Bariloche or Brighton?

Once again a week has flown by already............so much to report I am not quite sure where to start. I love this town, and am having such a fantastic time. Only one more week left, though here, and soooooooooo much to pack in.

True to my usual form, it seems I have found myself hanging around in a place where the men are all more interested in each other than they are in the ladies. Only this time it´s not just a coffee shop or wherever, it´s an entire town. I am sure there are proportionally more boys with highlights in this town than there are in Glasgow´s rainbow rooms! No complaints of course......it´s great for a solo white señorita to have plenty companions to go shopping with (!) or have coffee with and it´s a really unthreatening evironment, so I am very happy.

So last week, I seem to have been pretty busy. Spanish is coming on, although my pronounciation is still utterly terrible, but the rest is fine. My tutor suggests I don´t try and order Penne pasta in a restaurant for fear of the waiter thinking he must drop his trousers. Pizza it is.

I have managed an excursion every other day last week. It´s a hard life! These are views from the revolving restaurant at the summit of Cerro Otto. I lazily took a cable car the 1.5km upwards and then sat with a coffee at the top. Excellente! Grandparents can have an armchair 360. vista from this site: http://www.telefericobariloche.com.ar/ingles/confiteria.htm
Strangely on the summit there was a lot of development, including a spoof art gallery with full size Michelangelo Sculptures (replicas). Prince Charles´s would hate it (ref Cairngorm summit tearoom), and to be honest it was pretty ridiculous. But fantastic views...I could see where my homestay was, where we´d cycled, the route to Chile through the lakes, the Steppe landscape, the transitionary forests, the mountains........all for a fiver. Bargain.

On Wednesday I went for a Cabalgata (guided tour on horseback) to lake Moreno and through the surrounding forests. Our gaucho (pic right) was excellent and we covered a lot of ground, including forest, beach, rivers (little ones), and a little steppe. I was pretty chuffed with myself because I´d cycled 30km to get there and back to the stables, done the horse riding, and then got to my spanish class on time. The riding was absolutely spectacular and well worth the effort. Glad of my padded shorts for all that though!

The group I was in were all from the US on a no-expense-spared trip to Argy....their multinational had paid for some employees and their wives to go on the jaunt in recognition of their hard work. Nice! So, there I was in the middle of Patagonia looking like a scuffy cyclist trying to sit on a horse whilst the could-be-cast of Desperate Housewives were decked out in their designer clothes, perfectly made up and manicured, but also sitting on a horse. It was good to share a morning´s excursion with them; always interesting to chat to new people, especially when they inhabit a world so very different from my own.

On Friday I was concerned that my prefered spa might by closing due to lack of custom since I hadn´t been for over a week, so I popped in for a wee session in the Ozone tank (no idea what it is, but it was fun) and a massage. I get 20% off as a tourist, which is not so exciting when the full price is only six pounds. (I am not expecting a sympathy vote!)

On Saturday, I went on a day´s kayaking trip around a lake nearby and it´s been possibly the best excursion I´ve done so far. I am very chuffed that we managed 18km! It started off with absolutely beautifully clear water, cloudless sky etc (as per pic). After lunch, a beachside cooked feast, on the home straight that infamous Patagonian wind whipped up and I saw the eye of a whirlwind. The guide assured me I should just enjoy it as it wasn´t very strong, but we all got wet (not by capsizing thankfully). She was right, it was all very exciting. But a good reminder of how quickly things can change.

The rest of the group kayaking were on an Exodus overland trip. There were a couple of women in the 50s but everyone else was within +/- one year of my age. Áll brits, too. They were doing a 90 day, 16,000 mile bus tour of South America. Camping each night and driving most days for up to 12 hours. It was great to spend a day with them all but I am very pleased I opted for my itinerary rather than theirs. I´ll cover a lot less ground but I think I´ll meet more people and get a better understanding of each place. I would hate to be cooped up in a truck and then tent with the same people for 90 days, 24-7 I think! It was really interesting to hear why everyone was on the trip and how they´d got time off. Some stories not so very different from my own in there. I chatted for quite a time to an exiled “Guernsey donkey” ……keen to get his residential qualifications. It was great to spend the day with a group of brits but after we finished with a few post kayaking beers and I waved cheerio I didn´t mind being back en solo, or feel lonely.

