The Tramat bus to Bariloche may as-well have been named "Trauma Bus". Before arriving in South America we had expected the Argentine buses to be better than the rest of the continent, but whilst the screaming brat child in the seat behind us prevented sleep, we considered how this was not the case... Frustratingly, we were shown films not only dubbed, but also subtitled in Spanish. There were no toilet or leg stretch stops for the entire 20 hour journey. The promised breakfast consisted of a dulce de leche biscuit tossed in our laps followed by either a disgusting tea pre-loaded with sugar, or a radioactive coloured carbonated drink packed with enough E-numbers to power an entire kindergarten for a day. It probably sounds like I'm moaning about nothing, but when spending an entire day on a bus, one looks for the small comforts to ease the pain. And aside from conjuring up numerous ways to stop the screaming and fidgeting from behind me, these are few and far between.

(My brother has written a blog about travelling on South American buses that is quite possibly the funniest thing I have ever read, see it here: http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/elgrandenada/1/1260365511/tpod.html)

I used to think that I had a sweet tooth before coming here. The Argentine sweet tooth though is something else. For starters, their sugar sachets are bigger than ours and at least 3 sugars in a tea or coffee is considered the norm. Everywhere you go there are cake shops and ice cream parlours and it's a perfectly acceptable part of the day to stop and have ice-cream. EVERYONE has them, any time of day and in any weather. We naturally tried these strange local customs and in particular made sure that we sampled the malbec flavoured ice cream before leaving Mendoza!

Set on the shore of the beautifully sharp blue icy waters of the Lago Nahuel Huapi and framed by dramatic snow capped Andean peaks, the chocolate box town of Bariloche with its myriad of chocolate stores looks rather like you expect a Swiss mountain town to be. Most of the buildings are constructed from local timber and green grey stone and there is an obvious strong Germanic/Swiss influence judging by the names of its restaurants and local brands. The streets though, are dusted with a grey dirty substance that we at first took to be sand, but the true nature of which we only put our finger on during the second or third day. The town was severely affected by the recent ash cloud from the eruptions of the volcanoes just across the border in Chile and further out of the main town centre you see that rooftops and pavements are still laden with the stuff. This has caused a quietly sad air about Bariloche as many businesses struggle to cope with a dramatic downturn in seasonal trade and some may not see next year.

Luckily for us though, this has worked to our advantage in that accommodation that would've been far out of our price range is now just about manageable. La Pastorella bed and breakfast is like luxury after our long journey and the room feels like a hotel suite compared to what we have been used to. Katy is jubilant at the sight of a hairdryer for the first time in nearly 3 months.

We meet up for dinner with our 3 new friends from Mendoza and choose a Mexican restaurant that had obviously never seen a Mexican dish before.I wash down my approximation of a Burrito with a Margarita only to find the glass rim that should be coated with salt has been coated with sugar! Bleurgh!! "What the $%&@?!"The Argentine sweet tooth has gone too far this time...... I stick to beer for the rest of the duration and after being the last to leave we head to a nearby bar and blend in with the locals by standing at the centre table screeching at each other in loud English. Michael, Jason and Ruman partake in a spirit that the Argentines are particularly fond of - which can only be described as the most horrific drink ever known to man. Fernet Branca is a herb-y, medicinal flavoured vermouth, demonic black in colour, and simply the foulest concoction I have ever had the misfortune of tasting. They traditionally mix it with coke, but this does little to improve the experience. I realise later that I'm fairly sure that I've never come across a Fernet imitation or rival brand and therefore must not be alone in wondering why anybody in their right mind would want to drink this stuff voluntarily.

The next day we wake up hung-over and me with a chest infection. I pump myself full of paracetamol and we head out for the only excursion we'd planned for this area. The Circuito Chico bike trip is an exhilarating day out to experience a fraction of the glorious lake-district region of Argentina and we're both glad to have braved the rain and hangovers. We get on a local bus and head out half an hour or so from Bariloche to hire our mountain bikes from an enthusiastic French man who gives us some tips about the route.We then proceed to cycle through miles of lush pine forests surrounded by gorgeous crystal blue lakes.The road is described as "undulating"- which we discover actually means "steep", so we dismount to manage some of the inclines. As we meander up the desolate road leading through the dense trees on either side, I try not to think of all the horror films I've seen involving gringo couples getting lost in secluded woods. As if on cue, a man wielding an axe appears from a small side road.He begins chopping fallen branches with a fervour that I pray is not intended as practise for severing limbs. We push our bikes hurriedly past as casually as is possible for people disabled with fear and notice that the decrepit local was now eyeing us in the manner of a fully fledged psychopath contemplating lunch. Safely at the top of the slope, we make one final glance over our shoulders expecting to see the lurching movements of a madman deranged by the escape of his quarry - but instead the man continues to chop wood seemingly oblivious to our existence. I need to stop watching those movies...

The plus side to steep inclines is the fact that what goes up, must come down. Tears stream down our faces as we fly along the downhill stretches - I feel like a kid again. We veer off the main road for a lunch break and venture through a path obscured by tall cane grass that causes us to crouch down and crawl through to reach a secluded lake whose surface is so perfectly still it mirrors the bank of trees and the sky above. We continue on through the most beautiful and serene landscapes we have yet seen - gorgeous lakes and pine forests that are so tranquil and so quiet. Even though the skies are cloudy the views are truly breathtaking.We stop to sample some fantastic local beers at the small 'Gilbert' microbrewery and afterwards are treated to the hilarious sight of a 2CV rattling past us, struggling to contain one of Bariloches famous St Bernard dogs - with it's tail hanging out of one side and it's massive head with tongue flapping in the breeze hanging out the other.On our way back to the bike rental shop we pass by a lagoon which has a burnt out hotel on its shoreline. I'm suddenly struck by the insane notion of how awesome it would be to buy, renovate and run an establishment in such a beautiful location....Who's in?!?!?

We celebrate with a Swiss cheese fondue at a restaurant called Marmite, which to Katy's disappointment doesn't sell marmite. After a night lacking in freaky cheese dreams we leave La Pastorella and get followed all the way to the bus station by dogs. It begins to feel like a freaky cheese dream as the dogs start to bark and growl with sinister ferocity, so that we feel more like we are being chased out of town by the feral hounds snapping at our heels....