Where have I been?

Hello followers...if there are any of you left!

I've just upgraded my technology and whilst sorting out apps, found the blogger app and had a little time reminiscing of my travels last year to Argentina.

It's astounding how quick this last twelve months appears to have passed, so much has happened and I realise I never blogged anymore trips!

Shortly after Argentina, I went back to Thailand leading a study trip for Inspire. That was a great trip, if not a little hectic with organising it all and looking after a group of 17 students!

Then in September, I spent two weeks in Malaga with Benny on a language course that I won....could have done with that before Argentina!

October and November saw two short weekend breaks to Brussels. The first with Tom, the second with Steve, Leigh, Michael, Reuben, Ali and Angus.  Needless to say we drank a lot!

So this year, well I'm heading back to Thailand again in May and then in August I am going to Canada for two weeks! Around 10 days based in Vancouver and the last few days in Toronto. I'll be sure to blog on both of these trips!

It sounds odd in Jan 2013 to be thinking about Jan 2014 but I've already got a trip planned...to South Africa! I've signed up to spend two weeks as a volunteer helping to care for big cats! Feeding and playing with lion cubs! So excited!

This coming weekend is 'Destinations'....the annual travel expo at Earls court I've signed up for an advanced DSLR workshop and will no doubt leave with buckets of inspiration for more trips! I may well blog from there!

Until next time...

From Flip-Flops to Thermals in 3 weeks

All good things have to come to an end, and it's fair to say the last 3 weeks for me in Argentina have been everything I wanted yet more than I expected, and has gone by far too quickly, on the up side I am looking forward to my own bed and getting clothes cleaned!

Thank you for those that have endured my ramblings on here and also my constant postings on facebook that have made many of you jealous and threaten to unfriend me!

Before I sign off for good, I've summaries all the highlights and the laughter....

• If I were to work out the weight of meat I've eaten, I've probably had the equivalent of a full cow (I'm actually looking forward to having some Vegetables when I get back)
• Everyone in Argentina seems to have a dog
• You need to watch your step in Buenos Aires as a result of the above
• I've scoured the cemetary with Steve and Leigh to find Eva Perons resting place only to realise if we'd listened to the guide properly we would have found it straight away.
• Took an open top bus tour through one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Buenos Aires (La Boca) and saw a guy covered in blood and loads of police in stab vests carrying guns
• Kept VERY quite to not give away my nationality when taking photos of the memorial to all the Argentinians that were killed in the Falklands conflict
• Struggled to see how the "Lady Bridge" looks anything like a pair of Tango dancers
• I've discovered some new card games with Steve and Leigh and had more laughter in the first 10 days with those guys than I've had in a long time - Thank you!
• Free pouring is insane to the point where you may as well just stick a straw in the vodka bottle and be done with it.
• During the time with Steve and Leigh, driven ourselves insane singing songs (Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle Yeah) but kept the songs of Evita for when no one else was listening.
• People on the underground really will try and sell you anything from crayons to sewing kits
• Not many people speak English and my Spanish is somewhat poor.
• Found the currency odd - very few coins and very few shops have enough change, also the notes are in such a poor state no wonder so many are fake!
• Endured intense weather on both ends of the spectrum ranging from 35c in Buenos Aires, Iguazu and Mendoza to 10c in El Calafate
• I've seen some of the most amazing waterfalls in Iguassu/Iguazu/Iguacu
• I've flown over the most amazing waterfalls in Iguassu/Iguazu/Iguacu
• I've been on a boat and gone into one of the most amazing waterfalls in Iguassu/Iguazu/Iguacu
• Discovered three different ways of spelling Iguazu (Spanish) and Iguassu/Iguacu (Portuguese)
• I've been lucky and only succumbed to 5 mosquito bites
• I've visited 4 different National Parks - of which 3 are the top 3 in size in South America (Iguazu, Glaciars, Huipal)
• I've stood 4000m on the top of a mountain and seen the largest peak (Aconcagua) outside of the Himalayas (And survived the altitude)
• Had half of my body in Chile whilst the other half was in Argentina
• Seen a pair of Condor Eagles soaring over the Andes
• I've cycled over 10km tasting umpteen varieties of Wine in Mendoza (The later part of the journey being quite drunk)
• Spent 10 hours on a minibus tour of Bariloche not understanding a single word the guide was saying
• Walked on Volcano Ash
• I've sailed on the largest lake in Argentina (Lago Argentino)
• Seen some of the most impressive glaciars in the world
• Drunk Whiskey on the rocks, where the rock was a piece of glaciar several hundred years old
• Eaten some of the most delicious Ice Cream ever
• Met some awesome people from around the world some of which are now new facebook friends (Holland, Brazil, Singapore, Australia, Canada)
• Got 10 new stamps in my passport
• Stayed in 6 hotels
• Had 9 flights covering a total distance of 30,753km
• Traveled well in excess of 1000km on all the various tours
• and I couldn't even guess how many km I've walked!
• Taken 956 photos - It may take me a while to get them sorted but I'll post the links when I have!