Yesterday, Sunday, I went on a boat ride and trek in Valdivian forest to within a few kilometres of where we started the cycle tour en Chile. Maybe I´ll write more about that when I´ve got the pictures back as I´ve got loads of woodland pics. It was fantastic, anyway and I saw loads of plants. Not much fauna though! I bumped into some people I´d met the day before from Western Australia. They were beef farmers, a mum and daughter who had just finished a two week horseback tour in the area. So we compared notes over a roast beef sunday lunch and a good laugh. Perfect. I did one of the little jungle treks with a two sisters from Buenos Aires who were really good company. It´s great to spend an hour or two here with new people, who are generally interested in the same things as me. They drift in and out of my life quickly but it´s pretty refreshing.

I realise I have learnt as much about people, including myself as I have about Patagonia so far; it´s great. It takes a bit of effort as a solo traveller to go and do stuff, rather than sit and read a book and have a coffee. But generally each time I have bothered myself to do so it´s been well worth it.

I´ve moved homestay now, in to town. I can´t descibe my glee at this. No more earwigs scaling the toast in the morning, no off milk and no more hairs in dinner, I hope!!!! I had to stay at the first one until the end of last week as I wouldn´t get any cash back otherwise, so held out! The first homestay lady is lovely and means so well but it was certainly an unforgettable experience though. Lots of tales from there. Abuela went into hospital with flu last week (she is very definately on the mend)...when she collapsed two paramedics and a doctor were at the house within 5 mins of phoning the ambulance, dressed in scrubs and masked (maybe someone said about the hygiene!) with what looked like a portable theatre in tow. Pretty prompt service anyway.

(bad pic of wasps enjoying ham) I thought there was a burglar last week….at about 3am I thought I heard a window being broken. I then heard Abuela crying and suddenly stop. The dogs howled and then whimpered. And then nothing. About 5 mins later I heard footsteps on broken glass. I was somewhat concerned but stayed in my room. When I woke up everything was as normal. The nurse thought the dogs had dropped a plate during their raid on the fridge. In fact a plant and ceramic pot had fallen from upstairs on to the tiles downstairs. Abuela cried because she was frightened and the footsteps on the broken ceramics were actually paws. Mystery solved!

As a result of the above, and the fact I have lost my UK mobile I have a new “movil”. It´s with "Movistar", rather than Orange. I think my UK PAYG phone fell out my pocket on the bike, not that it worked here anyway. But it has all my numbers on the SIM, so everyone, I am afraid will have to give me their numbers again when I get home again. Sorry :-(

My new homestay is great. I have a beautiful view of the catherdral, the mountains and the lake from my room, and my hostess likes cooking. She is the opposite of my previous homestay in that she is completely lacking in “joy de vivre” (sp) but has an obsession with cleaning. Can´t have it both ways I guess. Next time (!) I would opt for a Cabaña (self catering apartment) of which there are some lovely ones here.

I´ve handed the bike back, with much regret. Unfortunately it didn´t fit in the lift at my new abode and the stairs were narrow…..carting it up 6 flights of stairs each day didn´t really appeal, and now that I am based in town I don´t really need it. I´ll miss it though. Sometimes when I´ve parked up beside my locutorio of choice (telecom/web centre) there´s a guy who recognizes it as my bike so he comes along to talk to me. He´s nice enough……he invents meterological gadgets for a living and teaches a bit too. I think he just wants someone to practice his English with, which is fine. But without my bike parked outside I am harder to find!

Classes this week should be good as I have two new class mates. My nice new Austrian friend in the advanced class already speaks 6 languages and insisted I only speak to him in Spanish. He´s either very patient or very bored!

Have a good week, all!

Patagonian Ponderings (and Pictures!)

