Determined to make it to Bariloche, I headed to Temuco hoping that there would be no problems with the border crossing for once (after diversions entering Chile from Bolivia and now leaving). Attempting to remain optimistic I convinced myself I would be able to cross over into Argentina that same day, stopping off over night before heading down to Bariloche. However, no buses running until the following morning, I had no choice to stop off in Temuco, Chile. I hopped into a taxi and asked to be taken to a hostel listed in the guide book. As ever, things never being simple, the hostel no longer existed so we went on to the second of the 3 hostels listed. I thought myself lucky to see that this one actually existed but I clearly spoke too soon as no-one came upon ringing the bell several times. After reading up on the third and last hostel listed, I discovered that it was 47km outside the city and was therefore not a feasible option. Trying another 2 hostels which turned out to be full, I was starting to despair a little but managed to keep myself together. I consider myself very lucky that the taxi driver came to my rescue, radio-ing his office to find me a hostel. He was my saviour: finding me a hostel and even stopping the meter after he had driven me around for half an hour, the whole 45 minutes spent in the taxi only ended up costing around 10 pounds!!!

While the hostel was small, it was in a safe neighbourhood close to the city centre and I even had my own room with a double bed, ensuite bathroom and TV. The TV was in fact a godsend, without it I wouldn´t have known about the clocks going forwards that night and may well have missed my bus to Argentina. The journey itself was comfortable and ran smoothly (unlike the ridiculous border crossing from Bolivia) and I soon made a new friend. Rene, the OAP whom I was sitting next to was a sweet old man who clearly missed having someone to talk to. He wanted to know all about my travels and being Chilean by birth but living in Argentina for 30 years, he informed me about life here. However nice it was having someone to talk to for a while, I was very relieved when we pulled into the bus station at Neuquen. He had repeatedly asked me the same questions throughout the journey as well as persistently waking me up from my nap which, as most of you know, is a fatal error! While I managed to refrain from getting grumpy with him, I was happy to have a double seat to myself on my connecting night bus from Neuquen to Bariloche.

Despite the 2 day delay in arriving, the journey was worth it! Arriving in Bariloche, I headed to my hostel which, being on the 10th floor of an appartment block has breathtaking views over the town, snow capped mountains and the lake. Spending the afternoon exploring the town, I organised day trips skiing and horse riding before heading to the local chocolate museum. While the staff seemed determined to put me off entering, insisting that there were no tours around the factory and no English speaking guides available, I explained in Spanish that I would nevertheless like to have a look around. Overcoming the frosty reception, I paid my entrance fee, received a free chocolate and shot of rich hot chocolate and wandered around the museum. Although the museum was small, it was interesting and even mentioned Bristol as the Fry´s chocolate factory was the first in the UK.

Soon after I headed back to the hostel where the fellow guests soon introduced themselves, instantly making me feel very at home. Although we´re all from different countries, it´s one big, multinational family. It´s a relief speaking in English for the first time in 5 days but invaluable practice speaking Spanish, especially when attempting (yet miserably failing) to pronounce complex Spanish tongue twisters.