Days 15 to 21

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Day 15:
After another day at school and our brains overfilled with Spanish we headed to a local restaurant called Alberto´s with fellow students Jan (IRE), Daphne (HOL) and Belen (DEU). I had a huge (and I mean huge!) lasagne stuffed with egg, bolognese, ham and peperroni for just 35 pesos, about 6 pounds, and the company was great with a lot of banter flying around! That night we headed to a local bowling alley which was shorter than those back home and then played pool (I´m winning the trip series 5-4 so far!), then met up with Jonny, Amos, Will and Harry (all ENG) in their hostel for a drink or two. All was fine until Alex came in about an hour after me at 3am, triggering a ridiculously loud house alarm that woke everyone up! Gutted for the lad!

Day 16:
Today the bus to school didn´t arrive so we thumbed a lift into town with a car that would have looked severely out of place on Pimp My Ride! School was pretty standard and then we headed straight home to catch up on lost sleep from last night!

Day 17:
It was our last day at school today and I was sad to leave having met some great people. I´m really glad we decided to do the course because even though we may not know that much yet, my confidence of speaking Spanish has soared and I´m definately finding it easier to understand people and read written Spanish. I tried a lomeato (steak sandwich) for lunch from the local burger van that was very salty but great! We watched the Motorcycle Diaries in Spanish with the school in the afternoon which was enjoyable, and later learnt that the Bailey´s were extras in a couple of the deleted scenes set here in Bariloche. A night out on the tiles with fellow students ensued that night at South Bar, La Bomba and nightclub Dusk which was a really good laugh. And Alex also met a crazy fraulein! Good lad!

Day 18:
After a well-needed lie-in we eventually got up, went kayaking on the lake and then cleaned Konrad´s car! Having had such a good time last night we decided to again hit the town Argie style, i.e. starting about 1am and finishing as the sun comes up! Dusk again was the highlight for Alex who this time met a 31 year old who had one of the most annoying friends I have ever met in my life! However, Alex again came back later, around 6.45am and had to sleep in the garden for 2 hours before it was safe to come in when the alarm was turned off!

Day 19:
Very lazy day! Watched Zombieland - good film!

Day 20:
Decided to return to Llau Llau National Park today and after chasing a bus 5 blocks across town we eventually set off on a walk along Lake Moreno. Scenes of overhanging bamboo and forest lead eventually to a swim in the lake and then we headed home for some kip. Another very good day!

Day 21:
After a gentle walk yesterday we decided to step it up a little today. After a 7.45am start we caught a bus to Catedral, a ski town, and from there took a cable car and a chair lift up the mountain. We stopped to admire the amazing views over lakes, towns and mountains and then set off towards Refugio Frey, around 4 hours walk away. The walk started clambering over rocks and scree with a 700 metre slope to one side leading to the valley below that was exhilerating but also terrifying (I´m not great with heights!) but the views made it easily worth it. Once we made it to the refuge, situated next to a tarn in a picturesque area we left the rock climbers and soldiers staying there and made our way through forest, some of which had been burnt and destroyed by a forest fire. Before finishing at around 8pm we stopped for a swim in the glacial river next to the track that, due to lack of swimwear, was done in the buff! It has been one of the best days of the trip so far!

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