Hola Mis Amigos,

Back again. This time with pics to upload. I think you should be able to click on them to get them full screen. The first couple are from Bariloche, taken an hour or so ago. It´s sunny outside, and windy of course.

I haven´t mentioned the motors yet......I think I´ve seen a couple of cars which would pass their MOT. One was from the posh Llao Llao hotel http://www.llaollao.com and was the airport pickup car. The other was our cycling trip support vehicle.

Here are a couple of average cars..... I never thought anyone could be jealous of my non-turbo diesel super steady Saxo. However, I can picture all the boy racers here positively drooling over it. I suppose it doesn´t make sense to have a newer motor because it´s going to get bashed anyway. I don´t know the price of a car compared to other stuff, but it seems topsy turvy to have the latest mobile phone, camera and ipod as they do, and yet drive something which looks like it couldn´t even make it to the nearest tip.

NB; I´m going to intersperse the text now with a nothing-to-do-with-the-text selection of pics of Northern Patagonia from my camera.....

Meanwhile, I decided generally not to cycle on the tarmac roads out of town. My home stay is along way out (well only 5 miles really), so the first night I had my bike I thought I would head into town for some company and a decent dinner, since I had a means of getting back.

Unfortunately I forgot how quickly it changed from daylight to dark, and before I´d even found anywhere that was open for food (it was afterall only 8.30pm which means office workers etc are still working ) I thought I better head back. I had planned to cycle on the tarmac but thought I better try the verge as it was getting dark, and I hadn´t found a bike with lights.

The verges here are really wide, more or less the same width as the road, the difference being that they are made of rubble, gravel, mud and any other debris you can think of rather than the tarmac. Pedestrians and cyclists use them, but buses also stop in them.

Anyway it wasn´t a pleasant prospect to cycle in the verge but it was at least safer, so I gave it a go. There were enough pedestrians and other cyclists about to prevent personal security being an issue. It wasn´t until the next morning when I cycled back in to town that I was amazed that I´d made it in one piece as the terrain was poor on the route I´d gone. There were craters of 20cm depth, awful camber (my pet hate), vegetation and then pebbles the size of my fist and a whole bunch of other challenges, which me and the smart new bike I´ve hired had simply cruised over, and I´d never felt a thing.

The trick, as everyone kept telling me on the cycling holiday was not to look at the immediate surface in front of you, and just focus ahead. It took me cycling in the dark to realise this. So I am convert to off road cycling. I won´t brave the tarmac again on the main road (which is like Scarborough´s Marine Drive) I´ll just happily tootle along in the verge. Anyway I am very chuffed with my adopted cycling technique now. It´s far enough away from the traffic to be safe from it, but close enough still to be seen if anything goes wrong. It might take me twice as long to get to class off road, but I will get there in stress free comfort, and will be able to enjoy the beautiful views of the lake on route. (pic: one of many many chocolate shops here)

That brings me on to my home stay. My hostess is a lovely lady. She is a midwife and works from 7.30am to 4.30pm on weekdays, and sometimes lectures at the university. She´s very cheery and humorous and we have fun despite her lack of English, and mine of Spanish. He infirm grandmother is currently in the room next to mine which usually houses another student. I am beginning to understand Abuela´s Spanish (grandmother) because she is fairly predictable, and speaks slowly....... "I am too cold"......"Your food is horrible" (to her grandaughter) .........."I feel ill"....."I am in pain". But then she spies my vinto tinto and perks up. "ooooooooohhhh, Senorita, Vinto Tinto! Just a little glass for me please" Suddenly there´s a huge smile, and a "shall we watch ER, Dr Green is my favourite."

My hostess has a day nurse come in while she is at work but there´s a gap when I am the only person in. I have offered to change cathetars etc (that nursing home job paid off!) if required but thankfully so far all she needs is water and a pillow proped up before I head out. I think I´ll last out at my homestay until Tuesday when I plan to move into town, primarily on account of food and location.........

