I got the bus north (6hrs) from El Calafate to El Chalten which is tiny town at the base of the Fitz Roy range of mountains. The town is set right below the mountains and generates its own power and relies on satellite links for telephone and internet (making it very expensive and inconsistent depending on weather conditions). Again I was glad of all the cash I'd spent on warm and waterproof gear before I came with the weather conistently cold, extremely windy and changeable. I had planned to do a 4 day hike in the mountains but the morning I planned to leave was just too windy and wet to bother getting out of bed (chose to play cards (with Spanish cards which was interesting) and drink coffee instead). That night we went to a little slide show that an Italian couple put on with pictures from their 8 YEARS! riding around the world and still have no plans on stopping. No need to list all the countries but needless to say they had some stories to tell. They live off selling postcards from their photos and the occassional acticle in papers etc. (managed to travel through Japan for a year just off selling postcards). After meeting Patrick (Swiss guy) in Calafate and then sitting down with these two, they have definetly planted a seed in my head for future adventures. The next day was a slight improvement so we (myself, another Aussie & an Israeli) headed up to a campsite at the base of the Fitz Roy moutain. We camped there the night and walked the very steep climb in the morning to Laguna de los Tres which is an incredible viewpoint of the mountains, glaciers and lakes (I'll get the photos on the website soon). After scambling back down the hill I headed south to Laguna Torre (the others headed north). The Laguna Torre is the base camp for climbers tackling the Cerro Torre (3128mtrs) and is a nice lake fed by (another) glacier. I camped there the night and did some exploring the next morning before heading back to El Chalten. I haven't been that lucky with wildlife yet (mostly seen mice, condors, lamas, foxes, and a couple of flamingos), but some of the others have been lucky enough to spot some cool woodpeckers (they really do sound like they're laughing) and even a Puma. I got a bus on the 29th and headed further north to Baraloche. It was a 2 day trip with the last 8 or 9 hours finally on sealed roads (all the other trips so far have been on bumpy dirt roads which makes sleeping a bit tough). This was by far the longest bus trip so far, but with my walkman, good people (it was only a small bus with 6 of us) and some cool scenery it was a breeze. I do need to slap myself occassionaly and remind myself that I could also be in Melbourne putting on a suit and noose and going to work. The Spanish guy (he would prefer I said Catalan) next to me had just come back from 4 months working as a doctor at a base in Antartica and his wife is currently working for 'Doctors without Borders' in the Congo in Africa, so it's wasn't hard to kill a few hours getting the details on those crazy (and sooooo different) places (he even managed to make a phone call from Antartica to Congo!). I'm now in Baraloche which is my first big town for 3 or 4 weeks (about 100,000 people). It is renouned for it chocolate and has stores the size of supermarkets back home just full of chocolate. Baraloche is in the 'Lakes District' which is obviously full of lakes, rivers and mountains and is supposed to be the fly fishing capital of south America. Myself, an Iranian and American couple are planning on getting a car for a few days and cruising around the area, but at the moment it's very wet so (again) coffee, cards, chocolate and steak are the go. Good luck to everyone heading up to Forster for the Ironman this weekend. Enjoy the pain guys (and the rest after it). Chao for now.