Until my next adventure...I hope you've enjoyed reading!

Chris x

This is what happens after tasting wine in Mendoza and letting Mr Hugo get you drunk!

Simply Spectacular!

So here I am, my last stop before I make the return trip up to Buenos Aires before my flight home on Wednesday.

This will be my last main blog before I close the trip with a Summary - look out for that as there may be a few little giggles in there that I haven't included elsewhere!

I arrived in El Calafate on Saturday to glorious blue skies, but a slightly cooler temperature of 15c - well I am getting closer and closer to the south pole so it's not expected to be hot - Cue Jacket and jumpers, away go the shorts and flip flops!

I was taken to my hotel - the Mirador del Lago - a beautiful little lodge style hotel on a slight hill with views over the largest lake in South America - Lago Argentino...On checking in, it appeared that there had been some complication with my booking and the hotel had over booked, it was their mistake and they were very sorry.  They made arrangements for me to stay at another hotel...the best hotel in the center of town - the 5* Pousada Los Alamos! How lucky was I - well until the wifi problem, having two single beds instead of a double and been kept awake each night by some concert in town that doesn't finish until 1:30 - it's a nice place, breakfast is awesome and the pool and spa is also pretty cool with great views out over the golf course - all of which I have full use of free of charge during my stay! 

I met up with Bjorn again for dinner...Bjorn is the Dutch guy that I met on the High Andes tour in Mendoza - he's here at the moment before going down to Ushuaia - so we've kept each other company over dinner and shared our tales. He's been traveling since the 2nd January and started up in Peru on the Inca Trail, working down through Bolivia, Chile and now Argentina, ending his trip in March up in Buenos Aires.  He's had some amazing experiences which are all food for though for me for my next trip!

Yesterday was my last big trip of the holiday, and organised excursion called "Todos los Glaciars" - a day sailing on the Lake heading into another or Argentina National Parks "Los Glaciares"  It was an early start, 7:15 pickup and a 50km drive to the port.  Once we arrived it was just a mass of tourists - I started to feel like a sheep and being herded from queue to queue.  There were 3 catamarans going out, each with around 200 people on board - if I had one negative about this trip it would be too many people per boat.

Anyway, we set sail and as we started drawing closer to the glaciars you started to see huge lumps of ice floating around the lake - large icebergs that were once part of the glaciars that have broken off.  The colours were stunning, really bright blues and turquoises, combined with the starting turquoise of the water, it really was quite something to see.  As we approached on of the larger icebergs it suddenly shifted and a great hug lump broke off, the iceberg toppled and what was underwater was suddenly above water as the ice rebalanced itself.  This time, the colours a deep navy blue.  The guide explained the colours were from oxygen within the ice and that the ice was actually full of small bubbles.

