We were both looking forward to the bus journey back to Santiago from Mandoza. The crossing of this part of the Andes is both long and unpredictable. The road can be closed at short notice so we left a couple of days grace in case anything went wrong. Our bus left on time and the day was very clear which was great as we really wanted a good view as our crossing from Osorno to Bariloche had been dense fog so we saw little of the mountains on that journey. As we started winding through the hills and climbing it very [View Full Entry]

---

---

Okay so we had an early start out of Santiago for our 3.5 hour flight to Lima. The flight was easy and we arrived with plenty of time for our bus. Lima does not get a great right up for safety in lonely planet so we enjoyed a sandwich and coffee in the airport and then jumped a taxi directly to the bus station. We were impressed when we arrived as the station is completely fenced off and we both felt really comfortable that the touts and safety problems we had read about were not prevalent at all. We had a [View Full Entry]

---

---

Day one of our inca trail and we sat in our hostel waiting for our pick up. It was 4.20am and we chatted with the night guy on reception he warned us about how bad the altitiude can be and kindly gave us some coco leaves to take with us. Apparently you can chew them as well as have them in tea, they help with headaches etc caused by the lack of oxygen in the air. He is also a guide so we took the leaves and his good advice and added them to our ever growing medical supplies. We both [View Full Entry]

---

---

Amigo? amigo? tap, tap, tap..........Amigoooooooo? It´s 5.30am I open my eyes and realise I´m in a tent Tim is showing no sign of movement and there is most definately a voice calling out and tapping on our tent. I struggle in my many layers of clothes to get to the tent zip. Finally pulling it open a gush of cold air enters and two man are crouching down with cups of hot water and a tray of tea. I say hello and take the cups of water followed by 2 tea bags. We are still drinking coca tea and Tim takes [View Full Entry]

---

---

Another bus journey completed and another destination. We cannot believe how much we have seen and done in Argentina already and we have both really enjoyed the country. Mendoza was our last stop and we had high hopes with a range of activities to do and wonderful scenery to explore. We had not booked a hostel in Mendoza so jumped onto the internet in the bus station and decided as we were staying a few nights to book a room with ensuite in a very well positioned hostel with grest reviews. We phoned them and they had room so we jumped [View Full Entry]

---

---

Having not slept very well on the bus from BA to Cordoba (due to it not being the full sleeper we were supposed to get) we were both very tired when we arrived. It had been two days since we had showered and we both felt grubby and a bit crabby. Jumping a taxi to our hostel and struggling through the very tiny doors that the colonial buildings have in south america we dragged our bags up the steep steps to reception. We were greeted by a very nice girl who told us a few minutes later that she did not [View Full Entry]

---

---

We had taken the decision some months before not to travel to Puerto Iguazu. We changed our mind after meeting Grace in bariloche who showed us a video of the place. So after a very long journey we set off from the bus station to find our hostel. We got lost and a bit stressed as time was of the essence we only had one afternoon and the following morning to see everything before we left to go back to Buenos Aires and our connecting bus to Cordoba. Eventually we found our place and after a quick shower and change headed [View Full Entry]

---

---

So here we were back in Buenos Aires feeling both comfortable and at home as we know the city quite well now. We had got a good nights sleep after the long journey back from montevideo and had a few things to achieve before we left again to go to Iguazu. We had already booked a Boca Junios game through the internet weeks before so that just left the tango show which was an absolute must for me. We had short time again so the guy at our hostel helped us book the show (therefore I forgave him for cocking up [View Full Entry]

---

---

We had to be at the Port in Bueno Aires for 8am arriving on time we checked in for the boat and waited for our 9am departure. It is a regualr occurance to hop over to Uruguay from BA and everything was well organised. The day had started wet and we were hoping to escape the rain of BA. Passing through both Argentina and the Uruguay customs we took a short bus ride to the boat and very quickly we were on our way. Surging over the slightly rough Rio Plata. The boat journey took just over an hour so we [View Full Entry]

---

---

We pulled into retiro bus terminal in Buenos Aires and had to sort out a hostel. We had found one on our BA map and had every intention of heading for that. I´m being a bit grumpy cause of a lack of sleep and the onset of a cold so Tim is taking the reigns today. Standing on the platform yawning as Tim went to get the bags I was approached by a guy speaking spanish. I explained (in Spanish) that I did not understand and he switched straight away to excellent english. He was an agent for the BA hostels [View Full Entry]

---

---