Waking up at 6am or somewhere about that time whilst travelling is pretty ridiculous. Waking up at that time to get on a bus for 28 hours is just plain old horrible. But that is exactly why Jorien, Eva and myself are doing up at this terrible hour.

At the bus stop, its cold and then we get on the bus. It’s a Cama bus so at least the seats go back. But I don’t want to think about being on this bus for 28 hours at all.

Though it wasn’t too bad. I mean, lunch was pretty good and so was dinner. The movies were ok – despite some being in Spanish (but hey we are in a Spanish speaking country. It is to be expected).

The bad part comes nearing the evening, when I really need to use the facilities. And the bus toilet is ‘solo liquids’. So no dirty business. Which sends a total shiver up my spine.

So at the next bus station in Comodoro Rivadavia – I make a beeline for the toilets. Only to be disheartned by the lack of facilities. Well, they had facilities. It’s just that the facilities lacked actually seats and no toilet paper. So I bail on the idea altogether and hope my bladder holds out.

Next morning in Rio Gallegos – same thing. And to cap it off, no breakfast on the bus. Luckily a few hours up the road a service station has the servicios I’m looking for.

It’s not too long after this that we pull into the town of El Calafate. All after about 28 hours. And all I want is a god damn warm shower.

The numbers:

Hours: Approximately 28 hours.
Distance: 1,919km (according to google maps).
Food: One serving of curried sausages for lunch and a serving of spaghetti bolognese for dinner.

And most importantly: Carry a roll of toilet paper and perhaps a toilet seat as they seem to be scant in bus stations here.

The street the hostel was on.

Back at the hostel, it seems everyone is in the same boat and drinking the water like its going out of fashion. Not to mention lazing on the couches and bean bags watching movies. Its just one of those days.

Part of the band that was playing.

Centro Civico and the little 'fiesta'.

I do manage to wander down to the City Square and see a bit of Fiesta going on which is cool. And snap off some quick photos.

Unknown Skateboarder.

Jorien and Eva cook dinner for me tonight, ‘cause apparently I drove all of yesterday and they wanted to thank me. Which is nice. It’s a pretty dull evening as we pack our bags, and have a quiet night in as we are up at the crack of dawn to catch a bus.

The main street off Bariloche.

December 3rd, 2011.

Battered Bridge - Somewhere in The Lakes District.

A bit of a late start, and after breakfast we walk on down the road to the car rental place. And sign our life’s away, well technically Jorien’s life away.

We set off, but not for long, as Anna has to buy a ticket at the bus station for El Calafate. We get accosted by the Security Guard for parking in the wrong spot but Anna shows up after buying her ticket and we head off on the road.

The Beast.

Its not long before we take a turn off onto the Seven Lakes Roadand it turns from asphalt to gravel. The views would be absolutely amazing – if we could see them. Due to the ash from the nearby Chilean Volcano it diminishes the effect of the area.

We dubbed this drive "The Seven Ashes" drive due to the hazen ash from that darn Chilean Volcano.

We drive through Villa La Angostura and keep heading on. Stopping whenever we see a great view for photo opportunities. We get to a small playa on a lake. And Jorien walks past the sand onto what looks like sand – but turns out to be just a layer of ash and sinks into the water.

La Playa - not much of a beach really.

We walked onto the 'beach'. It happened to be ash floating on water. D'oh!

The sky clears up after a bit and we get some fantastic views of the remaining lakes. We then find ourselves in the pretty little town of San Martin de Los Andes. It’s a small, but beautiful town with that Alpine feel to it. Most of the shops are shut for siesta but we run into a Heladaria and a bakery. Where we tuck into some Empanandas and Dulce de Leche ice cream.

Dulce de Leche Helado. Simply nothing better than this! Oh maybe a big delicious steak, but that doesn't count.

The drive back from San Martin to Bariloche is long, boring and tedious. There is not much to see. It’s a real contrast to the beauty we just saw on the seven lakes tour. It is extremely dry and desolate – some would say barren.

A random waterfall we found.

Back at the hostel it’s a fellow hostel mates cumpleaños so we celebrate in style with cheap wine and party games. Before heading out on the town to the nearby bar called Konna. Where they brew their own beer. Just don’t ask for their negro cervaza – it would be nice except it tastes like coffee.

