So I´ve arrived in Puerto Madryn, Northern Patagonia, on the East coast of the country...the attraction to this place, well it´s a major spot for whale, penquin and doplhin watching...and the coastline is supposedly beautiful...However, the town itself is quite the opposite...it´s sort of like Benidorm meets Camber Sands, it looks like Benidorm in respect to the buildings etc which are very run down..., but feels like Camber sands in that it is very shanty, and quiet with lots of old people and tacky beach gift shops! If only, however, there was a fish and chip shop!!!!!!! So, the town, nah, but the area around it is what Im here for and have booked onto an 12 hour excursion, out on boats to islands to see all the wildlife tomorrow so should be good! The hostel is also much quieter here than at Bariloche, it doesnt provide dinner and has no bar, so, according to some people I´ve already got talking to, theres not much social life here...So a few days detox. The journey here, from Bariloche was very pleasent...went throw the mountainous, forested, vast Patagonian landscape, passing the traditional villages which was cool.

So, casting back to Bariloche, a place which I loved!...

Sunday 8th Nov - Spent saturday night in the bar, playing pool and drinking games with a bunch of Ozzies I´d met...the bar was open till 2am so that made getting up at 8am this morning V Hard..I´d booked onto an excursion which took us up into the Nahuel Hipi national park...which was amazing! Cold, but amazing! Lots of forests, waterfalls, snow capped mountains etc... Got some great snaps and met some good people from Colombia, Guatemala, Australia, Belgium, London and Cambridge! We finished the tour freezing our arses off at in El Tronador, a volcano which currently houses the worlds only black glacier, which was interesting. When we got back to Bariloche, it was raining so spent the evning with the australian girl in the centre of town trying out all the chocolate and sweet shops there are in the town, and then dinner and beer in the bar again.

Monday 9th Nov - Chilled day, lazy morning as it was cold! Then bus ride up to a place called Llao Llao which looks very very Alpine like, with a very famous 5 Star hotel... Took a walk for a few hours with the Australian girl afterwards (unfortunately she was leaving that night!). The woods were amazing, very high elms ish but the trees were so much bigger, and they had bamboo growing in them, and tropical birds...Bariloche is really cold in the winter and spring, and really warm in the summer so it can get some tropical stuff growing... Then, spent the evening with a group Argentine I met playing pool drinking the Argentine staple beer, Quilmes...again!

Tuesday 10th Nov - Lazy day in Bariloche, had ñlunch in town, sorted out money etc.. then got the bus, with the company Mar Y Plata to where I am now, Puerto Madryn...the coach station even had a Mate machine!