Bariloche and El Bolson

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We started the day of the marathon bus journey with a stroll to get postcards. We have collected a few postcards on the way round but are yet to send them. The bus to Bariloche cost AR$1300 each (ouch) and left at 3.30pm so we had a leisurely lunch in the Sun in town. The journey wasn't as bad as we feared, we managed to get a fair amount of sleep, but with few stops along the way we were very pleased to get off at 8pm the next day.

The bus station in Bariloche is a few km out of town and as it was late, we were tired and unsure of where to go, we shared a taxi with an Italian guy who generously paid more than his share. The taxi from the bus station to the Moving Hostel travel bar (our hostel) was AR$50. By the time we had settled into our very nice twin room (same price as a dorm or very similar) and showered to make ourselves feel more human, it was 9.30pm. This meant the restaurants were busy as the Argentinians like their food late. We wandered for a bit and after finding the hostel recommended restaurant ´Manush´ full, we opted for a microbrewery down the street called Antares. Both come highly recommended in the Lonely Planet, but we didn't know at the time. The meal was delicious. I had Ojo de Bife (ribeye steak) with dauphinois potatoes and Alex had deer stew which had been slow cooked in beer and served in a dish of a bread come pastry type texture. Both were immense, melt in the mouth meat, the steak especially so. The bill came to AR$228 with a house brewed beer (an oddly fizzy stout) and a coke, excellent value for money.

After having hiked in El Calafate and El Chalten we decided to go for something different here and so settled on a bike ride. We took the bus out of town and hiked a relatively short but extremely steep hill which gave excellent views of the surrounding lakes. There was a cable car that could do the hard work for you but we were pretty chuffed with our efforts and the fact we had saved AR$90 each. The bike rental place was a few hundred metres down the road and we were greeted by an employee who had mastered the poker face. He spoke perfect English but his short manner left us confused as to whether he was actually there to help or not. The rental cost us AR$150 each and ´pokerface´assured us that the route shouldn't take more than four hours. With socks amusingly yet necessarily tucked into trousers, ill fitting helmets and high visibility vests on, we set off on the 27km ride around one of the lakes. As it was 1.30pm and the place shut at 6pm it would cost us dear if we didn't get our arse into gear.

The first downhill was great, the first uphill not so. Alex couldn't grasp the concept of gears so was more than a little frustrated. A combination of my slow cycling and Alex's pushing finally got us to the top and we stopped for lunch with a panoramic view of the lake and a couple of large birds of prey for company. Once Alex had figured out the gears, the rest of the ride went well though a little disappointingly the road led us away from the lake and through forests instead. We made it back comfortably within the timeframe. Saddle sore, we spent the evening cooking fajitas and resting in preparation for an eight hour hike the next day.

Unfortunately, we woke to rain. We had so far been lucky with the weather in Argentina considering the time of year, so it had to catch up with us somewhere. Instead of hiking, we spent the day booking buses, pottering around town and looking for the best ice cream. Alex´s stalking of the free taster people in the fancy chocolatiers dotted around town delighted her and amused me in equal measures.

The buses we booked were a two hour bus to El Bolson for the next day, AR$55 each each way and the bus across the border to Santiago, Chile via Osorno. We went with Andesmar Chile for this and it cost AR$590 each. This left us excess Pesos after having based our budget on prices given on www.plataforma10.com (a really useful website that compares bus routes, times and prices) of AR$1200 each. Flush with cash we went back to Manush for dinner. Ordering the same dishes but swapping this time. Again it was good value as the meal only cost AR$342 and we had both had a beer and dessert as well.

It was the wrong time of year for El Bolson. The hiking and activities are weather dependent and the weather was miserable. A bit of a wasted trip for us but the hostel, Pehuenia hostel, we stayed in was nice, with a good kitchen which we exploited and prepared a huge amount of pasta for dinner and for the journey the next day. The four bed dorm had a double bed and one other roommate which was a bit odd, but comfy enough.

On to our next country, Chile.

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