This is a beautiful, juicy lean steak I had here in Bariloche (well, I had most of it...it was 0.5kg which I am sure is enough to feed at least 4) and the town is full of absolutely delicious food. Steak and chips, and a nice glass of Malbec will only cost the price of a take out coffee and a daysaver bus fare in Auld Reekie.

So it seems ludicrious to be stuck in a homestay who´s idea of a good feed is a deep fried burger made from what can only be mechanically recovered, reformed, unidentified animal body parts, and certainly would not pass Bernard Matthews QC. Oh, wait, you eat it with a dash of lemon to help it go down. I have not seen a vegetable since I arrived, but to be fair I was offered a piece of fruit on Tuesday.

I have mastered breakfast....it´s left out for me in the morning to help myself.....I wrap whatever it is in a napkin, and when I get round the corner and spy the nearest hungry but healthy looking doggy I give it a present. The problem occurs when the dogs won´t eat it either. I felt guilty for being so ungrateful at first, until I saw the first dog turn it´s nose up!

(I like this pic by the way of the fisherman on the lakeside)

She (homestay lady, who will remain anonymous) carefully makes me a cafe con leche every morning, which I am to reheat in the microwave. I have been wondering why each morning the white globules at the surface are getting progressively bigger. So last night I looked at the milk bag (!) in the fridge. It´s hard to smell anything in the kitchen other than the dishcloth but I didn´t need to see " VTO 26 February 2007" on the milk to realise what the problem is. I´ll mention that to her later when I hand over a new bag from the supermarket.

I offered to cook tonight, not least to give me the opportunity to wash the pots before I start, and then I´ll dine out tomorrow night. I´ll probably move out to other accommodation in the next few days........... I did come to Argentina for new experiences, but dodgy food in a land of plenty was not one of them. If I needed to stick it out I think I could but I am here for some rest and relaxation and some fun. I am sure I sound like a very snobby, ungrateful senorita to reject such well meaning hospitality, but I am also paying the bill. And I value my digestive health!

(pic of in situ bike repairs)

I wonder if my homestay is representative of the Argentines.....appearance seems to be very extremely important. E.g. houses look immaculate from the outside, and people are all really well dressed, made up and accessorised. My homestay has three shelves worth of expensively branded US make up in the fridge for example. But on the inside there must be vitamin deficiences, and tar filled lungs!

So, that was a fair old rant on the homestay. Poor reader! Poor homestay hostess! Nevermind, I´ve typed it now so it´s staying. I am actually having a lovely time here, and there is so much I want to do. I went up to one of the summits in the week in a chair lift (lazy, but fun!). This is the view from the top. I was going to go on a boat cruise today with a 4 hour walk around Victoria island with my new fair weather friend from the US. However, a slight bout of traveller´s tummy(can´t think where I got it!!) and a lack of cash machine stopped play on that front for me so I decided to take it easy and find myself a web cafe instead, probably the reason this entry is sooooo long.

Yesterday I spent the day at a spa which was lovely. I read most of a splendid novel, enjoyed a sauna, swim, massage, seaweed wrap (!) and a facial all for 25 pounds. Bargain basement! The staff were all lovely and were keen to practise their English. Earlier in the week I went to a different spa (easy life or what) and got waxables waxed and massageables massaged and a hair restyle which I am really chuffed with. And I still had change from 20 pounds after all that for a really nice lunch.

(Cheesy tourist pic of Llao Llao hotel I took on the cable car day)

Which brings me on to another observation.....a lot of the necessities, like transport, seem really expensive whilst what I think are luxuries such as massages and manicures are comparatively very cheap. I haven´t figured out why yet. However, surprisingly no Argentine in Bariloche I have spoken to yet is unhappy with the devaluation of their currency in 2001, which I find surprising. Apparently here the standard of living has gone up because there are now so many jobs in tourism and exports that more people are enjoying a better quality of life without the need to travel. I am sure I will hear different opinions, specially in different towns from this one.

