It was really windy morning again and after a quick breakfast we headed out into the cold to go to the Money Exchange, which was fortunately open. It was an official looking place but we were offered very close to the 'blue' rate to change our US dollars. Money matters are a bit complicated in Argentina, they have an official currency rate used by banks and also an unofficial called the 'blue' rate. The difference between the two is due to inflation in the country, which is spiraling wildly out of control. The government claims that inflation is running about 10% but in reality it's closer to 60-70%. What this means for a traveler is that everything is bloody expensive i.e. prices quoted in Lonely Planet for a room at AR$400 only a year ago now costs about AR$600. On the flip side, a lot of places quote in US$ which of course has remained stable and this is where the blue comes in. Instead of changing US$ at 8 to 1, we were able to change at 13.8 to 1. A quick calculation shows that you get 50% more for your money and it goes a long way to covering the hiked up prices.

In a similar way, some hotels, like ours, allow you to pay cash in US$ at a lower rate than advertised. They will simply take the cash to be exchanged at the blue rate. There is a slight catch though, technically it's illegal and the rate gets lower with lower denomination US notes. Our hotel had agreed US$96 for 2 nights instead of the Argentinian Peso equivalent of US$150 but because we only had $10 notes, the price went up to $100. It was still a lot cheaper than the original price so there wasn't an argument.

Financial stuff aside, we were booked on the 10:30am Albus bus to take us to Villa La Angostura on the 'Siete Lagos' route, the seven lakes.

There were beautiful views of lakes and mountains, rivers and forests as we gradually climbed up into the hills. The weather was deteriorating though the closer we got to the Cerro Chapelco ski centre, it began to snow really heavily and continued almost all the way to Villa La Angostura. The snow wasn't just settling on the trees, it was lying on the ground too.

We arrived just before 1pm and walked couple of blocks up a gentle slope to Hosteria Huellas Andinas. It was going to cost a bit more to stay here but once we arrived at the beautiful wooden building we knew it would be worth every penny. Our room was like being in a proper nice hotel, a huge, big comfy bed with heaps of pillows, mini fridge, television and a view to terrace and the mountains beyond.

We walked back down to the town centre to the tourist information office to find out some more details on how and when to go to Bosque de los Arrayanes tomorrow, a small park on a lake peninsula. It was mid afternoon and most shops and restaurants were on their siesta so our choices of where to eat were limited. One of the Lonely Planet recommendations, Gran Nevada, was open so we had some pasta. We chose the sorrentinos, which was more like a round, flat dumpling filled with ham and cheese. They were then smothered in a sauce of your choice and baked/grilled for a bit. Very different but delicious all the same.

As we headed back to the hotel, we stopped in at the bus station to buy tickets for Saturday's bus to Bariloche, we even managed to book front row seats.

Back at the hotel, after a quick siesta (we hadn't slept that well after the heavy meal eaten so late, last night) we enjoyed the warmth and space of the hotel lounge to read up on Patagonia and how to make best use of the little time we have left.