We kick it on to the wee hours of the morning at Wilkenny’s which seems to be pumping tonight and packed to the rafters.

Bariloche, Argentina.

Its not much of a day today. After a good sleep in, and breakfast. Before going back to sleep. I head off into Bariloche to organise some warm clothes. That doesn’t really eventuate. I get over it pretty quickly and head back to the hostel.

Jorien, Eva and Anna wrangle myself into doing the seven lakes tour and hiring a car. Which ends up being ridiculously cheap at 260 pesos.

Later on, I cook a mean steak at the hostel and even get a bit of chimichurri sauce.

Bariloche, Argentina.

A plan for a lazy day is a bit of a bad move. Always. Never plan anything. Unless you’ve brought tickets to a sporting event or a flight. It just never goes to plan. Ever.

Today was one of those days. I thought that after two days after a long bus ride, I should take it easy and cruise around town. But I then decide to hop along to a waterfall.

The road next to Lago Gutierez.

The bus ride takes us out to Lago Gutierrez from there we walk down the coastal path in a foursome. But that quickly turns into more like a fivesome and then a sixsome as we are tailed by some wagging friends. There tends to be a bunch of stray dogs around and they follow us in the hope of food.

Lago Gutierrez. It got a bit overcast with ash cloud.

About 3kms down the road we get to the national park and follow a trail up to the cascada’s. They aren’t huge, but we have two cascading falls over a small rocky cliff.

The waterfalls - not Iguazu like but still pretty cool.

Heading back we pick up another 3 dogs and they follow us into town. Which is a bit weird. And at one point we have seven. Heaps weird.

The path back.

Back at the hostel, its pretty chilled out. There isn’t a lot going on. We indulge in more Helado. Seriously, the Helado here rivals that in San Gimingano, Italy. Its absolutely delicious. Try the Dulce de Leche helado (so god damn tasty).

Lago Gutierez minus the ash cloud.

Bariloche, Argentina

Over last nights dinner, the hostel was trying to book a rafting trip. And due to low numbers the rafting company was offering a 2 for 1 special. At 480 Pesos. It came down to the last 2 places whilst Anna and myself contemplated it.

It was more along the lines of “I’ll do it, if you do it”. So after a little to and froing we put ourselves down for rafting and all you can eat Asado.

At the bright old hour of eight we get picked up by Extremo Sur (a local company that is highly recommended). And pay our fee before being driven as they say about an hour an a half out of town. But take that as about two hours.

At the local farm they use to store the gear and have the asado. We are shouted to a breakfast. Which is quite good – even if we did have exactly the same at the hostel. But the Desayuno was sweet croissants, café con lech, te and tang (which everyone here loves).

We get fitted out with our sleeveless wetsuits, boots, a jacket, helmet and life jacket. Then its off to the River.

Its only a short ride, and we get to the Rio Mansa. Get all our stuff on and get given the safety instructions before hitting the river. The first couple of hundred metres are about what commands our guide gives us such as : forward, backwards, left backwards, right backwards, pile left, pile right and sit down.

Its then onto the main course which is about 10 rapids which range from class III to class IV. All have an abundance of names like Flintstones (because its rocky), Deepthroat (narrow and takes a lot of water) and Internacional (because its on the border of Argentina/Chile). It’s a pretty fun filled day of action. Its really quite fun being at the front and copping the white water on the head and we end up drenched but happy.

We illegally cross the border into Chile before getting changed and heading back to the farmhouse. And straight into some Vino Rojo and the all you can eat asado. Which is really good. The farmers actually host the asado and bring out tonnes of meat on little trays. It’s a first in best dressed for the food. And its not long til the meat sweats kick in. It was rather pleasant.

We head back to the hostel and celebrate the days adventure with some booze and dinner. Really another quiet night down in Bariloche.

Bariloche, Argentina.

An early morning arrival is never ideal. You arrive feeling pretty terrible – even if you got decent sleep on the overnight bus/train.

Getting to Bariloche wasn’t hard – getting off the bus was quite a shock. A chilly shock. It was very cold. But a taxi later and I was at the hostel checking in. I got a bed straight away and proceeded to shower.

After that I meet Eva and Jorien (who would become pretty good travel friends over the ensuing week(s). They invited myself and another traveller along for their day of activities.