Next week, from my new accomodation, I hope to join up with a horse riding excursion, or two, and various other things....boat rides across the lake, revolving restaurant/cafe to visit, more spas to try ......as the language school doesn´t start until 2.30pm each day which is good for holidaying. There are sooooo many things to do I am going to run out of time.

So, better sign off now, I think this entry is a long way of saying "Come to Bariloche (and stay in a nice hotel or cabaña) because it´s lovely."

Smiles and good wishes, reader.

Andean Adventures

Hi all,

I´m trying another update from a better internet centre. I realise it´s been nearly a week since the last proper update and there is muchos to report.

I flew back to a very breezy 12.C Bariloche last Sunday, which was a bit of a contrast from Santiago´s 28.C. The connecting flight from Puerto Montt to Bariloche was interesting.....it´s only 60 miles or so, which was 17 mins flight over the Andes. A stiff G&T ought to be mandatory for passengers before boarding as it is a very steep ascent followed by a really close up view, looking down on active volcanoes before a REALLY steep descent in to Bariloche where the wind speed was really high. This view of the Andes was taken from the long haul flight, and doesn´t really do it justice but you get the idea. It was taken quite a way north of Patagonia.

It occurs to me that I have now crossed the Andes 3 times (excluding long haul flights). Once by bike...very chuffed with that one, once by bus on our cycling tour, and lastly on the little flight as discussed.

Think I am going to add some pics in this to break up the text. I don´t have pics of all that I am going to write about though, hence they will be a bit "random". Like this one, of Chilean homes we passed on our cycle trip. I can´t upload images straight from the camera in internet cafes here, although I could in Chile. I guess they figured they could make lots of money by getting tourists to get the pics ripped on to CD Rom first!

So, anyway, here I am, back in Argentinian Patagonia, and I have to say what a fantastic town Bariloche is. Unfortunately it´s filled with backpackers and more affluent US pensioners, but it´s a lovely place nonetheless.

I´ve started at the language school which is great. It´s quite a trek from the town centre, and it´s at the back of a scruffy secondary school but the teacher is great and understands my needs. I´ve learnt a lot this week....I think the hardest thing I find is pronounciation. I am sure I have been to the post office to ask the equivalent of "how much is it to pass a pocket to English?"

Transport is interesting......after the first two days of classes I got fed up of waiting for the bus....need to allow an hour to get the 5 miles from town to class and sometimes they don´t bother to stop anyway. So I tried taxis. You´d think really in a town only fractionally bigger than Lincoln when you hoped in a licensed taxi and gave the street name, the driver might say "OK Senorita" and whisk you away to your destination. Not so.

Despite the entire town being on a grid system, and running parallel to the Lago Nahuel Haupi (pron Now-all-WAP-ee) with only three roads in and out of it no driver has been able to find my homestay or my school without assistance. Hilarious!

Even worse, even when I give them the nearest kilometre square on the main road (e.g 5.6km Ave los...) they still sit and scratch their heads. Some I have even said I don´t know where it is so you´ll have to find another driver. Come on chaps, it´s a main road with one of the town´s secondary schools on! Everyone else seems to have the same problem. NB neither homestay or school are pictured on this plan since they are too far out.

Anyway, I got a bit sick of this taxi and bus fiasco, and have rented a posh new set of wheels as a result. It was stupidly expensive (though not compared to hiring taxis for the duration of my stay here) and I would be cheaper buying a bike and reselling it I am sure, but I am lazy and this seemed easier. It´s a Trek bike, and I am much more at one with it than the Giant from the cycling holiday. Funny how it can make such a difference.

Oooh time is up on my PC, so I will get a coffee and write more shortly............before next time I will add pics of Santiago etc to the previous Santiago entry.

Chao Chao

Santiago Sunshine

Well, time for another wee update, for anyone still reading. I can't add the pics yet because I can't download the USB driver. Wish I was more technically minded. So text for now, pics another time. Images inserted here are from wikipedia, with thanks. (NB:17/03 have pics now, so have added them in)

So here I am in Santiago, where the clocks have just been changed today to winter time. I can see why - it is pretty chilly at 29oC. Funny to see snow on the hills in this heat though.

