I am now in Argentina and I have to say it already seems nicer than Chile. I really enjoyed Chile and the beautiful scenery but we didn't have a lot of luck with the weather and didn't really get up to much to make it that memorable.
After leaving San Pedro de Atacamba we headed onto La Serena on at 14 hour night bus (really getting used to these now!). The hostel in La Serena was one of the worst so far, we have been really lucky with accommodation so guess we have been a bit spoilt, but it was pretty much a building site...so not that great. We stayed in La Serena for two nights and didn't get up to all that much there. The first afternoon Helen and I went for ice cream and to the 'animal park' at the end of the street. The following day we went to a river and spent the day sunbathing and attempting to go in the freezing cold water! Following this was a trip to an observatory where we got shown many of the star signs in the sky and go to see the Moon really clearly, this was definitely a La Serena highlight! We did go out for a lovely meal on our last evening, I had an amazing Paella, and then we went out for a few drinks at the local casino. This was the only place open in town due to the public holiday. The following day we had a 6 hour bus onto Santiago.
First impressions of Santiago were great, I really liked the city and we had four days/3 nights to explore which was good. The first night out in Santiago was pretty drunken, firstly we went for dinner, Helen and I shared a bottle of Chilean red wine and a cheese fondue with meat and vegetables (so good!) then it was onto yet another 'Irish' bar called Dublin before moving across the road to a club. I'm not too sure what happened that evening but I could well have had my drink spiked...so funnily enough I spent the whole of the next day and evening in the hotel recovering whilst the others went out exploring. That evening was the last one with 7 people in the group, the following day we were to be joined by 6 new additions.
Before meeting the new arrivals in the group in the evening, some of us headed out on the metro to a huge shopping mall. I managed to buy a few new clothes (so that I don't feel like I'm always wearing the same outfit!) and some perfume :). We spent most of the day having lunch and wandering around the shops before heading back to the hotel ready to meet the new people. Everyone seems really nice and after a few days its like they have been travelling with us for ages which is great. The following day 6 of us got a picnic from the supermarket and headed to the local park opposite our hotel to sit in the sun and kill some time before out 10 hour night bus to Pucon.
Pucon was really lovely (tip of Patagonia), the scenery was amazing and there were loads of 'Swiss Chalet' style buildings dotted around the town with mountains and a snow capped volcano in the background. On arrival we were told about the activities and all signed up for things. Most people opted to climb the volcano (weather dependent), there was a horse riding option, rafting, canyoning (zip lines), hot springs and quad biking. Unfortunately it rained pretty much our whole time in Pucon so not many activities went ahead. We did manage to get to the hot springs which were incredible in the rain...5 pools of different temperatures, the hottest reaching 35 degrees C! We did come across another GAP group staying in the cabin opposite ours, but we soon discovered they were not quite up for the night out we had planned. They invited us into their cabin for a few drinks but things soon went downhill and so we got kicked out and sent back to our part of the hotel...we didn't really hit it off too well with them. Due to the rain and lack of activities, we spent a lot of the time in Pucon drinking which was fun...however not good when you have to get on a 6 hour bus after 2 hours sleep! This bus took us onto Puerto Varas, another really pretty town on a lake a bit further into Patagonia. We had two nights in Puerto Varas, the first day we got the local bus an hour and a half to a volcano on another lake, we went for a wander around before finding a boat to take us out on the lake for an hour, we then got the bus a short way back towards Puerto Varas to see the 'river falls', these were lots of waterfalls and fast flowing water...the water was SO blue!
The next day it was another bus (only 6 hours this time) across the Chilean-Argentinian border to get to the next stop, Bariloche, Argentina. As we drove from Puerto Varas to Bariloche we saw all the ash and dust that has settled as a result of the Chilean volcanic eruption, it has killed miles of trees and plants and just covered the whole area in ash, even the air was full of it. Luckily for us the effects were less obvious in Bariloche and the town, again, has amazing scenery, set on another lake. That evening we went for steak, it was definitely the best steak I've ever had but the portions were ridiculous - three of us shared one portion of meat and it was plently, we are planning another trip back here before we leave! The following day after our arrival to the town nearly everyone opted to do two activities with a BBQ (as a package). I went with Kayaking on the lake in the morning followed by horse riding in the afternoon, it was really good to feel like we were doing something again other than drinking and the scenery was amazing! After both activities we stayed by the lake for a while drinking beer and playing with the owners dogs. Last night it was out for yet more drinks so today was a quiet day lazing by the river. Tomorrow we get a 24 hour bus to Buenos Aeries where we have one more night before another three of the group leave and more join us for the final leg. Cannot believe I've now been away for 7 weeks and only have another 3 left in South America before have the dreaded 38 hour travel to Fiji...its all going WAY to fast!
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