Bariloche and San Martin de Los Andes

Brrrr Bariloche. It got cold. It got down to -4 overnight and a heap of snow was dumped on the top half of the peaks that surround the town. People who went on hikes the next day got to build snowmen and have snowball fights. In the town we just gotta a whole lotta rain and movie going weather (Dejavu, not bad). We completed Circuito Chico which was a 45km bike ride around a few mountains and penninsulas. Very pretty but I didn't catch much as I was head down, bum up trying to avoid cars and potholes. The highlight of the trip was definitly Colonia Suiza. A small swiss settlement 1hour out of Bariloche that was filled with great food. We had THE best fillet steak roll with fresh salsa (=$2.50AUS) with raspberry and meringue pie and apple and rhubarb strudel. I went horseriding to the top of Cerro Otto that had patches of snow surrounding wild flowers. In argi you only horseride with the reins in one hand and no helmet so I shat myself when we galloped/cantered/went very fast. It was a great way to see the views. Meanwhile Glen was doing downhill chairlift runs on the next mountain Cerro Catedral with a group of 5 guys. Plenty of people stacked it as the brakes were arse about but it was a solid 7 hours of riding. The next day we hiked up Cerro Lopez for more amazing views of the lakes and islands. We ended up going out for some drinking action that night with some English friends and I am still amazed at the Argi's fascination with 80's music, especially Phil Collins. We caught a bus via the 7 lakes to San Martin de Los Andes, 4 hours north of Bariloche. Glen is in paradise doing 2 cross country and 1 downhill run in 2 days. We also made it up the mountains to the miradors (viewpoints). I have eaten enough chocolate to satiate me until London and am seriously thinking about going for a run in Mendoza. We leave tomorrow on an overnight luxury bus and will be booking for Machu Pichu early April. Please leave a comment if you can reccomend any good tour groups as we're told they sell out fast.

Trekking= ? walking in nice places; Supertrekking= F%#king awesome

We arrived in El Calafate on Thursday and immediatly booked a trip to Perito Moreno Glacier for the next day. The day was clear and warm and we went on a hike around a mountain to get a full view of the front face of the glacier. About every 30mins-1 hour a chunk of ice falls off into the lake and you hear a delayed thunder like crack as it hits the water or other ice. It was truly breathtaking the way the glacier was squeezed between 2 snowcapped mountains and it was so blue from the rock sediment. We took 101 photos and now have the arduous task of culling them to about 10. The next day we headed to El Chalten (4 hr bus trip) for overnight super trekking. Our guide Muti took us over stunning cliffs and mountains to beautiful blue lagoons full of drinkable, very cold glacier water. During the 5 hour hike to the campsite we had stunning views of the Fitz Roy and surrounding peaks. The weather over the 2 days was sunny and clear and apparently this only happens a few times each summer. We met some people that had waited a week on the mountains in a snow cave for this weather so they could climb the peak! When we arrived at camp, dinner was waiting and after that we went to bed to get up at 6am the next morning. We trekked for about 2 hours to the glacier that was nestled in between the Fitz Roy peaks. The trek was quite hard going with lots of vertical climbs and decents. By this time my feet were aching and blistered and as a result I chucked out my shoes in El Calafate.We strapped on some crampons (spikes) upon arriving at the glacier and explored the crevices and mounds. It was quite scary at first as you have to jump over 10 ft crevices with flowing water below but I was assured that the glacier was very solid and the crampons stick like glue to the ice so you feel like spiderman. We headed over to a 20ft wall and climbed it with ice picks and a rope and pulley system. The whole experience was amazing and on the way back we had to cross a rope bridge hanging by a pulley. I have to admit that my body was soooo sore the next dayafter about 30km of trekking but I would not have been able to do it or I would have cried like a baby if I hadn't of done boot camp. We're in Bariloche now so will post an entry to tell you about our adventures here soon. Thanks for all the comments. I love reading them and miss hanging out with you all!

Trekking= ? walking in nice places; Supertrekking= F%#king awesome

We arrived in El Calafate on Thursday and immediatly booked a trip to Perito Moreno Glacier for the next day. The day was clear and warm and we went on a hike around a mountain to get a full view of the front face of the glacier. About every 30mins-1 hour a chunk of ice falls off into the lake and you hear a delayed thunder like crack as it hits the water or other ice. It was truly breathtaking the way the glacier was squeezed between 2 snowcapped mountains and it was so blue from the rock sediment. We took 101 photos and now have the arduous task of culling them to about 10. The next day we headed to El Chalten (4 hr bus trip) for overnight super trekking. Our guide Muti took us over stunning cliffs and mountains to beautiful blue lagoons full of drinkable, very cold glacier water. During the 5 hour hike to the campsite we had stunning views of the Fitz Roy and surrounding peaks. The weather over the 2 days was sunny and clear and apparently this only happens a few times each summer. We met some people that had waited a week on the mountains in a snow cave for this weather so they could climb the peak! When we arrived at camp, dinner was waiting and after that we went to bed to get up at 6am the next morning. We trekked for about 2 hours to the glacier that was nestled in between the Fitz Roy peaks. The trek was quite hard going with lots of vertical climbs and decents. By this time my feet were aching and blistered and as a result I chucked out my shoes in El Calafate.We strapped on some crampons (spikes) upon arriving at the glacier and explored the crevices and mounds. It was quite scary at first as you have to jump over 10 ft crevices with flowing water below but I was assured that the glacier was very solid and the crampons stick like glue to the ice so you feel like spiderman. We headed over to a 20ft wall and climbed it with ice picks and a rope and pulley system. The whole experience was amazing and on the way back we had to cross a rope bridge hanging by a pulley. I have to admit that my body was soooo sore the next dayafter about 30km of trekking but I would not have been able to do it or I would have cried like a baby if I hadn't of done boot camp. We're in Bariloche now so will post an entry to tell you about our adventures here soon. Thanks for all the comments. I love reading them and miss hanging out with you all!

