We are really in Patagonia now surrounded by glaciers. The scenery is breath-takingly beautiful & getting here has been a real adventure !

Last Friday we travelled from Chile back to Argentina. We decided to splurge & took the lakes crossing from Puerto Montt , Chile , to Bariloche , Argentina which invoves 4 buses & 3 ferries across 3 different lakes. It was the most expensive day of our trip so far but promised to be a wonderful experience. We had to pre-book it of course & woke up on Friday to heavy rain , we hadn't seen a cloud since the previous Friday . (Must make a note to avoid Fridays !) It rained most of the day & the mountains were certainly obscured by heavy cloud all day. The highlight of the day was the sight of 14 condors soaring above our boat .... wonderful!

However there has not been a cloud in the sky since so we can't really complain. I am amazed how hot is here when we can see glaciers all around us. We are told the ozone layer is extremely thin down here & we must be extra careful in the sun.

Bariloche was enjoyable. We stayed 4 nights. Another " alpine " style town, it is beautifully situated on the shore of Lake Nahuel Huapi & is surrounded by mountains ( covered in snow , of course ! ) . It's a major tourist mecca & is also famous for it's chocolate , which we had for lunch 1 day ! The main attractiona are skiing in winter & rafting , trekking & fishing in summer. On Sunday we went on an organised excursion , 10 hours in a mini-bus , but with lots of scenic stops to the National Park Nahuel Huapi.

It was a fantastic day , the highlight being the Black Glacier & Cerro Tronador ( Thunder Hill ) . In the 1/2 hour we stood gazing at the 200m of snow we witnessed 3 avalanches each one followed 5 seconds later by the sound of the falling snow & ice, just like thunder , thus its name. Fascinating ! The blackness of the glacier is caused by the melting snow as it slides down the mountain & then re-freezes.

On Tuesday our bus picked us up from our hostel at 7 am to begin our 29 hour journey to El Chalten. approx 900 miles . south down the length of the Andes . We really enjoyed the journey which was mostly through inhospitable dry steppe land , hundreds of miles with no habitations or settlements just the occasional petrol station . Fuel costs only 20p a litre in Patagoniia because there is zero tax ! It wasn't the most comfortable night but it was wonderful to watch the rising sun at 6.30 & it was then we were able to spot herds of guanaco ( look like a cross between deer & llama ) & rheas running across the scrubland. The second half of the journey was on unpaved , rough stone road . Impossible to travel without cracking a windscreen ! Our first bus had about 6 separate cracks on it. Our second was protected ( as many vehicles are ) with a grid-type wire - mesh
steel frame with a space for the driver to look through . In that space there were 3 or 4 bullet holes & cracks.

The national drink of Argentina is Yerba Mate . A stimulating non-alcoholic infusion of herbs.
It was originally drunk by the precolumbian indians but is still very popular today. It is drunk out of a gourd - type container through a metal straw with a filter on it . You see Argentinians everywhere with their flasks of hot water & their gourds. It is a social custom & the gourd is passed round a group who all drink from the same straw & they continually top it up with more hot water & extra leaves iwhen necessary.

Ady had been very keen to sample this, even though our guide book described it as tasting like steeped horse-shit to the uninitiated ! The bus drivers on our journey were indulging & offered us a share . It was ok . A bit like a strong herbal tea. Of course Ady had to try & explain in his very bast spanish what the guide-book said . Greatly upset the driver ! Not really . We just had to keep reassuring him it was the book , not us who said it !

We leave El Chalten this evening . It sits at the base of the Fitzroy mountain range & the scenery is quite dramatic. Fitzroy itself is 3405m & the sides are too steep for snow to settle. Hopefully some photos will follow.