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Published: April 13th 2007
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Easter Bunnies
We all sported this stylish headgear at our Easter Sunday meal - just with different takes. Here, Nic and Carly are currently doing cute bunnies, if only people knew... Sorry guys, I somehow managed to publish this and then unpublish it so it hasn't been on the web even though you got an email about it. Here it finally is for reading!!!
Oh yes, the obligatory photo update. All the photos have now been added to "drive, drive, drive" and some to "Hiking madness". Take a look to check out the penguins.´
A LOVELY EASTER SUNDAY
Easter Sunday in Bariloche was a gorgeous sunny day, just perfect for my horse ride through the slopes of the Lake District. However the day was made even more perfect by the welcome we where given by the family who organised the activity. Their family had been living on this land within the national park for over 100 years and had passed down stories of Patagonia and the Lake District when it really was a wilderness. When we arrived there were air kisses and hugs all round, an act that was repeated as we left. And you immediately felt that this wasn't an act for the gringos but that they were genuinely welcoming you into their home. The ride was quite calm, no cantering for Gemma, but this was because
Sam and Luna
Awwwwww, here is Luna, the lovely if playful Bernard pup who lived at our hostel in Bariloche. we had some people with us who had never ridden before. However the views through the mountains completely made up for this. Several dogs came with us on our ride, including one little sausage dog. I don't know how he managed to clamber up all those slopes but he did it. They were all suitably exhausted upon our return. We had also signed up to have lunch and this felt like we were having easter sunday lunch with the family. Children and grandchildren kept arriving, including one particularily gorgeous baby. There was heaps and heaps of delish food off the old style bbq and the vino tinto kept on flowing. All in all I was thoroughly content when I drove away from that little farm outside of Bariloche.
That same evening we held our secret Easter Bunny dinner in a fondu restuarant. I had to comsume both cheese and chocolate fondu since I was there, didn't I!! Liz, the lady I had bought for loved her little egg and the necklace that I had managed to get from the craft fair the day before. Everyone got an egg and several people bought clever gifts specific to the person in
Sexy!
All kitted out for kayaking. question. The only thing that marred my Easter Sunday was some card fraud issues but that is all sorted now. Lets just say I'm down one card now!
WE ARE BRITISH
Waking the next day to find the Lake District living up to it's reputation for rain did not discourage Carly, Claire, Emma, Little Sam or myself. We still headed off on our kayaking trip in true British style. A bit of rain! We are used to the real UK Lake District for goodness sake! It turned out to be a great day despite the rain. Once in the kayak we were nice and snug with all our gear on and we got to have a good nosey around one of the lakes. We weren't on the biggest of lakes due to the wind, which we noticed as we battled against it to paddle back to shore. We were in strange two person kayaks that had rudders so we could be a bit lazy and not worry about stearing with our paddles. It was my job to stear our kayak, I think Carly will vouch for me doing a good job! Once back on land there was a
The Giant and the Dwarf
A highly amusing image of Andy and Sam pre-hydrospeeding. Sam is adamant that a slope was involved. bit of hopping around as we dealt with our numb toes but we soon tucked into the picnic lunch. You would think that would be enough for one day but the trip also included a guided hike up a mountain to get some stunning views of the lake. We couldn't have done it without the guide as he led us on a bit of a rock climbing adventure! From the top we could see the grave of Perito Morreno on a small island in one of the lakes. Morreno was the guy who had explored the area and sorted out the borders with Chile. He was granted the land that now makes up the national park by the Argentinian government in the early 1900s but he decided to donate it to the public. The day was rounded off with a couple of sample beers in a local microbrewery.
RAINY PUCON
We have now moved from the Argentinian side of the Lake District over to the Chilean side to be met by even more rain! Thankfully my tent has withstood it's first real test against the rain as we are camping the whole time we are in Pucon. We
Baywatch
A repeat of the Giant and the Dwarf, but this time in Baywatch mode. were supposed to be climbing to the top of the Villarrica volcano but sadly the weather hasn't allowed for it, grr!! The tour we would have taken would have taken us to the summit, maybe given us a view of some lava, and we could have then slide part of the way down on the snow (in special clothes designed for sliding). But it is too dangerous to attempt when it is raining and so for the past two days we have been booked onto trips, woken up at 6am but not been able to go. However in the true style of this trip we have filled our days with other activities instead. Yesterday a Jess, Andy, Big Sam, Carly, Claire, Emma, Little Sam and I risked our lives (joke) taking part in hydro speeding. This is basically body boarding down rapids! We had flippers, helmets and special wetsuits designed to cope with us possibly hitting the rocks. I absolutely loved it, such an adrenaline rush! At one point we got to surf on a static wave which was awesome. I only flipped once and that was on a grade 3 rapid which I think is allowed. I managed to
Flipper victory dance
Remember the Victory dance? Well this infamous one has been caught on video for ever more!!! roll right over successfully, just as the instructor had taught me. What a good girl!
THERMAL BLISS
After another disapointment with the weather today we some of the girls decided to treat ourselves to a day out at one of the many thermal spas in the area. We picked a natural spa that was and hour and a half out of Pucon but it was definately worth the drive! The spa was carved out of a natural canyon in the rock. Wooden walkways allowed you to walk over the river between the different pools. All the pools had at least one wall that was formed by the wall of the canyon and up this many different ferns and mosses were growing. I even saw a humming bird. When we first stripped off it was a bit on the chilly side (5 degrees!) but soon we were wandering around in our bikinis having just got out of a pool at 45 degrees! As you moved up the canyon the pools got hotter and hotter as you got closer to the source of the thermal springs. The last one I could only go into for a few minutes before jumping
Ready for action
Myself in full hydrospeeding gear. out. It was such a glorious way to relax, we spent a full three hours soaking in the 17 different pools. I was even brave enough to jump into one of the cold plunge pools which had a natural waterfall pouring in to it. I don't think I have moved so fast in my life as I ran back to one of the hot pools! I am now feeling very content and sleepy and so it is time to head back to camp for a meatball dinner cooked by Carly's cook group. We are going to try one last time to do the volcano tomorrow but if we do manage it the group that decides to do it will have to take a night coach to Santiago to catch up with the truck that will have left following the itinery. Until next time xxxx
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