Beautiful Bariloche

It has been a while since I have been blown away by the beauty of a landscape. It has happened about 10 times in the last three days. Destination Bariloche.

This is the lake district of Argentina- where snow-capped mountains frame every landscape, deep blue lakes are never more than a stones-throw away, and the air is so crisp and clean that you wonder why they don't bottle it and sell it to depressed people.

After dropping almost £100 on a bus ticket (bus travel is ridiculously expensive over here), I was happy to find that the seats were the squashy full cama reclinable bed seats. 22 hours is a long time to spend in what is essentially a chair so by the time we arrived in Bariloche I was practically jumping around like a
kid on his first trip to Disneyland. "I wanna go hiking, I wanna go hiking"!

My first climb was Cerro Campanario, a short but extremely steep hill. By the time I'd got to the top I wondered whether I'd suffered some kind of cardiac arrest, but felt a great sense of achievement that I'd made it up there. This was short-lived when I met a load of old aged pensioners leisurely sipping on some tea...and realised that there was a chairlift on the other side. Well, the view out across the countryside put a smile back on my face :)

In the afternoon I visited Lago Gutierrez, a beautiful lake with a rubbish waterfall but wonderful views.

The following day a few of us set off for a 40km bike ride in a particularly beautiful stretch of countryside called Circuito Chico. This took us past Colonia Suiza (an area colonised by Swiss settlers), along a few scenic ridges and across some white-sand lake beaches.

We also passed the super-exclusive golf resort Hotel Llao llao.

At the end I was ready for a sleep!

I was joined the next day by my buddy Simon, who I'd met in Buenos Aires. I'd been saving the good long hike up to Refugio Frey for when he arrived and couldn't wait to dust off the hiking boots again. The refugio (mountain hut) is at the base of some wonderful climbing routes and slap-bang in the middle of some snow-capped Andean mountain goodness.

It was a tough four-hour hike to the hut but the place is magical. Huge spire-like chimneys of solid rock spike out from the powdery white snow and the small glacial lake shimmers in the sun.

It may have been slightly tougher than Simon had been expecting. His first words when we reached the top were "you've killed the lil fat Danish guy", before smoking three cigarettes in quick secession. He came around after we broke out some summit beers.

We returned to the hostel for a soak in the jacuzzi (whoever said backpacking was without its perks!). Bariloche is one of the most beautiful places I've ever had the pleasure of visiting so I'm sad to be moving on. On the plus side, I'm off to the hippy community of El Bolson, which should mean good food and chilled out times. Chao for now!

The view from the hostel out over Lago Llao Llao.

I walked in as far as my knees and instantly wished I didn't - it was soooooo cold!

More stunning views from the bike ride.

A Catholic group dancing in the main square.

A lake beach half way round the bike circuit - perfect for a picnic!

The main cathedral in Bariloche.

Cycling action shot from Ed.

Views from the top of Cerro Llao Llao.

Lago Gutierrez in all its glory.

A monument outside the cathedral in town.

Another deep-blue lake (I dunno the name) and another picturesque town!

Halfway up the hike to Frey we found this. It's a church. Staffed by a die hard reverend who trips up every week to hold short sermons. It looks like Bilbo Baginns' house.

Buenos Aires!

I'm back in South America! And it was an eventful flight over...

Funds are now pretty tight, resulting in me booking a ridiculous flight from Mexico to Buenos Aires:
First leg- Mexico city to Sao Paulo (Brazil)
      --- waiting time 16hrs 10mins ---
Second leg- Sao Paulo to Asuncion (Paraguay)
      --- waiting time 5hrs 15mins ---
Third leg- Asuncion to Buenos Aires

Total flight time was supposed to be 35hrs. To say I was not looking forward to it is a bit of an understatement... Well, I was in luck! I sat next to an air hostess on the Mexico-Sao Paulo leg and mentioned it to her. When we arrived in Sao Paulo she took me to their check-in desk and rebooked me on the next flight to Buenos Aires, saving me a whole day!

But it's never that easy. While I arrived promptly in Buenos Aires ahead of schedule, my bag did not. It did the whole trip to Paraguay before joining me two days later. It was nice to get some new underwear after three days.

This city is nothing like anywhere I've been in South America. It really feels like I'm in the middle of Europe. The architecture is more Art Nouveau or Gothic than Colonial, and there are big music and cinema scenes. This is also the first place in South America that has had an awesome variety of food!

