Beunos from Bariloche

Yesterday was a long coach drive from Puerto varas to Bariloche but a very scenic one at that.  The coach was the most comfy I have travelled in right down to reclining seats and foot rests.  This was much needed after a vigorous day of walking the previous day.

Crossing the border was an interesting affair, with little organisation and just haphazard document control.  However after about 2 hours they got the entire bus through and off we went.  The crossing was through the lower part of the Andes which prevented a long mountainous climb of hairpin bends.  Instead it was through many fields that looked as though they could have been set in Aust complete with gum trees and grazing cattle.  As we approached Bariloche the lakes appeared and what lakes they have in South America!!  They are enormous, surrounded by mountains and are very blue.

Bariloche looks as though it could be a Swiss ski town and we have been endlessly suprised by the European influences in the travels so far.  We went to a steak restaurant last night and the meals were enormous which might explain the general dimensions of the inhabitants of this town.  The wine from Argentina was good and we knocked off several bottles between the 7 of us paying customers and Marcelo our guide.  Darren our young English traveller quite fancies a nip of brandy at the end of a meal but the Argentinians are v generous in the measure and the balloon was half filled.  It travelled around the table several times and still Darren had plenty to leave him with a hangover today.  We finished up with a few beers in an Irish pub and got home at roughly 2.30am.  The travelling group is a lively bunch and we have not been home before midnight any night yet

Today Pam, Chris, Darren and his girlfriend Jemma and I went for what we thought would be a leisurely bike ride around the lake right in town.  However the thought of a lakeside bike track has not crossed the planners mind and we ended up on a narrow road hugging the white line or on the gravel shoulder with trucks, buses and cars breathing down our necks.  We saw a lot of the white line, lots of clouds of dust but v little of the spectacular view that we were hoping to take in.  We struggle down to the pebble beach of the lake, paddled our feet and then battled on to find an alternative and hopefully quieter ride home.  We returned a back route and although the density of the traffic was less, we were on the main bus thoroughfare so every few minutes a bus came rumbling up behind you spewing out deisel fumes as it passed.  Fortunately we all kept our balance and our senses of humour and arrived back into town with v sore bums, slightly sunburnt (27 deg today), very dusty, hungry and keen for a beer.

Tonight we have been to a tango demo at a restaurant and we all had to take our brief moment in the spotlight.  Fotunately we have been together for almost a week now so a lot of the inhibitions have been left behind

Another day here would be nice but we are  off to Buenos Aires tomorrow morn and another 5 people join the tour to take it up to the maximum of 12. We are looking forward to seeing Buenos Aires but have enjoyed all the places we have been to so far.  To date South Am has not been what I expected but think that it is a tale of two continents..one that is very european based and I suspect that Peru and Bolivia will be quite  a contrast.

It is now 12.40am so bed beckons.

Love to all

Adios

Liz