The next morning we got up early to catch the bus down to San Carlos de Bariloche, or simply Bariloche as it is generally referred to. It is known as the gateway to Patagonia and is a major holiday destination for Argentinians and foreigners alike - in particular Brazilians hence its nickname Brasiloche. It is Argentina's top ski resort. Due to the time we had spent in Pucón and San Martin we scheduled only one night in Bariloche, much to the good humoured chag...

After being kindly woken by the dogs again, first stop was the kayak shop to check the lay of the land. Weather wise it was looking good, the problem now was a lack of petrol in the guy's truck - and also in the local petrol stations... With the kayaking not scheduled until the afternoon anyway we tried to follow a footpath along the lakeside to a viewpoint. It sounded straightforward enough, however there were no signposts at all and a vast array of small paths...

The bus from Pucón to San Martin de los Andes took around 4 hours including a rural border crossing back into Argentina. To be honest Chile and Argentina are blending into one. San Martin is in Patagonia, Argentina, and the area follows the Pucón model of lakes and forested mountains. No volcanos here though. The town itself is also extremely pretty, also essentially a ski resort with an array of summer activities to boot. There is clearly more money here, wit...

Since we were on a roll, we signed up for another wine tour the following afternoon. As it was booked through the hostel we were a little apprehensive, fearing a bunch of booze-seeking twenty somethings (old, us?). However when the bus pulled up it was full of folk around our age and upwards - and all from S America. Understanding little of the preamble on the bus out to the first vineyard, we flagged the issue and were assigned a private guide in English for th...

Having arrived in Mendoza mid-morning we checked into the hostel and spent the afternoon strolling around the town. We'd heard mixed reviews of the town, various earthquakes mean it is a relatively modern city with few historical sites. The centre certainly lives up to this review, think any medium sized town. However the walk out to the Parque General San Martin on the edge of the centre revealed streets of large, individually designed houses of various styles....