corruption rife in past and present governments and the impact that this had/has on land ownership (by foreign interests) and the use of the ...

12th to 13th March 2008 Yesterday I got the bus from Pucon, Chile to San Martin De Los Andes in Argentina. Got the bus with a guy from New York who was staying at the same hostel in Pucon. The border crossing was OK, apart from the 40 minutes wait at the Argentina side. Another bus just got in front of us and we had to wait till they had checked through. We arrived into San Martin around 5pm ...

... It was so bright green that it looked like it was glowing when the sun was shining on it. The bus (and boat) was full of young, dirty, holiday making local hippies with all of their camping gear. It is becoming very obvious that being a hippie, especially being a camping hippie, is the South American way. Puerto Fuy is even smaller than Choshuenco, well, Puerto Fuy is actually ...