Another try at Hostel living - on my head be it, Donna said. Calafate Hostel was far different from the hostel we checked in and out of in Mendoza. Big clean and en-suite, choice of two kitchens to cook in, lounge areas, sofas, a balcony with comfy chairs, a quiet garden to sit in and a restaurant / bar . We booked 3 nights here, so for a change we can cook our own dinner instead of eating out - that's the 'Royal' We, meaning Donna can cook for us! Everyone com...

The bus journey to El Chalten turned out to be 22 hours not 20. We saw the La Trochita steam train in the distance not long after leaving Esquel - bonus. The only food we were served was a micro slice of pizza, a slice of meat stuffed with peppers, a lump of bread, a biscuit and a glass of water. Fortunately we did stop at a service station selling cheese and ham butties. In the service station was an old Dodge locked away in a white glass room - obviously someon...

Leaving Bariloche didn't go as planned, first I tripped up in the bus station and with a big rucksack on my back and a daysack on my front I couldn't fight gravity and I hit the deck. Then our midday bus was over 2 hours late. We bought some empanadas in the bus station that were soggy and burnt, but fortunately tasted okay. No drinks or food was provided on the bus but we were well prepared for this. Occassionally the tarmac ended and we drove through clouds of ...

When buying long distance bus tickets in Argentina foreigners have to show their passport. Leaving San Rafael with tickets already purchased we had to show our passports before they would even let us on the bus! The places we are hopping from and to, are very scenic but in between there are vast distances of dull scrub land with so few habitations - cycling here would be very challenging. It makes me wonder where on earth we would have stayed each night and eaten...

The buses here are very easy to use. The long distance ones are double deckers but the cities have an abundance of tree lined roads and are badly in need of pruning. Branches crash into the front of the top deck and scrape along the roof - the noise is worrying. We caught a local single decker today so no foliage problems. The driver though is writing tickets, taking money and searching for change, all whilst he is driving - will he or won't he see that parked ca...