Geo: -34.5, -68.5It's been so fun to have Myers here to hang with. We've done so much walking and looking we thought we'd do some driving and looking tomorrow. We have to pick up the car at 8pm, so we left the hostel early to have time for some wandering. With four of us taxis are as cheap as the bus, so we took one to Plaza Independencia trying to find the Carnaval drummers and dancers Bob and I had seen the night before Myers got here--the ONLY time I didn't have a camera with me. But they weren't there so we just roamed the artists' stalls, then went to pick up our rental car. But our taxi!! The driver thought he'd pull a fast one on the dumb tourists and tried to charge us 3x ... read more

Geo: -34.5, -68.5Meyers got here at Chimbas this morning. Isn't that bizarre? We only just met them last summer at a 100 year celebration at Glacier, they moved into Village Greens in the fall and seven months later we're together in Argentina. So we showed them a little of the town. First it was how to buy a bus card, then onto the city bus for a ride downtown to Plaza Independencia and lunch on the city's only pedestrian street. Then in the afternoon we did a wine and olive oil tour, but since three of us don't drink, Bill had to do all the tasting. That's a heavy burden but he was still on his feet when we left the last winery. I thought the tours were a bit lame--we didn't actually get to see ... read more

Geo: -39.93, -71.08Pretty, neat and clean, that's Junin de los Andes. Perched on the edge of the Chimehuin River and within 60km of the volcano Lanin, Junin is a sportsman's paradise--much like Wisdom and Dillon, Montana.We loved it the minute we stepped off the bus. It couldn't be more different from El Bolson and Bariloche, both attractive in their own ways, but not like this. Bariloche's too chic and El Bolson's too ragged. In Junin we feel at home and this lovely ApartHotel we're staying in is straight out of Germany. It's immaculate with overflowing gardens, but as hospitable as going to your favorite aunt's. The owner keeps telling us to call her personally if we need anything and wants us to come again next year so her husband and her can go fishing with us. ... read more

Geo: -42.2082, -71.4262We rented a car and drove up into the mountains today. They're so close--this valley is narrow with towering mountains on two sides that we only just get to glimpse because of the low cloud cover. But with Claudio's help we found a river that joins Lago Epuyen and Lago Puelo and fished it, along with visiting Lago Epuyen as well.This is wild country. It's settled, but sparsely. Driving through it there are places you can entirely forget you're not in Montana, until you come upon a strange conglomerate of shacks/sheds/animal pens. I don't even think they'd call these pueblos, they're almost like summer cabins for the poor with really bad taste.It's good for the soul to see there's still country like this, but to find really desolate, unoccupied land you need to go ... read more

Geo: -41.9667, -71.5167This is El Bolson, tucked in between two towering snow draped mountain ranges close enough to touch. It's been raining all day off an on--mostly on, but now and then the clouds will thin and you can see gargantuan mountain peaks. But let me tell you first about getting here.We get to a bus terminal and it's a matter of who guesses best. How do you find the right bus?In Bariloche there's only about 5 carriers--that cuts it down from the 50 or so in Cordoba or Buenos Aires.Is it this bus? It's a Via Bariloche--right brand--it says Buenos Aires, but we've learned not to trust what the bus says...No, not that bus--really is Buenos Aires.The next one? No, that's Buenos Aires too.Next one? I show my ticket. Yes, says happy boy in white ... read more