Having a whale of a time!

  Bariloche, Argentina
Monday, November 27, 2006

SUMMARY

Not much trekking and not a lot going on really. Argentina has yet to wow me. I zorroed it down to Bariloche from Buenos Aires calling through Mendoza and Puerto Madryn along with a few other places. I now have seen the infamous Aconcagua but only from afar and still dream of climbing it one day. My camera decided it was time for a new career and did a somersault resulting in a half working camera, boo hiss.

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So, since there wasn't really much to report on I thought I would do a picture report of my time spent in Argentina.

01 - Drinking myself stupid

Well fancy that! What better Malbec to sample on my first night in Argentina than a fine Dalton??!!! Malbec has turned out to be by far my most favourite wine of all time. Simply divine!

02 - La Boca

They say you can't go to Buenos Aires and not go to a football game. Well, I decided to be a rebel and didn't go to one, instead wandering the streets finding all sorts of cafés and Evita's resting place.

03 - Guess where I am?!

An expo I came across while wandering around Buenos Aires.

04 - Go on, take the plunge!!!

Well lookee there! Yin Hai finally decided to take the plunge after some tentative dips in the paddling pool and joined me for a bit while we zorroed it down to Bariloche.

05 - Recoleta cemetery

One of the many mausoleums in the cemetery where Evita's family can be found. Oddly enough I found one for O'Leary, maybe they should rename it to Ryanair?

06 - Why did the chicken not cross the road?

Because there were ten lanes going each way! Buenos Aires was a complete contrast to Montevideo and a bit of a shock to be honest. The main road, less than half a block from the hostel I stayed at, had the next best thing to a motorway running through it. This mural pretty much sums up the traffic in the city, constant at all hours!

07 - Puente del Inca

A 100% natural bridge formed due to a combination of minerals and ice melting, or not as the case may be. There used to be thermal baths here that you could visit free but they have since been closed. Shame really as I was looking forward to having a dip at 3100 metres (10170 ft)!

08 - So close, yet so far away

This is likely to be the closest I get to Aconcagua for some time. Still, it was nice to see it while I was in the area.

09 - Wat dey do wih de sno?

OK, something's not right with this photo in Los Penitentes? At the bottom it said all the runs were open but this ski-lift was going nowhere?

10 - Bingo!

Dang, I was only four numbers away from winning! This was by far the best bus journey I had in my whole trip so far (Mendoza to Puerto Madryn), snacks and coffee, hot meals and even Bingo! Shame the view wasn't as good as what you get in Peru or Ecuador.

11 - Having a whale of a time

I happened to be calling down to Puerto Madryn during the whale spotting season so I thought I get myself on a boat and have a closer look. We had two of them playing around near the boat for a while but no spectacular jumps like what you see on the telly though.

12 - Bilbo's home

Called by El Bolsón before hitting Bariloche, a very relaxed town with an "energy centre" mountain nearby just waiting to be climbed! My first bout of trekking in over two months!!! (By the way, Bilbo Baggins in Spanish is known as Bilbo Bolsón).

13 - Bariloche

I wanted to cycle the Ruta Siete Lagos but decided it may be wise to do the Circuito Chico (a day trip) first to see how the knee would hold out. Lucky I did as after six hours it wouldn't go any further and I had to peddle back like peddle-along-Cassidy! My knee was kaput and my camera broken - it was time to treat myself so I had a delicious chocolate ice-cream!