Our first calling point was the Upsala Canal, here 3 glaciars sweep down the mountains and join to form into one, it was impressive, however we couldn't get close to the wall of it as so much of it was breaking down and the boat couldn't navigate between the icebergs as it wasn't safe, we stayed for a while getting close to some of the icebergs to allow some good pictures, before we headed off the the next glaciar, Spegazzini.  Although parts of this were falling off (And some did whilst we were there) we could get much closer to the glaciar wall.  It was stunning, huge wall of ice, the formations reminded me of Planet Krypton from Superman!  Our boat pulled up alongside some of the smaller bits of ice that had fallen off and the crew pulled a piece on board, where it was hacked into small pieces and taken to the bar, where you could then go and buy yourself Whiskey on the Rocks, where for the first time in my life the rock was several hundred years older than the Whiskey!

Our last stop was the Perito Moreno glaciar, This is by far the most impressive.  The northern face peaks at 140m above the water level, the southern wall much smaller at 80m.  This glaciar has a total surface area larger than the city of Buenos Aires.  Trying to get this in my head hurts and I feel like my brain was going to explode.  just simply spectacular.  This glaciar forms a damn between the main lake and another of the smaller lakes.  This glaciar is moving the least, but all glaciars move, it's just part of the natural formation, hence the pieces of ice that are continually breaking off.  This glaciar is also the only one that can be seen on land as it's possible to reach it via the peninsula between the two lakes.  Some of the tours, and indeed the one Bjorn did, take you walking across the glaciar.  This is one thing I regret not doing but still, seeing it was pretty cool!

Back to the hotel and I met Bjorn again last night for dinner, he's left now and continuing his journey and it's time for me to start packing and planning my return home.  I don't have anything planned today, I'm going to take a stroll down to the shores of the lake and chill out, then this afternoon I've booked in for a massage in the hotel Spa.  Tomorrow, my flight back to Buenos Aires, with one night there and then it's Adios Argentina as I head back to London.

What a trip this has been!

More chocolate than Willy Wonka

Hey,

Apologies for the delay in blogging...I am now in El Calafate and have internet again! During my stay in Bariloche, there was a charge for internet, both wifi in the room and also the public PC's in the hotel, as I was only there for a couple of days, I declined! Although saying that to get the free wifi here in El Calafate I have to head anywhere beyond 5ft of my room to get a signal It's like my room is the only one isolated from it :( booo

So, time for a quick catch up since my last post!

My stay in Bariloche was only a short one, and for that I'm glad.  Not that there was anything wrong with the place, just I was very unfortunate to be there during really bad weather.  I arrived and it was raining, the whole day after it rained, and even yesterday morning when I left it was still raining!

It's a strange little town, in the Rio Negro region of Argentina and sitting on the foothills of the Andes, it's located on the edge of Nahuel Huapi Lake and is part of Nahuel Huapi National Park.  This towns main activity picks up during the Winter seasons as it is a key spot for the ski season, it's also a very popular stop for anyone into fly fishing - I didn't see J R Hartley though...the town itself was originally inhabited by Swiss, Italian and French and the whole feel of the town is more Alps than Andes with all the buildings like chalets.

The other main industry appears to be chocolate - literally almost every other shop on the main street sold chocolate, ice cream, or a combination of the two.  Apparently it's some unique type of chocolate to this region of Patagonia, needless to say I have sampled plenty.  I swear I do not for the life of me understand why Argentinians are not all over weight with heart problems with the amount of sweet food - and don't get me started on Dolche de Leche - if they could put it in every dish, I'm sure they would!

So what did I do...well, Once I had found my bearings I tried to find a tour for the following day, all the excursion companies tried to put me off doing something because of the weather quoting "Ooohhh no, tomorrow rain rain all day", I couldn't bare to be stuck doing nothing, it would have felt like such a waste of a visit.  I eventually found one place that would happily take me on the "San Martin and the 7 Lakes" trip - a full day trip, covering 360km to a small town called San Martin de Los Andes, part of the Lanin National Park.  The only problem was the tour was in Spanish and she wasn't 100% certain the guide could speak English.  I accepted anyway, just to get away and see something, figuring I would be occupied with my camera anyway.

