We were booked on the 9:45am Igi Llaima bus from Pucón in Chile to San Martin de los Andes in Argentina. The bus arrived pretty much on time and everyone boarded quickly. All was going well, with a timely departure, until the driver pulled over a short distance outside of Pucon.

There was a problem with the bus and we were told it would take 90 minutes to fix. There was a small shop just across the road so we managed to buy some snacks and drinks while we waited. David also used the time to write up the blog which was wildly behind. After 90 minutes, we were told that another bus would come, but it would take another 90 minutes and we were given cheese rolls and cola while we waited.

It was a rainy day so we weren't stressing too much that we were missing out on a nice day while we sat inside on a broken down bus. In the end, the replacement bus never materialised and our bus was fixed although it did take 6 hours.

The co-driver, who was probably nudging 60 years old, was hilarious. Once we were on the road again, he cranked up his reggeaton music and started dancing down the aisle of the bus. Perhaps the delay had moved his pay onto double time.

The driver put his foot down and we made it to the border post on time before it closed at 6:30pm. It was a simple stamp out in Chile and the friendliest stamp in Argentina. There was even a bag inspection. There was a good view of Volcan Lanin from the border, perhaps it was this view that kept all the border guards happy.

On the road again, we drove through Parque Nacional Villarrica which has a forest of Araucania trees (monkey puzzle trees). There was even a fox at the side of the gravel road.

We arrived in San Martin at 8pm and fortunately only had to walk one block to our hotel that Carlee and Andy had sorted out. We quickly checked in at La Posta del Cazador, which was built in a hunting lodge style and were given a nice room on the first floor with a lake view.

Everyone was starving and we took a walk up Avenida San Martin to El Regional restaurant, which was recommended by our hotel. It had really nice decor with the focus being on the two huge chandeliers made from deer antlers. We choose a picada/tabla for 4 which was full of regional specialities including wild boar, deer and trout in different ways and cheese. With a malbec from Fin del Mundo, it was sensational.

During dinner, the rain had started and was heavier than we anticipated. By the time we got back to our hotel, we were soaked to the skin. The rooms were hot as furnaces though so we hung up the wet clothes knowing they would be dry by morning.