From Cordoba to Mendoza

SO Cordoba and Mendoza...via the lake district

I never really had a chance to write much on Cordoba. But had a lot of fun hanging out there for the week, learning spanish, doing a salsa class where i tried to avoid the very slimey men trying to dance with me and visiting Che´s house which was pretty cool. It also held one of the biggest folklore festivals in South America, so we checked that out too...I didnt realise folklore wasnt folk music, so the taste of music wasnt exactly for me, but a good experience none the less. Cordoba is not the prettiest of places but if you look you will find, and it definitely had something special about it...

Next stop was Mendoza which unfortunately didnt leave any lasting memory apart from the fact that it is where I got my camera stolen :( So I apologise now, but the photos are what Emma took of me from her camera as I dont have any myself and dont want to steal her pictures (although ive sneaked in a couple!)

Apart from that, we also managed to fit in a visit to some wineries to taste the local produce and a day tour through the Andes to see the Aconagua moutain and the argentina/chile border, pretty breathtaking views.

After Mendoza we decided to make the 20 hour bus journey down to see some of the northern part of the Lake District in Argentina, close to the Rio Negro.

Bariloche was our first stop, which is very popular in the ski season which means the town has a very ski lodge type feel - it was a bit disorientating at first because you would never believe you were in Argentina, such a different feel. It was also apparently the best place for chocolate, so of course we had to sample that...quite a few times...just to make sure it really was that good, which it was! We did a bit of a hike one day through a forest to a beautiful lake and then ended up in our scruffy clothes having drinks in the most beautiful hotel overlooking the mountains and lake, really not sure how they let us in, especially with me holding a bag of salami left over from lunch, nice eh!

On from there was El Bolson. A smaller less commercialised town close to Bariloche. I didnt do much here, apart from laze about in the plaza, eat Empanadas and visit a mirador (look out point). It was the place where I had my worst hangover yet so I missed out on visiting the big lake the next day which was a shame, but thats what a combination of beer wine and vodka/speed (red bull that is) do to you!

Next stop was Buenos Aires, a 24 hour bus journey from El Bolson, the longest yet!! Buenos Aires and more to follow....

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