I'm glad I did, it was really interesting - true I couldn't understand a word of what was being said and the drivers English was pretty non existent so I missed everything about what I was seeing and how it came to be, but the views were still pretty cool.  The weather forecasts got it right, it rained non stop.  It was actually quite a pleasant change and has given my photos a different edge from lots of blue sky!

One of the roads we traveled along was called the road of the 7 lakes and passed by many of the lakes in the area (7 surprisingly!) - I can't remember all their names but they were all equally impressive and a beautiful blue colour reflecting the gloomy skies.  About 7 months ago, a volcano in Chile erupted, spewing volcanic ash all over the region, what at first looked like sand and dust soon became apparent, that it was actually volcanic ash.  It was everywhere, mounds at the sides of the roads, anything that could be covered was, set against the striking colours of the flora breaking through, it was really quite creepy at times, once we came of the windy, rough, bumpy terrain of the 7 lake road, the ash also cleared as did the weather - for a short while.

We arrived in San Martin de Los Andes and had 2 hours to spare for lunch.  A very quaint little town with the same feel as Bariloche, and the same quantity of chocolate shops! There wasn't a great deal to do so I found myself a nice Parilla and had more beef!  We then headed further north to begin the loop back down towards Bariloche.  It was a long day, but I still managed to get some cool pics!

Once I returned to the hotel, I decided to shelter form more rain and use the spa facilities - a nice swim and relax in the sauna and then pack my bags before heading out for some dinner.  The day after, I was on the move again, further south to El Calafate!

Grape Crushing Peddle Power

So, you cannot come all the way to Mendoza and not taste wine right?

Before I left the UK I really wanted to do a horse riding tour of the vineyards, this soon got dicthed as the tour company needed at least 2 people to sign up before they would run it.  I decided I would wait until I arrived and plan something.  It turns out that I had two options for organised tours.  The first was a half day tour only visiting 2 vineyards at a reasonable cost of around 65pesos (£11) the other was a full day tour that was in excess of £100 - however everywhere I looked this required a min 2 persons on the tours.  It seems wine country does not favour the lone traveller.

I was about to give up, when an english couple on the High Andes tour yesterday told mee of a DIY option.  Armed with the information I decided what the hell and I would give it a shot.

O M G...I am so pleased I did - what a great day I've had.

So the instructions...

1. Get the the main bus station
2. Get on the number 10 bus on one of three routes, the 171, 172 or 173
3. Tell the bus driver you want Mr Hugos Bikes (About a half hour ride)
4. Get a bike and a map
5. Visit the vineyards
6. Get back home

This seemed like an adventure, so this morning I set off and got to the bus station really easily, and managed to get the right bus.  The bus journey was an experience, the driver was really happy and waved to everyone - an few times I felt like asking him to keep his eyes on the road! (Combined with one woman breast feeding her daughter who was clearly at 3 yrs old - it was different - however it was very cheap (See my tally at later!)

I got to Mr Hugos and was greeted by Mr Hugo himself.  I paid, got a map and got a bike and off I went!

My first stop was the Wine Museum, I just missed the start of the tour so couldn't join it, but spent 10 mins poking around and seeing lots of machinery used for wine making from years gone by.  Then I decided I would head to the furthest vineyard I wanted to visit first, then work my way back.  So I set off on a good 5km ride heading for the "Bodega" Familia Di Tommaso.  This dates back to 1869 and is the oldest bodega still in operation - not the oldest overall, just the oldest still producing wine.  A very small family run vineyard I was given a short tour and then had the chance to taste 4 different wines.  Delicious!  I chose to have lunch here too - How could I resist Lasagne followed by "Grandma Tommasos special Tiramisu" - So nice and hey - I was on a bike so I could burn it all off!