First up was a trip to the Sunday markets. The huge San Telmo market stretches a few kilometers along Calle Defensa, with stalls selling everything from paintings, to food, to antiques. There is even the odd tango show!

I also passed Plaza de Mayo with its huge pink government building. Every day I have been in Buenos Aires there has been some kind of protest. The standard method of protest in this country seems to be to shoot small fireworks at various government buildings. The police don't seem to care when this happens...

The next day I met up with Jonathan and Justin, who I met a few months ago in Colombia and happened to be in BA the same time as me. We went to see the posh Palermo neighbourhood and happened to wander into a horse-racing track. Bets were made. Hopes were crushed.

I spent an afternoon wandering around La Boca, home to the famous Boca Juniors. There is also the colourful Caminito area, where artists sell their paintings and sculptures, and couples dance tango for the hordes of tourists walking by.

I'd been waiting for some good Argentinian steak for a long time and was rewarded for my patients with a visit to La Cabrera, a great parilla (steak restaurant). Not only was the steak amazing, but it was cheap. Between four of us, we polished off almost 2kg of meat!

A popular thing to do here is visit the Recoleta cemetery. I was surprised that a cemetery could be a tourist attraction but went to check it out anyway. The cemetery is nothing like anything I've seen before. It is the resting place of the rich and important of Buenos Aires, housing various military commanders, politicians and Evita, Argentina's first female president. The tombs house all the members of the same family and are all huge. Some of them are so big that they could be churches in their own right.

Other than that I drank lots of mate, a traditional Argentinian drink similar to herbal tea, and took in the famous nightlife. A night out here starts at around 2am, and if you return home before daybreak then you haven't had a good one. I dunno how people manage this when they are working a full time job!

The best night out was at La Bomba del Tiempo, a live concert involving only percussion instruments. These guys were amazing - I was blown away by the range of sound that can be made using only drums.

I am just about to get on a bus down South to the Lake district town of Bariloche. Time for some detox, hiking and nature. A 22 hour bus ride stands in my way... If only I had money left to fly places. I'll leave you with a shot of the pink government building at night, when it's at its pinkest.

San Juan and Mexico City

After all the partying in Oaxaca it was time to chill out. This was done in the hippy town of San Juan, where everyone is constantly off their head on magic mushrooms!

The place is set in the middle of the mountains and there is some spectacular scenery to be seen.

I did a bit of hiking, saw some great sunsets and found a four leaf clover!

I also found a place to fly my kite. The flight lasted about 50 seconds before the string snapped and it was lost forever. Well, it was good while it lasted!

Then it was off to Mexico city. First on the agenda was a visit to the Anthropology museum, which several people had recommended to me. I wondered if I was seeing things after San Juan - it has a huge mushroom-esque fountain outside.

This museum is one big place. After a while it became apparent that my heart wasn't really in it. I got bored after two hours - there is only so much you can read about the evolution of pre-Colombian tribes. They have some cool stuff in there though.

One highlight was in the park outside. There were some indigenous people performing the traditional rope swing dance. This involves climbing up a huge pole, securing yourself to the end of a rope and swinging around the pole until the rope extends down to the ground. Looked like fun!

The next day I went to see the famous pyramids of Teotihuacan. These pyramids were built around 100BC by the Teotihuacan people and later used by the Aztecs. I couldn't believe the sheer size of these bad boys. The amount of work that must have gone into building each one is mind blowing.

I also realised that a pitfall of having a shaved head is that it gets sun burnt. To combat this, I bought a cool Mexican sombrero. Well, the woman who sold it told me it was cool...

This sightseeing stuff was all well and good but the main event was yet to come. Lucha Libre, otherwise known as Mexican Wrestling. Anyone who thinks WWE is too fake should watch some lucha libre. It is borderline comedy! I think I would be able to act out a wrestling match in a more convincing way! They put on a good show though and everyone got into the spirit...

Other than that, I cruised around the city centre and took in the sights. I got lost in the Government building, ate lots of enchiladas and marveled at the size of the main square.

So, that's the end of my time in Central America. I'm off to Argentina now. Cheers Mexico, it's been a blast!

Another pyramid shot.

Temple of the Sun. This is where people were sacrificed. Apparently this was an honor.

A mural in the Anthropology museum. This one is Mayan.

Intricate designs on the side of the Temple of the Moon.

This building looks familiar...

The spring in the middle of the government building. This was the last picture I took before I accidentally wandered into a secure area and was escorted out. Oops.

Main square. Hordes of people on stilts try to get money out of tourists here.