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I left Pucon early the next morning to get to Bariloche via Puerta Varas. I stayed one night there, a nice town, not too much to report except for the cool dog in the hostel – 8 month old Bodge was the biggest dog I’ve ever seen!

The next afternoon I reached Bariloche and checked into 41 Below. That afternoon I met Carmel and Kev and we walked up Cerro Campanario – beautiful views at the top of the surrounding lakes. Being back in Argentina, we were also back in steak and red wine country and we had a delicious meal in El Boliche de Alberto.

The next afternoon I rented a bike and set off to do the Circuito Chico around the lakes. I was not alone for long though as a group of Israelis soon adopted me and I ended up spending the day with them. Contrary to my previous opinions, they were very friendly and good company and a beer at the Cerveceria on the way home ended an enjoyable day.

Bariloche is the place for outdoor activities and the next day all six of us headed off rafting. The water was freezing but surprisingly none of us fell in. We all jumped in towards the end for a swim, which was bracing but a delicious BBQ afterwards warmed us up.

The other thing Bariloche is famous for is its chocolate. Chocolate shops line the main streets, most giving free tasters when you walk in. Ofcourse, we had to sample a few, along with the ice cream and the hot chocolate…so good!

We had yet more steak this week – Leah was here for two nights before flying home, so we had to have a departure dinner for her. El Establo was the favourite restaurant of the week – really friendly staff and great food. There was also a couple of nights out. Thursday, we went to a great place – Club Araos. When we arrived there was a skate board competition going on followed by some break dancers. Afterwards came the regular DJ and they played some good RnB all night so we did plenty of dancing.

And then came the highlight of the trip – A Jesus theme park. We went to Tierra Santa on Saturday, having heard about the giant mechanical Jesus that resurrects from behind a mountain we were quite curious. The whole place was quite bizarre – loads of tacky installations for everything in the bible – a last supper room, a stations of the cross, a nativity scene and even a wailing wall. All of them involved lifesize plastic models that had moving mouths and limbs – all very bizarre! And so we come to the end of the first part of the trip. Onwards to Salta!

We arrived here on Saturday and went straight to Millhouse hostel. Good first impressions and started off with a good long sleep! Only some of us could sleep on the plane

Yesterday we went to see some markets and visit Cementerio de la Recoleta – famous graveyards. We found an “O Leary” and a “Father Fahy”!  We also went to the markets nearby to stock up on gloves and scarves – colder than you would expect here, glad I have the thermals!

Last night, we went for the first steak dinner at El Desnivel – delicious! They’re will be many more to follow…