My next stop was a boutique bodega call Mevi where I tried another 3 wines (Not much of a tour here - a very swanky modern winery though - with awesome views!).  3rd stop was Tempus Alba - a grand winery from a very large Italian family producing vast amounts of grape - however not actually using that many for their own wine.  It seems a lot of wineries sell their grapes to smaller families that don't necessarily have the land.

10 wines in and I thought I should start aiming for my last stop, so I headed to Trapiche - this winery is the largest exporter from Argentina with 45% of Argentinian wine coming from this company.  They do not have the largest vineyard in terms of hectares, but are the largest producers.  The tour here was very in depth, we were even invited to pick some grapes to taste - I chose the Malbec grape and it actually tasted more like a blueberry! It ended with a tasting of 4 wines, however our guide was on the last tour of the day so we go a few more glasses than we should, and everyone left tipsy - including the guide.  As we left, a french couple spotted in the comments book an entry saying "I'm so drunk..thank you..." from someone from the USA.  I couldn't resist adding "Ah lightweights, 4 bodegas, 14 wines later, and I'm still sober! - Chris from the UK" to which the french girl added "Same here - France"

On the way back to Mr Hugos I was tempted by "Historias y Sabores" - a family run company that prided itself in Liquors, Chocolate and Jams -  a perfect end to the day and I have to say, the Dolche de Leche liquor and the Pumpkin and Cinnamon Jam were something special!

I made it back to Mr Hugos, once more greeted by the very happy and smiley Mr Hugo himself who then proceeded to give me another glass of wine, it would be rude to say now right?  I sat in the sun enjoying the wine when I was joined by 4 girls - two from Canada and 2 from Sweden - the afternoon soon descended into drunken laughter with Mr Hugo continually filling our glasses.  We eventually managed to escape and get the bus home, by now our group consisting of at least 15, all after a full day of visiting vineyards and tasting wines.  A truly fantastic day full of great wines and ending with some real belly aching laughter.  So pleased I didn't succumb to the expensive guided tours, so here's how it compared:

Half Day tour with two wineries - 65 pesos (About £11)

Full day tour assuming two people, a couple of high end wineries and lunch - 700 pesos ( About £102)

My DIY Trip in pesos:
Return bus fare - 3.60
Bike Hire - 35
Familia di Tomasso tour - 20
Lunch - 80
Mevi Tasting - 25
Tempus Alba tasting - 25
Trapiche tour and tasing - 25
Historias y Sabores tasting - 25
Total: 238.60 pesos (About £35)

DIY trip wins hands down and anyone reading this thinking of a trip to Argentina - ask me for more specifics about this - it really was the most enjoyable way to see the wineries and meet some great people - all at the same time as getting a bit of exercise!

Exploding Lays, Imploding Agua

I'm a day behind posting my blog but the past two days have been incredible, so this blog is focused purely on yesterday, 13th February.

I made a last minute booking on Sunday to join the "High Andes" tour - not really knowing what it was all about, but it was a full day tour and the name appealed.

After an early breakfast I was picked up around 7:30...The guide spoke English - a good start, considering at this point I appeared to be the only English person on the tour.  We picked up a few more people, the grand total being 18, of which 2 were American, 3 (including myself) English and one Dutch guy, the rest were either from Brazil or Argentina.

The guide spoke a lot in Spanish which made me feel like I'd been ripped off a little - he seemed to explain something for 10 minutes in Spanish and then paraphrase in English for maybe 2 minutes...it didn't appear to be a good start however the English Speakers stuck together and we ended up having a petty amazing day.

We headed out onto route 7  - the pan-american highway which is the road that cuts across Argentina and into Chile.  Up until 2004, this road was pretty much a dirt track, and quite narrow - not really suited to the hundreds of trucks that made the journey between the two countries every day.  Eventually the road was rebuilt and redirected on a less precarious route - this is what we followed, however on occasion cuting off onto the old road to see points of interest.

