Alison: We arrived in Bariloche after a 19 hour journey on a semi-cama bus (only partially reclining seat and nothing to elevate your legs on) and we were very ready to get off! We quickly forgot the tightness of our swollen ankles when we saw the view......a huge lake and snow capped mountains everywhere. Bariloche is well known for skiing, chocolate and beer. It is a really attractive little town that looks in parts like a Swiss ski village (we imagine, having not been to one!) It isn't ski season at the moment so the place was less busy than it usually would be but the pubs and restaurants were still pretty full which made for a great atmosphere.

When we arrived we needed more money so we decided to change some US$ using the black market method. This was the first time we were doing it on the street so we weren't too sure what to expect. We had read that you agree a rate on the street and you then get taken into a room hidden away from prying police eyes at the back of shops or offices to actually change the money. We walked up and down the main street a couple of times looking for the dodgy looking men who loiter around and call out "cambio" as you walk past. There were a few around but we were just assessing the situation at first and playing it cool. When we had checked out what was around, it was time to talk to someone and strike a deal! As I said before, most of the guys on the street look dodgy but there was one guy who looked particularly scary. He was tall and thin with a tracksuit and a baseball cap on. He had bad teeth and was very grubby looking. I was about to cross over to avoid him but Nigel must have seen something in him that I didn't because this guy was the chosen one! I've seen a few folk like this around his hometown of Prestatyn so maybe he felt a bond...he h. Negotiations started on what rate he would give us but it was difficult due to the language barrier. At first he wouldn't budge off 11 but Nigel stuck to his guns at 11.3 and he eventually agreed and started to leads us off somewhere. To our relief it was a nice gift shop and we could change the money with the shopkeeper at the till rather than going somewhere private. The scary guy told the shopkeeper the rate we wanted and after much shaking of his head and giving us regretful looks, he tapped out on his calculator the best he could do......11.6! Result! Sometimes not speaking Spanish helps!

We didn't waste any time testing out the chocolate. On our first day we went to a place called . Rapanui which is a chocolate shop that had been recommended to us. We both opted to try the chocolate hazelnut ice cream and it was delicious! I'm more of a chocoholic than Nigel so although he enjoyed his, I was in heaven! It was really creamy ice cream with whole hazelnuts. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

We only had one full day in Bariloche so we decided to spend that visiting one of the nearby hills called Campanario. This hill is popular as it has a chairlift that takes you up to the top where you can get a really good view of the surrounding mountains. Unfortunately for us, the weather wasn't too good - very cold and wet. We wrapped up as warm as we could and headed out whilst the rain had stopped but when we got to the hill, the heavens opened so we had a very wet journey up in the rain. At the top it was also really windy so, unable to see anything, we headed for refuge in the cafe. A hot chocolate and an empanada warmed us both up and by this time the sun was out so we could go outside and actually see the views :) They made it worth the wet trip up.

That evening we decided to hit the local pub and try out one of their beer tasting trays. There were 11 beers to try and then once we polished these off, we each chose a pint of our favourite.....and then a pint of our second favourite.....and then a pint of our third favourite to make sure we had made the right choice! Despite it being cold and wet, it was a really good day and we wished we could have stayed for longer but as we were running out of time, we had to move on to the next place....time to tick off another item on Nigel's bucket list and go and meet the Welsh speaking Argentinians over on the east coast!