Hosteria Sur San Carlos de Bariloche

... see Penguins. The penguin aspect of this trip is pretty much what convinced me to come to the south rather then the north.

The drive was about 22 hours by bus but, let me tell you, Argentines have this bus thing down to a science. We went super-cama, meaning the seats folded down into full beds, and we were treated with two meals, a snack, and several movies on the non-stop drive. Unfortunately ...

... I had the worst nights sleep then and woke up feeling shattered. Ror went off again to see if package had arrived so I packed up stuff and checked out and waited up in common room. I started feeling a bit better when I was up but just felt totally knocked out and still had the headache so took a few neurofen. Ror came back and happy days was told to call back at 1.30 for the package (our bus was 2.30). Well he was ...

... to dub "taming the natives". I made dinner at the hostel with some of my new friends, shot games of pool with some Israeli guys who had horror stories of getting robbed in Brasil. It seems that everyone pretty much gets robbed in Brasil. I am hoping for luck and caution to be on my side. Please knock on wood for us. I got packed up and left the following morning for my epic bus journey. A scheduled 34 hour trip from Bariloche to the far Northwestern city of Salta.

... rain blowing. In the morning I went downstairs opened the front door and it was all white. I thought great now we have to hike out in the snow. Then my eyes adjusted and I realized it was only wet we didn't get snow we were in the clouds. We started to descend the mountain and it took much less time then going up. The only problem was the footing for a while. I am still nursing my ...

... have liked to try to get to know some of the locals better. Big casino in town and I head there to meet some of the Israelis I am sharing a room with when I get back to town. No casinos in Israel so they love to have a small flutter when they get here - they won´t wager big though that is for sure. I on the otherhand maintain a safe distance. Argentina is not that cheap at all (by SA standards) and my money is starting to run down with alot of miles left on the clock ...

... and see a large monkey puzzle tree just outside our window and the view beyond of Lago Nahuel Huapi! How good is that? Beside our bed are bottles of water and pieces of chocolate. We get a really good nights sleep! Just a comment about the bathroom in our room; if you expect a modern American style bathroom, then Los Juncos might not be for you. We have ...

... at the lakeside, one at a lakeside café, the other at Hotel Casco de Artes, a hotel recommended by one of my clients for its ambience and art collection. Each turned up the chill and tranquillity dials a couple of notches (they go up to eleven you know...). The most memorable meal, although nowhere near the best ...

... 45mins) an into Argentina (30mins). There would have been easily 400-500 vehicles at each. My first land border crossing, despite the crowds, was a truly underwhelming experience: Get off bus Stand in line for a very very long time Show Passport and tourist card Get passport stamped Get back on bus No customs (to speak of anyway), no problems. I amused myself by trying to decipher the wanted posters on ...

... view of the mountains. On the way there we stoppped at Cerro Campanario and took a ski lift to the top where we could see all of the lakes and mountains - a view i´ll never forget, breathtaking. Though on the way from there to Llao Llao we didnt pay the bus because he didnt say anything and us being complete dipsticks ... so we got funny looks from the bus driver and hoping that we would'nt get that bus driver on the way back to ...

... again, the scenery did not disappoint. We began the hike along a dry, dusty trail and as we climbed higher and along the side of the mountain we had nice views of Lake Gutierrez. We then wrapped around the mountain through an area of tall bamboo-like trees and along a shady creek, then completed the hike up steeper, rockier terrain that led to the refugio. The refugio sits in ...