The whole journey was filled with amazing landscape views of the Andes as we climbed higher and higher.  Our starting point in Mendoza being only a few hundred metres above sea level, our destination being 4000m.

We made the occasional toilet stop and stopped for pictures at various vantage points, such as the view of Aconcagua - the highest peak outside of the Himalayas at just shy of 7000metres. Many tourists climb this peak, quite a hard climb from what I gathered but the view of it looked stunning.  We were even very luck to to see two Condor Eagles soaring over the valley! (See pic below!)

Our final point was high in the mountains on the natural border of Argentina and Chile, at the point where they have a statue of Christ - named Christo Redento - not the same as the one in Rio, but equally impressive.  As I stepped off the bus I was immediately hit by cold air gusting in such a way I struggled to stand, combined with being 4000m high were the air is thinner and as a result started to feel the effects of the altitude - dizziness being the main one.  The views from here were stunning, again, struggled to put into words what I was seeing and I just hope my pictures will do it justice.

As we were gradually climbing our guide asked if anyone had any crisps - one couple did and he asked if they could not open the bag...reason being a little science experiment...as we climbed higher the bag of crisps continued to expand, eventually at around 3000metres we heard a "pop" as the bag exploded.  Before we set off on the return,the guide then asked if anyone had an empty water bottle.  A few people did to which they were asked to put the top on and not touch it until we got back to Mendoza...when we finally got back, all the bottles had imploded and where crushed as the pressure changed from the change in altitude and air pressure.

The journey itself was really interesting, in what broken English we did get, we learnt about how the route of the Mendoza River had been altered to allow the water to feed the many "bodegas" (vineyards) in the Mendoza region which produced some of the best New World Malbecs.  We also saw a few ski resorts - quite odd seeing ski lifts without any snow!  The winters here can be quite severe with 4+meteres of snow falling - it's a very popular spot for winter sports

On the way back down we stopped at Puerto de Inca - the point of the Inca Bridge - thousands of years old this bridge forms part of a natural spring and was the first point at which it was possible to cross the river.  it is believed that way way back in the Ice Age a large piece of ice fell and wedged between the banks of the river, over times, with rock falls etc, a natural bridge developed, then the ice melted and voila.  The bridge itself though is situated at the point of hot springs the combination of this has made the bridge and the surrounding banks golden yellow with the rich minerals pouring out of the rocks - it was pretty impressive to see...

We finally got back to Mendoza good 12 hours after we set off, I was exhausted but managed to have the energy to head out for dinner along with Bjorn - the Dutch guy that I met on the tour - we're both traveling alone and felt dinner on your own is pretty boring.  We're almost following the same route so I may well meet up with him again in Calafate in a few days time!

A good soaking!

Hello everybody!

I didn't post yesterday as we had a full day out in the National Park and the falls and all we wanted to do when we got back to the guest house was have a beer (or two) and relax, then we had to pack as another early start today for our onward flights.

Yesterday was insane - and I mean that it in a good way.  We thought Friday was good with what we saw of the falls, but yesterday was something else altogether! We were collected at 7:45 by Lilian, our guide who was superb, despite being 4 months pregnant, she was brilliant in ensuring everything went to time and we were constantly being provided with information, no question asked would be left unanswered.

We collected 4 more travelers on the way - 4 young Australian girls, and then it was across the border back into Argentina (YAY more passport stamps) and into the National Park on the other side of the falls from where we were the previous day.  Having being previously told that 75% of the falls were in Argentina, yesterday was a little less about the panoramic views and more about the closeness we were able to get to them.  Our first stop was a short train ride which took us close to Devils Throat, a 10min walk across platforms snaking out over the river and we were literally on top of the fall.  The noise was incredible, the views breathtaking.  The shear power of this fall was phenomenal.

