Bariloche (10-13 Nov 2010)

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Wednesday 10th November 2010

Arrived and reached our hostel ‘41 Below’ by midday after another 15 hour night bus and arranged to go cycling. Jumped on the bus to another hostel where we hired mountain bikes, the best so far by miles, and were told about the Chico circuit, a 25km loop full of hills over looking beautiful views of the lakes and countryside. We teamed up with Adam another brit with a strong cycling past. Our first stop was 1 of the most expensive hotels in Argentina ‘Llau Llau’, where we had a quick look around the grounds, which included an impressive golf course. Back to the route we stopped for a hike where a steep climb led to great panoramic views of the lake. Returning to the bikes Richard discovered he had a flat tyre, switching to the spare only to find this too was punctured! Luckily Joanne’s spare was good & eventually we were on our way again. We stopped at a work in progress bar/cafe to chat to the owner & get some more views & photos. A fast downhill section & over the final bridge to complete the circuit 4 hours later. After handing the bikes back we ran to get the bus as it was passing and a lovely dinner at Jauja with fish & some bubbles as a treat.

Thursday 11th November 2010

Our guide for the day Gustavo picked us up at 8.30 followed by a couple more pick ups including Helen & Susan and a slightly annoying Israeli chap! After an hour we reached an idyllic spot on the lake where our horse riding lodge was situated. Tea & cake welcome over, we were led to the paddock where we met our horses. Richard’s was called Penguino & Joanne’s Puesterea. Richard was slightly cautios as it was his first time on a horse but he mounted easily & soon our caravan of 7 was off onto the track. Trotting through the forest & streams Richard constantly has to stop his horse eating & drinking! We came to a clearing where Gustavo tried to take photos of us although it seemed that our horses didn't like each other especially in close proximity! Richard’s almost started rearing up when he tried to stop him walking forward. All the horses went for a canter a little further down the track for 200m apart from Richard’s and another French lady who was also a novice, however these 2 lazy horses burst into an unprovoked canter downhill to catch up the pack after losing ground! We finished with a section along the lakeside with a crossing so deep we almost got wet riding the horses! The tour ended here but as the setting was so lovely we decided to hang around until the kayakers finished & get the later minibus home, & they gave us some free drinks & included us in afternoon tea and pancakes!

Friday 12th November 2010

We took the bus to the ski resort where the gondola took us to the top of the mountain, vey little snow remained off season, but lots of kids were still sledging. A few people stared at Richard in shorts & t-shirt as most were wearing ski gear, but the sun was out and it wasn't too cold! More amazing views of the lakes from the top and after a chair lift up to the highest point we had a hot chocolate and boarded the return gondola & connecting bus back to town.

Saturday 13th November 2010

Today we were heading to Mendoza but not until 3.30pm so we jumped on a bus to Campanario with 360 degree views of all the lakes, which would take some beating! We hiked up but sneaked onto the chairlift to get down! Back to the hostel to collect our bags & a taxi to the bus terminal for another overnight 15 hour ride to Mendoza.

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