Patagonian Wonderland

So after mounting a volcano in Chile and briefly liaising with the shithole that gos by the name of Puerto Montt it was over to Argy to bulldoze through the Andes and up the western spine of this huge beast of a country.

Bariloche was first stop and this place was a yuppy wonderland. Picture St Moritz mixed with Lake Garda but fifty times cheaper and full of backpackers and you wont be far away. The town is built around a lake that enjoys splendid views of the surrounding Andes. Its a big ski resort but sods law dictated that we were a month early for the season and so instead had to make the most of the St Bernard Dogs and chocolate shops.

In honesty we were on a bit of a gypo mission and trying to save the beans so we headed to the supermarket to sort out dinner and I tell you what, what a result. They say you can tell a lot about a person by their shopping list and ours contained the following:

Giant slab of fillet steak
Sweet potatoes
Carrots
Mushrooms
Peppers
2 Bags of Haribo (Argy equivalent)
Giant beer
Bottle of red wine
Pasta
4 Chorizo sausages
Ketchup
Water
20 Camel lights
3 Apple nutrigrain bars
2 bottles of that yogurt stuff with good bits in
2 bananas
An orange

Total cost = 9 quid! And we´re talking top notch stuff, this wasn´t an Aldi special!

So after feasting in Bariloche we headed up the famous Ruta 40 and the views were sensational. We went through the 7 lakes and over and through the Andes. For anyone who has watched The Motorcycle Diaries this is the type of scenery i´m talking about. And I tell you what even though we had a 17hr bus journey to Mendoza the buses in this neck of the woods are tremendous. You even get to have a game of bingo, no shit! full on bingo on the bus and the winner takes home a bottle of vino!
Mendoza had little to offer and was a let down after the beauty of before. We met up with a kiwi pal from Santiago for a few beers and did a wine tour and then got out of there rapido as there really was bugger all to do. Salta was the third and final stop and this place again got us back into the red. Lovely square with the traditional Catholic cathedral and loads of cafes dotted around. I even managed to pull the old flip flops out of the bag for an afternoon although by the time we were home frostbite was almost setting in.

There used to be a big trip here called the Train to the clouds but unfortunately it broke 2 years ago and they still can´t be arsed to fix it so now it´s a minibus to the clouds which doesn´t quite have the same ring but we decided to do it anyway. This was a 15hr round trip setting off at ridiculous o clock and taking you into the mountains, spotting Inca ruins, traditional villages, the heart of the Andes, Salt Flats and the 7 colour valley. We even managed to squeeze in some goat stew for lunch (bit rank really). The trip was quality and I almost managed to ride a baby llama but instead had to settle for buying two llama wool bobble hats. Trust me they´re all the rage out here, all the kids will be wearing them soon just you wait and see. So far i´ve bought nine. Well got to get some presents I suppose and at 80p a pop its just too much of a bargain to turn down.
We got home about 8ish and headed for the biggest feast of steak you have ever seen in your life, seriously I munched about 4 giant steaks, perfectly cooked and washed down with gallons of vino tinto at 70p a bottle. They then wheeled in a traditional band consisting of a well rounded multi talented ringleader and a couple of mates and then a couple of flameñco dancers stomping around like legends. All in all a quality night and a cracking end to stage one of Argentina.