Public transport here is buses only. Obviously, most towns around South America are only buses except the few major cities that have metro systems. We wait for bus 20 and hop on.

Cerro Campanerio - this is where the trail up begins.

About 17km along the road we arrive at our destination of Campanario. And there are two ways up – the chairlift which will cost you about 40 Pesos (I think) or the free option which is with two feet and a heartbeat. And being backpackers that is what we choose.

The trail up. Its a good 40 minute trek and it gets steep in parts.

The hike up takes about 40 minutes, its steep in places but not too bad. It actually starts to get hot.

The rewarding view. A pretty just reward.

At the top, you get an absolutely subliminal view of the surrounding area. There are 360 degree views of the various mountains and of course the lakes (which is what this area is famous for – being the Lakes District and all).

Acting like a knob. I do this too often.

The area is superb. So good we pull up stumps and sit there for an hour or two. Taking in the view and the sun.

It was so good, this is where we sunbaked for a few hours

It’s then another bus to get to the next part of the itinerary for the day. However, we meet a local Argentine who wants our photo –which seems a bit absurd but we oblige.

Waiting for the bus.

We get off at km 25 or end of the line for bus 20. And hike a bit of circuito chico (which is meant to be an absolute delight). But we take a side trip and walk to Villa Tacula.  It doesn’t take long. Though at the end we were expecting lake views and got a bunch of houses. Oh well these things happen. And we make the walk back to the bus stop.

Circuito Chico Vistas.

It ends up being a bit of a quiet night at the hostel. A few beers over dinner and conversation. As we sip back the beers, the hostel offers everyone a special price for the white water rafting tomorrow – 2 people for the price of 1. And Anna (a cool Australian girl) and myself um and ah about it before putting our names down for it. Tomorrow we white water raft into Chile!

A bus ride that lasts 20 hours is my idea of hell. But there isn’t much of an option really. There isn’t a lot between Buenos Aires and Bariloche (my next destination). So its with great resentment that I jump aboard a double decker bus at Terminal de Omnibus de Buenos Aires. Though it wouldn’t be South America if the bus wasn’t an hour late.

The buses here are different to the intercity buses you get in Europe and even Australia. I have ridden buses in Turkey and thought they were fantastic and reasonably priced. Here though, you have a few different options.

The bus I’m on is a Cama bus. That means the seats recline to 160 degrees, are leather, and I get a decent food service. And a movie service of a few decent flicks (sometimes you are lucky and get one in English, other times it is in Spanish – so its quite a good idea to charge up that laptop and ipod for those long journeys.

However, the bus isn’t too packed and it’s not a bad journey. The scenery is very barren for most of the trip. Until you get near Bariloche and it changes to some incredible stuff. But you have to get used to these long bus journeys. Oh well. We arrive, unscathed, probably smelling a bit and step off the bus in some chilly conditions that I wasn’t expecting.

Some photos from the stop we had somewhere en route are down below. Enjoy.

After going to the bus station, I head down to Plaza de Mayo and cruise down street towards Plaza Dorrego in San Telmo. All along the street is a bunch of markets. And a bustle of people wandering around. Porteno’s selling beer and food. People playing music. There is a buzz to the air at these sunday Markets. Most of the things for sale on this street are tourist orientated.

However, in Plaza Dorrego it is more aimed towards Antique hunters. With bits and bobs from everywhere. Its an eclectic mix around here.

Another day to organise my stuff. I’m lazy like that on holidays. One of the things you should be aware of in Argentina is bus travel. You will probably be taking one long distance bus or more. You really need to buy your ticket the day before. Otherwise you may get stuck. Especially in towns where there is only one bus out.

In Buenos Aires, that means heading to Retiro on the Subte line. A short walk there and you are at the Terminal de Omnibus de Buenos Aires.

Tip: Before going to this bus terminal – check the Omnilineas website. It lists all destinations from Buenos Aires and the companies that go there.

Once there, head to the top floor and look for the area (I headed to the sur area – south as I was heading to Bariloche). Once there, grab your phrasebook and hopefully you can get your ticket from which company. Shop around – there is competition for buses out of Buenos Aires.

I brought a ticket to Bariloche which costs $591 pesos and goes for 20 hours. So once done buying your ticket, go pack you rucksack and get some supplies for the bus.