Hello everyone! Thanks for the updates! Sounds like it's all going on! Vic I had to smile- I have a feeling you got all your family to message me after I said I was low on followers. I admit I laughed out loud at the thought of Hughie falling off a bar stool- glad you had fun though! Sarah, that's pretty impressive and I'm glad you are still out having fun and haven't settled into housewife mode yet- good old Dave though! Mum and Vic your Colchester visit sounds successful! Paul, I don't really do ear plugs and I normally sleep well, but this snoring was extraordinary and she was probably in her late 60's which is fairly old on this trail!
So, Thursday I spent chilling in the sunshine of Mendoza! I walked around the city and found a delightful vege restaurant! It was a vege buffet, so many lovely salads! It really was so hot! I walked to the bus station about 6.30 for my 7.30pm bus.
Friday:
An 18 hour journey! The bus was fairly quiet and so I had empty seats all round. I read for a bit and picked at the meal they gave us. Then I managed to sleep pretty well until they bought round breakfast. Read some more and arrived in Bariloche about 12.40pm. In every way that Mendoza failed to live up to expectations, Bariloche far exceeds them! It is really the most beautiful place! It's a lot like I imagine Swiss and Austrian towns to be like- all wooden and stone lodges, it's famous for it's chocolate and the views all round are stunning! A lot of character! It is the start of Patagonia! I found my hostel, which is really nice and the guy behind the desk was super helpful and friendly! He suggested a walk up to viewpoint. So I dumped my stuff and went for a walk around the town- a lovely waterfront on one of the big lakes and on to another vege restaurant for lunch- I'm getting good at hunting these places out! Then I got a bus to where the walk began with the help of a local old man. It was about a 30 minute hike up through woodlands to the top, I didn't take the easy option of the cable car! The view at the top is a 360 degree view of all the lakes, mountains and woodlands and it is no wonder that national geographic have rated it as one of the top 5 views in the world! There was only me and a couple of friendly American lads up there! They left and I was tempted to watch the sunset, but given my navigational skills I decided it was safer to head down while it was still light! I still managed to take the wrong path, but knew as long as I headed down I couldn't go too wrong! I got the bus back to town and booked the white water rafting for tomorrow.
Saturday:
Got picked up at 9 and it was about 2 hour drive to the river. It was very scenic though and we passed lots of the lakes and mountains that they suggest visiting, including a beautiful mirrored lake and 7 coloured mountain. At the rafting lodge, we were given more breakfast (so much bread and jam) and changed into our wetsuits! I was with 4 Argentinians from Buenos Aires and a German couple. We spent 2 hours on the water- it is meant to be a class 4 (out of 6) route with strong rapids and stuff. It was great fun and we got soaked by the big waves and it was very beautiful. However, it wasn't quite as scary or rough as I'd of liked! We had chance to jump in and swim near the end! It was so cold as the water all comes from the melted snow! You could just lay back and float along in the rapids! We ended the route back in Chile! The bus was waiting and so we got changed and headed back to the lodge for lunch before the 2 hour drive back.
Back in the hostel, I bumped into an Irish girl Grainne who I'd met in Mendoza. I bought stirfry from the supermarket for tea and then went to a bar with Grainne and an American doctor called Shayne. They were sampling all the beers, I had water. I headed back about 11.
Sunday-
Had breakfast and then me, Grainne, Shayne and a guy from Tawain called Chung decided to head out to do a bike ride. We got a bus to the bike hire place and then set off on a 33km route up and down the hills around the lakes. I really am hopeless on a bike and so it was pretty risky, especially as it was all on roads with lots of traffic! I was more scared than with the rafting and death road memories come flooding back going down the big hills! We headed to a Swiss colony near the start where they had a nice little market! The Shayne and Chung went off ahead, as both me and Grainne were pretty slow. We caught up with them at several viewpoints and then met them at the end. It started to rain at one point, but it was nice to be outside and doing something active! After we dropped of the bikes, we all walked up to the viewpoint I had visited the other day. It was a tougher walk after the biking! Still as breathtaking and my pics really don't do it justice! We headed back by bus and had showers before all heading out for dinner- I had a nice salad. We weren't late as we were all exhausted!
Monday:
Just chilling today, before I get the bus tonight to puerto madryn. Only a 14 hour journey!
My bloody iPhone charger has broken and so luckily I've borrowed a few peoples, as the technology in Argentina is rubbish so I can't buy another one!! All good though!