Back in BA (and boy do our heads hurt)

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Hey everyone

Since we last updated this site a whole lot has happened so grab a cuppa and read on. You'll notice that we've managed to put more photos on too, so you can see for yourselves what we've been up to this past few weeks.

Mendoza was an absolute blast! Loads of things to do in the day, loads of places to go at night, and full of the bright young things of Argentina due to its huge University population.

We became the all action foursome over the course of this stage of our trip, which began with horse riding last Saturday. Having never tried horse riding before I for one was pretty pensive. We arrived at the ranch and met 4 other travellers who would be joining us on a "gentle trek through the countryside". Between the 4 of us we picked the 4 slowest horses, and through the course of the trek one of the instructors was always trying to make them get a move on. Joff and Steve even took to using their reins as a whip, but the dumb beasts just didn't get it. The scenery was pretty great, but all in all the experience was an uncomfortable one. Personally, I'm glad I've done it - mainly as it means I won't have to do it again!!

Having raised our adrenaline levels, we decided to up the ante a bit with a spot of paragliding. This basically involved getting strapped to an instructor, running off the side of a mountain and hoping that the guy knew what he was doing! Now this was totally amazing, floating high above the mountains, with the vast city laid out before us. All too soon it was all over, and what a surreal ending. It seemed that all the families in the surrounding areas spend their Sunday afternoons watching tourists come out of the sky. Jamie had a host of local urchins surrounding him once he hit the ground. At this point Lucky Roff stopped being so lucky, as he was the only one of us who failed to execute a perfect landing!!

Next stop was a bit of white water rafting, just to continue to test the travel insurance. We were taken to a river in the foothills of the Andes, about an hour away, and decked out in safety gear (including funky little rubber shoes). The river didn't seem to be moving too fast, and this was apparently "only" a Grade 2 course so should have been fairly tame. All I'll say is that I'm glad we didn't get to see a river that wasn't tame!! It was brilliant fun and myself and Steve managed not to fall out of the raft. Jamie and Joff, however, suffered the ignominy of being the only 2 people out of the 14 rafters to take a swim, though they did bear the brunt of a pretty rough patch.

All this excitement was getting a bit much, but we managed to go out a fair few times to ensure we were making the most of Mendoza. We all loved Mendoza, but we had to move on, and where better to move on to than Buenos Aires (again). We had a few extra days on our hands so decided to go back to BA now that the clubs were reopened.

We arrived on Thursday, and checked back into the same hostel we'd stayed in last time. We were even back in the same dorm! On Thursday we went on an organised trip to one of the clubs, and had a great time. I'd love to tell you more but can honestly not really remember very much. Suffice to say, we were back in BA with a vengance.

A day spent in bed was followed by another night out, this time around some of the funky bars in Palermo. Jamie and Steve sat this one out, in preparation for a big night on Saturday, but Andy and Joff struggled manfully on. Again, our decision to come back was rewarded by another great night out.

Then we come to Saturday night, and one which I will remember for a very long time. When we'd arrived in the hostel on Thursday, they'd been advertising a trip to Southfest on Saturday night, which is a huge dance music festival on the outskirts of the city. Not being a huge fan of dance music I wasn't that bothered until we heard that Faithless were heading the bill. It is almost impossible to describe how good it is to be stood amongst thousands of people, in the middle of a field in Bunos Aires, dancing madly to what has to be one of the best live bands around. It was truly amazing.

It's now Monday, and we're flying to Peru tomorrow, and hope to do the Inca Trail at the end of the week. After our weekend of prime preparation no doubt it should be a doddle!

AC

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