Mon 5th Nov: Checked out of the hotel, but left the rucksacks there for storage. ´Had a walkabout and did some domestic shopping. Also bought a magnetic omnibus card to get out to the coach station where I purchased an overnight ticket to Neuquen (West Argentina). I noticed with a bit of shopping around that different companies compete for the same routes, so prices varied. I leave at 10:00 pm and should arrive about 5:00 on Tuesday morning. At 2:00pm Raul picked me up from the hotel and we went to his school (Collegio de San Martin). It´s an inclusive school [View Full Entry]

---

---

Saturday 3rd Nov: yesterday was a fairly lazy day; apart from a stroll down 9th July Ave and buying a much needed Spanish/Eng dictionary in Florida Ave, I just read for most of the day (one of Michael Murpurgos books). I said my goodbyes at the hostel and got a taxi to the coach station - a mistake- as I could have walked just as quickly (because of traffic), and yet another argument with the taxi-driver who tried to overcharge me. It was chaotic at the coach station with more than 30 platforms and I was told that my coach would [View Full Entry]

---

---

Sun 4th Nov: After a reasonable breakfast I went walkabouts to find an internet cafe - was unable to upload the photos yesterday as the PC had no spare USB port. The city was quiet and most shops closed but eventually found a place open. At 11.00 Raul, Patricia (his wife) and Austin (their nephew) arrived at the hotel and we went on a long drive towards the sierras. Austin spoke fluent English and translated the conversations. We soon left the flat landscape around Bahia for the rolling and beautiful countryside of the sierras. On the way I had my introduction [View Full Entry]

---

---

Saturday 3rd to Sunday 4th February, 2007. Another day another bus journey, this time thirteen hours across Argentina to Bahia Blanca, a port town on the east coast approximately half way between Bariloche and Buenos Aires. I knew precious little about it other than that it would be an opportunity to break up the journey and guessed it'd be a small slice of 'real' Argentina, not a Gringo in sight. I was right. The bus was again comfortable, the seats reclining to almost the horiziontal and for the first six hours I had two to myself. I slept, took in the [View Full Entry]

---

---

This city is what inspired me to get the heck off the coast and head toward the Andes. Ah, Bahia Blanca...rolls off the tounge like a charm. Believe me, it sounds much prettier than it is. I stepped off the bus and immediately started sweating. The heat and humidity beat that of Buenos Aires and Mar Del Plata combined, which is impressive in itself. I called a hostel from the station that I´d read about in some guide and found there were rooms available. Splendid. On the local map, 2km didn´t seem too far of a walk at all, so I [View Full Entry]

---

---

Nick: After our last update, we spent 2 hours riding along at a constant angle to allow for the constant wind. Ever noticed how if you stick your head out of a moving car, you can't breath? Well we had that for two hours thanks to said wind. My intercostal muscles are now well 'ard!! Our journey destination was the remote Dairy farm of Marahue on the banks of the Rio Colorado, home to the parents of Emily, our friend in BA. We had been warned about the road, but I still adhered to the theory that it'll all work out. [View Full Entry]

---

---

Nick: Well its now been just under 400 miles since our last update. We´ve seen a lot since then, most of which comprised of a distant horizon and a really big sky and all the while the scene is puncutated by cows, horses or trucks... Our first days riding was pretty uneventful as we crossed vast swathes of agricultural land. The roads a so straight that the road autority has had to put signs for a bend in the road, so that you then sit up and wake up. By bends I mean a 5' kink in the alphalt. The only [View Full Entry]

---

---

We eventually left the Bus Station in Bahia Blanca and got a taxi to the Hotel Los Vascos, we got there for around 8.30am and the place was closed, so we began the walk into town with our big backpacks! Everywhere seemed to be closed at that hour of the morning, so as is our usual response when things aren´t going right, we went for a coffee. Had a little think over coffee & decided to try another place called Residencia del Sur, it looked a little dirty from the outside, but we decided to be brave & try it - [View Full Entry]

---

---

We are currently in the bus station in Bahia Blanca, after a 10 hour bus trip. As horrendous as that might sound to those of us used to Bus Eireann, I think the Argentines have the whole bus situation pretty well sorted. We got the bus last night at 8.30pm and arrived here at about 6.20am, the buses have seats that are like beds although we were only semi cama (which isn't fully lying down) then about 2 hours into the trip a man on the bus (equivalent to an air host) woke us up for our food, it was like [View Full Entry]

---

---

Sorry for the lack of pictures again, the camera stopped working. The night of telemetry follies Estela, the boss, has gone to the city to help a friend whose mother has just passed away and I am alone in the field house. I am determined to do some telemetry while she is gone, so I gather the equipment, put on my field clothes, and find the old clunker of a bike in the garage. The bike mechanics I know would have fun with this one. The wind is blowing like crazy, but I really want to do something for Estela so [View Full Entry]

---

---