Skiing with Mountains of Chocolate and Lamb!

      I crossed the Andes into Argentina with Reece. The 1st night was an unscheduled stop in San Martin de Los Andes, having been assured that we could continue south when in fact the last bus had left hours before! It was no problem, as it was a sweet town where I had my 1st taste of the legendary Argentinian food - venison pate & roast wild boar, at the incredibly tempting price of about £5!

01 Jolly Cold in the Kayak!!

       Next day after a bumpy & sadly wet journey along the famous "7 lakes" road (gorgeous views when the sun shines, I'm sure!) we finally arrived in Bariloche, another tourist town with an Alpine feel (well, it was bloody cold!) in a spectacular location on a lake surrounded by snowy mountains. I got active again with an afternoon's kayak on a beautiful but v chilly lake, & my 1st day skiing for years! Although it was the end of the season & only had 4 lifts open, Cerro Catedral had plenty of snow for me to find my ski legs again, esp at only £20 for the lift pass AND hiring all the equipment & clothes!

02 Skiing at Cerro Catedral

       The food in Bariloche was fantastic, with numerous chocolate shops making it & giving out free samples (oh yeah!),it made a change from doing a "pub crawl" ! Parrilladas are the archetypal Argentinian restaurant, specialising in grilling melt-in-the-mouth meat over hot coals,slicing off your chosen juicy chunks from the massive joints as requested - yum! We found a little takeaway where you had to take a ticket & wait, as it was so popular with the locals. One restaurant served a mountain of the most delicious lamb I have ever eaten, enough for lunch as well! It was much cheaper than in Chile & nearly impossible not to over-indulge if you like eating as much as I do :)

03 Inside a Chocolate Shop!

04 At the Parrilla

05 One of Bariloche's Gnomes

06 Patriotic Students Celebrating