Lakes, Islands and Mountains Galore!

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Sun 25th Nov:
Although I was the only person in my room when I booked in, it was nearly full by 11:00 and was totally full when I woke the next morning. I heard that a few came at 4:00 this morning. No breakfast is provided at this hostel (another thing I found out this morning), so I bought some food plus enough for a meal tonight. ´Got a bus out to the train/bus terminal and looked into transport prices to Chile. I decided eventually to go to Pucon by coach; it is in the Lake District in Chile. It´s a fairly long trip and only one company does it. I leaves at 9:00am and arrives there at 7:30 tomorow evening, with one change-over. While I was leaving the terminal I noticed a steam train about to leave the station. It was perfect, complete with the old wooden carriages. After a few questions I found out that it was a special chartered train for a small group of English train enthusiasts. I had a quick look inside and it was set out for a champagne meal for the journey. I spoke briefly with one of the passengers but was not invited to join them!
I got a different bus back; one which took me along the shores of the largest lake and to the base of a chairlift. I had lunch in a typical ski log cabin before taking the chairlift to the top. There were fantastic views over the lakes, which were dotted with varying sized islands, surrounded with an arc of white-peaked mountains. It was breathtaking!
´Back down and the bus back to the centre of Bariloche and the hostel, where I hired a bike for a few hours. I cycled out along the shore of the main lake for a few kilometres and back again. Lots out for a Sunday evening walk, plus joggers and many just sitting on the sea wall chatting. Looked into buying a new pair of boots, now that I parted with the old ones at Ushuaia (I wish I had given them the "boot" much earlier). However, I didn´t find a pair I liked. So, back to the hostel, cooked a nice steak, plus rice with mixed veg, washed down with a good Argentinian Cabernet. Xemina, one of the staff at the hostel asked me to check a piece of English work she had done, which led to a late night of chatting and more wine. Chile tomorrow............

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Photos

The Steam Age
This beauty, I nearly missed. I just noticed the steam from it while leaving the terminal and went to investigate. I was glad I did.

Authentic Wooden Carriages
The original wooden carriages were furnished as they would have been, and were set for a champagne dinner en route.

On the Way Up the Chairlift
Memories of those skiing days - they seem years ago; actually they are! However there was a lot more snow around then for skiing conditions.

Windswept, but what a View!
At the top of the mountain the view were just spectacular.

Lakes, Islands and Mountains
One without me in the foreground, spoiling it!

The Main Square in Bariloche
All of the buildings around the suare were in local stone and wood. It gave the feeling of a skiing village.

Popular Drum-beat
On Sunday evening the square was closed to traffic and it was crowded with people listening to a local group on drums.

Perito Moreno Glacier (nr Calafate)
This is the first of a few photos of the glacier near Calafate, which I had difficulty putting on the blog previously.

Sixty Metres of Ice
The size of the glacier was awesome. Moving at near 2M per day it is more than 4Km wide.

Glacier - Close up
At the lower balconies we were so close to it you could almost feel as though you could touch it.

Icebergs
Every few minutes you would hear loud cracking noises as large sections of ice sheared off the glacier and fell with a thunderous crash into the water before gently floating away.