Argentinian shop-naming disaster

Christmas in Argentina, with a generous helping of fireworks

Keeping a blog up to date is hard when you are travelling. Most people won’t sympathise too much with my situation, but it is difficult I tell you. Someone get the miniature violins out…

Much has happened since my last post… these are the highlights (and lowlights):

* Visited Uruguay for a day – and were surprised to discover they do amazing chicken teriyaki
* Got pick-pocketed in Buenos Aires – dont make the assumption that how someone is dressed is any indication as to whether they are a thief or not
* Discovered the joy of chimmichurri sauce on steak. How is this not available in the UK??
* Watched awestruck as hundreds of fireworks lit up the night sky on Christmas eve as Argentinians celebrate with a big party kicking off at midnight
* Took our first humdinger of a long distance bus – 22 hours (with about 2 to 3 hours sleep).

And thanks to that bus we find ourselves in a lakeside town named San Carlos de Bariloche, in Argentine Patagonia, somewhere around 41 degrees south of the equator. This is the furthest south I have ever been, and I have to admit it’s a relief from the relentless humidity of Buenos Aires’ clogged streets. The views here over Nahuel Huapi lake are spectacular, only occassionally obscured by the spectre of the ash from the Chilean volcanic eruption across the nearby border.

Tomorrow we are heading out on the Circuito Chico: 60km biking and bussing around the lake. Edit: Having now done the excursion I can share a photo (it was awesome!)

We cycled around those lakes in the background, about 25km of uphill and downhill but well worth it

Finally I’d just like to say have a Merry Christmas/Happy holidays to all of you, and thank you for reading!