Montevideo is the capital city of Uruguay. I didn't have much time there - I arrived late at night and went straight for dinner. Emma, Jim, Julio and I carried on to the El Pony Pisador bar where there was a live band playing samba, salsa and suchlike. They stuck on some reggeaton videos when the band took a break - that was more to my liking Before we left the next morning, I just had time to visit the Palacio Legislativo - a gorgeous, elaborate building, deco...

I took the ferry across the Rio de la Plata from Buenos Aires in Argentina to Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay. Colonia is a small sleepy town; it is quite pretty with cobbled streets lined by tall trees. When I arrived in the evening, we went for dinner at the quirky El Drugstore restaurant - it was colourfully decorated, had live music and even had one table outside in an old car! The next day I went for a relaxing stroll around town - it doesn't take long t...

Buenos Aires is a huge city, very lively with lots going on. Each district has is own distinct atmosphere but overall it has a very international feel - there are shops and restaurants from all over the world and the city is packed with tourists. I was staying in a very central location which was great and made it easy to get around. I spent the first morning walking around the centre and doing a bit of sightseeing. I went to see the Casa Rosada (the pink presid...

Bariloche is in the picturesque Argentine Lake District, on the shore of Lake Nahuel Huapi, surrounded by mountains and forests. In the winter it is a ski resort and the town is largely geared towards that. Our accommodation was 20 kilometres away from the town, out in the countryside with no shops, restaurants or anything else nearby and a taxi into town was very expensive so we spent the first night just sitting around drinking wine and chatting at the hotel. ...

From Puerto Varas I took a day trip to Chiloé Island with a local guide, Ernesto. On the ferry to Isla Grande de Chiloé I saw seals in the water and in the distance I could just make out the Chaitén volcano that had exploded a couple of weeks earlier. Once on Chiloé Island, we drove to the town of Ancud where we visited the San Antonio Fort - the last place that the Spanish held in South America - and the Regional Museum of Ancud in the main square. Ernesto ...