Trekking= ? walking in nice places; Supertrekking= F%#king awesome

We arrived in El Calafate on Thursday and immediatly booked a trip to Perito Moreno Glacier for the next day. The day was clear and warm and we went on a hike around a mountain to get a full view of the front face of the glacier. About every 30mins-1 hour a chunk of ice falls off into the lake and you hear a delayed thunder like crack as it hits the water or other ice. It was truly breathtaking the way the glacier was squeezed between 2 snowcapped mountains and it was so blue from the rock sediment. We took 101 photos and now have the arduous task of culling them to about 10. The next day we headed to El Chalten (4 hr bus trip) for overnight super trekking. Our guide Muti took us over stunning cliffs and mountains to beautiful blue lagoons full of drinkable, very cold glacier water. During the 5 hour hike to the campsite we had stunning views of the Fitz Roy and surrounding peaks. The weather over the 2 days was sunny and clear and apparently this only happens a few times each summer. We met some people that had waited a week on the mountains in a snow cave for this weather so they could climb the peak! When we arrived at camp, dinner was waiting and after that we went to bed to get up at 6am the next morning. We trekked for about 2 hours to the glacier that was nestled in between the Fitz Roy peaks. The trek was quite hard going with lots of vertical climbs and decents. By this time my feet were aching and blistered and as a result I chucked out my shoes in El Calafate.We strapped on some crampons (spikes) upon arriving at the glacier and explored the crevices and mounds. It was quite scary at first as you have to jump over 10 ft crevices with flowing water below but I was assured that the glacier was very solid and the crampons stick like glue to the ice so you feel like spiderman. We headed over to a 20ft wall and climbed it with ice picks and a rope and pulley system. The whole experience was amazing and on the way back we had to cross a rope bridge hanging by a pulley. I have to admit that my body was soooo sore the next dayafter about 30km of trekking but I would not have been able to do it or I would have cried like a baby if I hadn't of done boot camp. We're in Bariloche now so will post an entry to tell you about our adventures here soon. Thanks for all the comments. I love reading them and miss hanging out with you all!

Penninsula Valdes, Puerto Madryn

The 22hr bus trip nearly broke my spirit! As a novice I wasn't aware of cama and semi-cama so our bus was old and dirty but thankfully the seats reclined somewhat. During the night the aircon dripped water on me a couple of times to remind me that the toilet was way too dirty to go! We went to sleep to the sound of 80's love songs. Ear plugs were definitly our saviour. There was however a TV- that was never turned on! We arrived in Puerto Madryn a couple of hours late but had a great dorm (6 bedder but all very nice room mates) with a fantastic bathroom. The next day we rode 35km round trip on bikes to Punta Lomo seal colony. The colony was very entertaining but the ride was on sinking gravel so it took us 2 hours to get there and 1 hr to get back. Yesterday we hired a car with another couple to Penninsula Valdes to see seal lion and penguin colonies. It was a 400km round trip so a lot of driving. The penninsula is the one of only a couple of places in the world where Killer Whales beach themselves in order to catch seals to eat. We've missed out on this by a week but I'm not sure if I could stomach nature at its finest. We get back on a bus in a couple of hours (hopefully a bus thats a little cleaner) and we're off to El Calafate to see the glaciars. Ciao

Foz de Igauzu

Just a couple of hours until we fly out of Puerto Igauzu. We flew up here on Wednesday and got to the airport to find that our e-tix weren´t valid for Airlineas Argentineas. Bloody Expedia.com! It was a little difficult to organise with my limited spanish, however I bought replacement tix and we wrote a "demanding" email to expedia and are now in the process of getting our money back. One word for Puerto Igauzu is humid. I imagine its like up north where you walk 10m and you're dripping with sweat. We caught up with an english couple, John and Laura that we met in BA and headed to the falls for the day. It was spectacular! The national park that the falls is stuated in is 65,000 hectares and borders Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. The Diabalo Gigantua (devil´s throat) is ferocious in terms of the sound and volume of water that falls. There must be about 20 waterfalls, big, small, long, short, fat, thin. Everywhere you walk there´s a different view. We took way too many photos (thank god for the digital revolution) but still hadn´t experienced it all after a whole day. We returned the next day to trek to a waterfall with a swimming hole that was very picturesque. Glen had stripped off and was wading in the water all ready to dive in when he saw a stick that looked like a snake that...was a snake. As round as your fist and curled up in a spiral floating in the water. Maybe it was dead but shit, we got out pretty fast. We treked back to the station and got on a jeep that took us through the jungle and to a boat. The speed boat then took us down the river to where the falls crashed and it was fantastic! The sound was amazing but up close the sheer size and force of the water was tremendous. We got saturated which was welcome relief on such a hot day. The park was definitly a highlight with amazing wildlife (monkeys, iridescent butterflies, racoons, eagles etc). Now its off down south (to get some inspiration) on a 19 hour bus trip. Hello sleeping tablets!