hiya, i have been soo lazy updating my journal and i thought i do it while its freezing outside. iam now in Bariloche in the andes and the weather has been very cold. Spent the past day shopping for more winter clothing. My collection so far - a pair of hiking boots, gloves, wooly hat and a jumper. Since my last entry ive travelled to cordoba which is a very quiet and peaceful city and the entire place seems dead on a weekend. When to watch superman and it only cost 2.50 and because the argentine lifestyle the showing wasnt until 11pm. When on a day trip to alto gracia, this was where the famous "Che" was bought up as a kid. From Cordoba we migrated to a town called Villa Gerneral Belgrano. We was dropped of outside the hostel by the minibus but it was in the middle of nowhere. in a state of panick we start walking down this dirt track and discovered this old mansion, it was a lovely place, horses, dogs, chickens running around in an empty field where local kids was playing football. had home cooked breakfast in the hostel, everything was home made. the bread, the jam everything. The lunch there was fantastic, fresh vegetables it was so good that i wen back for seconds. Did a short hike one afternoon to a nearby hill that overlooked the town. the town itself was kinda strange. It was like walking into a theme park and it had a german feel to it. overall it was a very relaxing place. spent most of the time chilling, playing footie with the locals, reading and playing chess with a fellow english traveller. discovered that he played for liverpool. i was chuff cos i gave him 2 close game, loss one and draw one. wen horse riding on the last day. first time ever and it was an enjoyable experience. had the smallest horse of all but it was also the most active. Next destination was mendoza. it was an ordinary argentine city. but there was alot of street stalls in the central plaza, it was like a village festival. the hostel had a good atmosphere with a nice wooded fire. the showers did let it down though (COLD) showers and it was minging too. wen to a BBQ at a nearby HI hostel. All i ate all night was beef, beef and more beef, but it was tasty. Met lots of people and all ended up in a club on the outskirt of the city. Now im up-to-date again, bariloche. Wen ski-ing yesterday, first time experience again. had a great time. took a 4 hour beginners course and i am thinking of going back on saturaday to do my own thing. managed to pick it up very quickly, it felt so natural not sure if is a good thing or not. Maybe another sport on my long list. would definately do it again in the future. take care everyone back home bye for now..... ka