First class feels good. Didn´t think I´d ever say it but, I really enjoyed a 13 hour bus journey.

Last time we left off in Mendoza and we were heading for Buenos Aires. They´re 1300km apart and despite any macho claims of driving it, we´d given Pablo back, so that wasn´t an option. A plane was, but it wasn´t cheap. Which left a bus. The Argentinians have 3 classes of bus; Semi-cama which is a bus as you´d expect it albeit a bit nicer; Cama which gets you a nice wide business class style seat which goes a long way back; and First Class which not only gets you a fully flat bed, you get your own separate bus! And champagne and 3 course dinners and movies in English. I could get used to this, especially at less than US$10 more than the next class down.

Breathing rarified air en route to Buenos Aires wasn´t necessarily a guarantee of the air quality once we got there though - we were back in a real city and our noses knew about it - think I´m in for an allergic reaction when we touch down in London, I´ve been out in the sticks too long.

Speaking of which, having got to Buenos Aires, we left again almost immediately, jumping on a plane to Iguazu to see the falls. They didn´t do a 1st class bus up there and I drew the line at 20 hours on the road. Not that the plane ended up being that much quicker... it started looking less than promising when our taxi driver had a good old chuckle when I said we were flying with LAN. It was only after he´d sped off from the terminal we realised why - LAN´s cabin crew were on strike. Ah, not ideal. Still, it did provide the opportunity for the Argentinians present to indulge in some of their favourite pastimes, namely queue-barging (everyone, but especially the media), banging drums (cabin crew), clapping and chanting in reply (passengers) and plenty of getting worked up, yelling ´Aye... Oye´ and gesticulating with ones thumbs and forefingers pressed together in a comic mock-Italian style (I lost track). Obviously the Brits present whinged quietly in the corner but didn´t actually do anything. Anyway, having navigated our way through a sea of stereotypes, we did eventually take off a few hours late.

Iguazu falls were of course stunning. This was amplified by us being the first people in the park and so having the lower balconies all to ourselves for a good hour or so. The photos will give you an indication of the scale but they won´t add the noise (or fortunately the heat) that went with it to make it one of those mind-blowing experiences that you just have to do rather than describe.

A remarkably uneventful flight popped us back to Buenos Aires, where we set about tackling the capital. First up was a Boca Juniors match. If I´m honest, I wouldn´t think them getting deservedly hammered 3-0 like the bunch of cart horses they were in the pissing rain away from home sounded very positive, but it was good fun, promise! The terraces were definitely more entertaining than the football - the Boca fans started up their drums a hour before kick off and didn´t let up for the entire match, wobbling the stadium and switching songs in perfect harmony at will. The chanting perhaps lacked some of the vicious personal insults that make an English match so delightfully unrefined, but there again the chants you´ll hear there don´t last 15mins and sound like they´ve been actually been composed rather than made up en route from the pub after 18 pints of Stella. As for the San Lorenzo fans, there were definitely out-sung, but you couldn´t fault their coordination - I wasn´t aware it was possible to organise an entire stand into raising and lowering a flag that covered its entirety, apparently on demand, without some North Korean-esque central planning. We didn´t encounter and pre or post match rioting, a slight disappointment given what I´d been lead to expect from South American football, but it wasn´t for want of trying - the police had the requisite tank / water cannon combo just in case.

The suburbs ticked off, we concentrated on the city centre next, doing an unguided walking tour of all the main sights. The Casa Rosada, Evita museum, Japanese gardens, Recoleta, the weekly march for the Disappeared under the last military government and so on were all pretty easy to find and made a lot more sense of the modern history of the place. And gave us an excuse to claim an appetite for more beef and ice cream. The guidebook reliably informed us that eating out is one of BA´s great pleasures and who were we to argue? Restaurants think little of giving over a third of their floor space to a grill rather than tables and it shows. We didn´t encounter quite like the Beast of Salta as I fondly remember my steak there, but it was ruddy bloody good.

Final stop in BA was a tango show. Authentic? probably not. But very very good? absolutely. There was of course dancing and singing whilst you supped champagne and ate empanadas (yes I know I´ve just had half a cow for dinner but if they´re offering), but the Gaucho dancer twirling, skipping and tapping along with balls on the end of ropes was less expected. As was the full accordian band. Did it make sense? who cares, even the cheese-laden Evita scene was great fun.

We liked BA a lot. There´s waterfront to sip a cold beer when it gets that little bit too hot, although the temperature´s nigh perfect most of the time, the food that washes down is sublime, the tube costs 16p a go and it feels like a very pleasant mix of South American and European. The mosquitos are bigger than we´ve seen anywhere else, my nose is still recovering from the air quality, and it ain´t cheap (relatively speaking), but you could definitely spend some time there.

And with that it was back on a plane. Well, eventually. No strike this time, but apparently taking off within 5 hours or so of when they said they might is too much hassle for Aerolinas Argentinas. I won´t get started on the monumental inefficiency of the whole operation (want to buy a ticket online? Sure, just reserve from a computer, then visit your local office, take a number for the queue, then they´ll let you pay for you ticket but not give it to you; that involves another queuing process (elongated by staff wandering off at random) before you can join another queue for a receipt. just don´t even think about checking in online), ok well maybe a little bit, but 3 months of travelling calmed me, honest. Anyway, suffice it to say we got to Patagonia eventually (albeit not with AA making a final bid to finish us with their food) and we´re now lapping that up.

As you´ll see from the photos (maybe, depending on the connection) we´ve been out to the Perito Morino glacier, which was phenomenal - giant icebergs tumbling down the front of impressively massive glacier in the middle of a stunning national park but that´s just the start. Next up is an excursion to Chile for Torres Del Paine, then walking round the Fitz Roy range before we head back north (can´t wait for another AA flight) and make a dash for Chille - we´ve only got about 2 weeks left before we depart for NZ. Weird. Will try and keep you posted!