We then headed back and started a trek through the jungle getting viewpoints of some of the falls on the Brazilian side, but also seeing the few falls in Argentina that we couldn't see from Brazil.  Walking through the rainforest, seeing the wildlife, and emerging on platforms over the falls is something that will stay with me a long time.  I'm aware i'm constantly repeating myself with "insane" "amazing" "breathtaking" etc, so I'll stop before I bore you all, but seriously, I just cannot begin to detail what we experienced.

Following this walk, we stopped for lunch before hitting the optional extra tour that we all immediately signed up for - a speedboat ride!  This started with a 20 minute drive through the jungle in a huge 4x4 tank like jeep, we then all boarded a speedboat, having being provided with lifejackets and waterproof bags for cameras etc.  The ride went up river, charging through the rapids - a real rollercoaster experience.  We stopped and had the chance to take photos from a vantage point that we wouldn't otherwise have had, and then instructed that now was the time to put everything in the bags and seal them....the boat then went right up close to one of the smaller falls.  We got a little damp - slight spray from the fall and that was about it - turns out that was a teaser.  The captain then sped around a corner and pretty much ploughed full on into a larger fall - we were drenched, but Oh My God what a thrill!  The water was so cooling in the 34C heat of midday! If only we'd taken our shampoo and soap!  We emerged, the guide laughing and saying "one more" - obviously we said yes and of we went again for another shower.

It didn't take long to dry out and luckily I decided to take my t-shirt off and put that in the bag so at least that was dry - took a little longer for my shorts to dry out though!

The day was at an end and we made our way back across the border into Brazil and back to the guesthouse...half way there and Steve realised that his passport hadn't been stamped on entry to Brazil!  The border control is somewhat lax.  We don't need to present our passports and no one comes to check we are who the passports say we are.  The guide just takes them all, gets them stamped and then we drive off.  Needless to say our guide wasn't happy with the border control woman and we turned back to get Steve's stamp.  It may not have caused an issue, but best to be safe!

Our last night was spent lazing round the pool after another meat fest at the local Churasco restaurant.  A few more games of cards and chatting with the Australian girls who were now in the same gueest house.  We introduced them to the local Supermarket - Super Muffato - which in itself always causes a giggle - and we purchased a few more mixers to go with Natasha.  For those that haven't seen the facebook pcture, Natasha is a brand of Vodka in Brazil that is extremely cheap - £3.5 for a litre - and has quite a kick.  The phrase "Oh Natasha, she's a dirty b***h and by god she's cheap"

It was time for bed, I was shattered - I hadn't been sleeping too well at the guest house - I was in a small single bed, and was hanging out of it! The A/C was too noisy, but without it on it was too warm.  Topped off with the shower not really being that great I was feeling grubby and drained.  I have really enjoyed Iguazu - With a Z as I'm back in Argentina now ;) - but I was looking forward to a proper bed and a proper shower!

This morning - another early start - 7:45 pick up to head to the airport - it all got confusing as once we cross the border our watches went back an hour, so we technically arrived at the before we'd set off.  My flight was at 9:30, heading to Mendoza and Steve and Leigh were heading back to Buenos Aires.  They have 2 more nights there then they go home to the UK, for me, I have another 11 nights here.  I'm going to miss having them around - we've had such a laugh over the past 11 days!  I arrived ahead of schedule, the views of the Andes coming into land were amazing!  My hotel is nice and clean and the first thing I did was shower - it felt so good to be clean again!

I've been out for a walk - I'm very close to the centre of the city however weekends in Argentina are a non-event - nowhere is open - the same was seen in Buenos Aires.  All the cafes and restaurants were open though so I stopped for a nice beer and a sandwich and now back in my room, forcing myself to stay awake a few more hours before an early night.  I have arranged a tour tomorrow that starts at 7:30, a full day tour that goes high into the Andes and right up to the border of Chile.  The description sounds great so I hope it lives up to it's name! For Tuesday I'm trying to find a good vineyard tour but haven't had much luck yet so that may happen Wednesday instead!

Hope the snow is clearing back home, it's so humid here but I won't talk about that too much ;)