04 - Argentina.. over and out

M: So, it´s been a while since we have written... this may be a long one!

After Uruguay, we went to Iguazu to see the incredible waterfalls. Iguazu is where Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay meet, and so I thought it would be really interesting to try to see a bit of Paraguay - no one ever seems to go to Paraguay, it gets left out of the South America tour... so we thought we would give it a chance.... we lasted one day!

We took a horrible bus (our first experience of long bus journeys here and we obviously picked a really bad bus company which left two hours late and sat us right next to a noisy air conditioning unit) to the border of Paraguay and crossed through. The difference between the border towns in Argentina and Paraguay is amazing... even though they are a few minutes apart.

Paraguay is the second poorest country in SA and so is obviously a very 3rd world country. However, alongside the slums and the desperate street children are rich Paraguayans pulling up in brand new shiny BMWs ... such a rich-poor divide, it is horrible to see. We arrived in a town called Encarnacion and drove through the old town bazaar... which reminded me of north Africa. We decided to get a bus straight to a town called Ciudad del Este.. which is where we cross to Iguazu. And again, we seemed to pick the wrong bus company (although looking back now it was a more interesting experience then getting on the comfy air conditioned coach!) It was a 5 hour bus journey and we were on the most basic local bus. The bus stopped anywhere that people wanted to get on or off.. and so we never went more than a few hundred meteres without stopping! The whole thing stunk of the wee overflowing from the toilet at the back and then half way through a lady opposite us started throwing up! Nobody battered an eyelid! We handed her a carrier bag that we had, and a bottle of water... she didn´t thank us or even acknowledge us when she got of the bus later... they are clearly not used to foreigners here.

So, after this journey, we decided the best thing to do would be to head straight to Iguazu the next day! We stayed one night in a hostel where we had to be locked in and out by a big metal gate, and were told not to stray far from the hostel at night.
We didn´t really give Paraguay a proper chance as we only went to the south East ... but we didn´t particularly feel welcome there - perhaps just as they are still wary of foreigners. The country side is beautiful though.. and green... almost like England.

To get from Paraguay to the Argentine side of the Iguazu falls, you have to pass through Brazil... so the following day we passed through 3 countrys. The border crossing process is a complete nightmare... you get a bus, but each border is a bridge, and at each bridge you have to get off before the bridge for your exit stamp, then get back on a bus to cross the bridge, then get off at the other end of the bridge for your entry stamp!! It would obviously be much too simple to have just one station where you exit one country and enter the other at the same time! One bus driver wouldn´t stop for us to get our Brazil exit stamp... so currently the Brazilian authorities think we are wandering round Brazil somewhere! It´s a good job we are not planning to go there on this trip!

Anyway, the falls where amazing, but touristy of course, and we treated ourselves to a flight back to Buenos Aires.

J: Getting back to BA for the third time in a month was a bit like arriving back to a knew adopted home. We were a bit cocky, down with the lingo and had pre booked a hostel where we wanted to be. After three or four days hanging out in BA we were once again on the road down south to a place on the coast called Puerto Madryn. Although an unscheduled stop, it was a nice resort. Bristling with sea front Cafes, bars and restuarant intermingled with tour shops offering whale watching and visits to penguin and sealion colonies. A little expensive for our tastes and lacking the want to roam amoungst a few million penguions at the cost of a few nights accomodation we pushed on and struck west across the country to the lake district of Argentina, destination, its capital Bariloche.

Surrounded by snow capped mountains and on the shores of a crystal clear cool lake sits Bariloche. The place has a certain Alpine feel to it with its log cabin type architecture, chocolate shops (*see end) and closed ski hire centres. The town is a hub for all types of outdoor activities, white water rafting, horse riding and trekking etc etc. Again because of this, its stature on the back packer tourist map well and truly established, Bariloche was thus far the most expensive place to stay in Argentina including Buenos Aires. It was at this point that we began hearing rumours of a three day festival de musica electronico which needs no further interpretation! Apparently on the outskirts of the hippie hangout town of El Bolson a couple of hours drive south through the mountains... Never the type to shy away from a party, we proquired a two man tent. Which was lucky as we got the last one in the shop, the display the model. And after a night in Bariloche headed south in search of pastures with less tourists, cheaper living, and dancing...

And that chums is exactly what we got. For just under a week we camped at the base of mountains that turned pink as the sun set. We indulged ourselves with assados (bbq´s) most nights, sipping wine whilst taking in the stars above. Glorious. We went trekking one day to take in more of the spectacular scenery, to swim and to earn the feast that we would be consuming after the sun set. At the end of the route into the next valley was the most pradillic river scene one could imagine. Sweat dripping from our brows, with dusty boots and the sun beating down on us like it was being magnified we arrived to the Rio Azul (blue River). It was so cold it was like swimming in the channel, which must have been why we were the only ones fool hardy enough to go tearing in whilst the few others who were there tip toed around on banks looking on with respectful disbelief. Walking back again we were punished by the sun and several times had to take shelter in the shade. One of these times being in the shade of a wild apricot tree. Delicious.
Another day to cool off we took a bus to the nearest lake, Lago Puelo. Beautiful, with a ledge about fifty metres out, just within our depth, that dropped away into the crystal clear blue depths.
El Bolson had a great market three times a week with a very bohemian influence. Fantastic cheap healthy food, home made wares, wooden toys, dream catchers and clothes amoungst musicians plucking and hooting away in the shade. It truly was a shame to leave which is testiment to why so many haven´t.

M: The Argentine lake district is so vast and so beautiful. Driving through it on some of our 22 hour bus journeys (!! luckily the buses are comfy) was incredible. We were lucky enough to get front seats on the top deck and had panoramic views of enormous blue lakes and jagged mountains as far as the eye could see... stunning!

J: Onwards. We struck north. Trying to make for Bolivia and knowing we would have to make a stop over somewhere. We dropped an e-mail to a lovely couple we had met in Colonia (Uraguay) who had invited us to their home in Cordoba, which was on our route before getting on a bus. Paula and Scott suprised us by meeting us at the bus station and insisting we stay with them! We´ve had a great couple of days here so far and have been lucky enough to have timed our passing by with Paula´s birthday. Many a beer has been drunk since we have arrived and our hosts really have made us feel so welcome that I hope we´ll get the chance to repay the favour one day back in blighty. And its here I find myself typing this. We´re having another asado tonight and have been told to brush off our dancing shoes for tonight is friday. I´m off to buy an avocado or two... until next time, hasta luego.

*M: I can´t believe Jack didn´t go into more detail on the chocolate shops... Bariloche was full of them. Huge shops dedicated to chocolate... Jack was in heaven. Queuing up at the deli style counter he looked like a 5 year old on christmas morning!! It was a bit like being in Willy Wonka´s factory.. when we walked past the counters loaded with the most incredible looking chocolate delicacies in all shapes and sizes and varieties of chocolate, we came across a little man with a huge bowl of melted chocolate dipping cherries into it and laying them out on a tray.... In our heads he could have been an oompa loompa!

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