I said goodbye to the rest of the cycling group on Friday -yesterday- at Santiago airport. Not quite the knees up departure party we had planned.....I was supposed to be in the same hotel as the rest of the group but LAN Chile, the airline had mucked up their booking. So I left the rest of the group fighting it out with LAN at Santiago airport at midnight last night....I waved a fond farewell before jumping into a taxi -airport registered of course- and speeding off into the Chilean night heading for the capital, entirely dependant on the taxi driver to get me to the right place safely. Thankfully, he did and we had a nice chat in transit. Wish I´d had a mobile phone though, just in case.Overall, not an experience I wish to repeat, especially after a hard day´s cycling on volcanic debris but I hope the others eventually got their hotel sorted. They should be winging their way home now anyway.

Meanwhile I have been snooping around Santiago today. It´s in a fantastic location, unlike the keys on this ridiculous all languages computer keyboard.....it is sanwiched between the Pacific Ocean to the West and the Andes to the East. You can see the Andes from wherever you are in the city. Basements excepted. It seems very European - extremely clean and pretty organised and has an air of economic activity........shiny banks anyway. But I can´t say I have fallen in love with it yet. They do like their Irishmen though, or one in particular.....references to the Irishman Bernardo O´Higgins are absolutely everywhere. O´Higgins commanded the military forces that won independence from Spain in the Chilean War of Independance, and don´t you forget it.

On the cycling holiday front, it finished with some great experiences. I didn´t fall off my bike anymore, thankfully. And I did keep up with the group. One day I even finished 5th, and that´s without sabotaging anyone´s tyres. Not that it´s a race of course. But I did manage a hilarious mishap.....we´d transfered by vehicle to the middle of nowhere to start cycling in the pouring rain. I don´t think I´ve ever seen rain so heavy. Anyway, we hopped out and most of us found we´d hydrated ourselves a little more than was necessary, so took it in turns to pay a call at the local facilities...facilities pictured below. When it was my turn, I managed to slip half way down the embankment rolling right into the brambles beneath. Needless to say, I am covered in bramble scratches, from my ankles to midway up my back. Thankfully it was only bramble scratches. Could have been worse. Hilarious, And if I could find the exclaimation mark key, then I would use it here.

Anyway, I was grateful I had mum´s track mitts on so at least no thorns were embedded in the palms of my hands. My only shred of dignity from the incident was that at least I managed to pick out the thorns myself using tweezers. We all had a good laugh about it.

Whilst the others were climbing the volcano the other day, of which 3 got to the top in the end, I went to the not-so-thermal spa at San Luis. It was certainly very nice if a little chile...I am sure I could get used to sitting around the pool all day. Pic is from their website.

Pucon, and Chile in general was pretty pricey. In Pucon, you could spend a month doing a different outdoor activity each day. A 3 hour tour of the area on horseback would set you back 40 pounds, followed by a trip to the thermal spa, another tenner, and if you want a nice dinner at the end of the day, reserve another 25 pounds. Our hotel, which is one of the better ones we stayed in on the trip, but still basic, was expensive. 8 days of that, and you´ll have spend a four figure sum. Who said South America was cheap? Thankfully for me Argentine prices are far more overdraft friendly, though I know my good fortune in this regard is only due to the Argentine´s misfortune as a result of their economic collapse. Still, it would be rude not to take up their all day spa offers at a tenner a time, treatments, gym, pool etc included :-).

On the last day of the cycling holiday, which when I think about it was only yesterday........ we went cycling in Parque Nacional Conguillio which is home to the active Volcano Llaima, which has erupted some 800 times in the last 500 years, or something. The last time was in 2003. We cycled across solidified rivers of lava for miles and miles. In fact it was a total of 70km I think, but I skipped all the uphill sections! It was very strange cycling over volcanic debris, and the landscape was nothing like I had ever seen before. There was very little wildlife other than the ubiquitous wasp and some ants. A few shrubs, pampas grass and some small alpine type plants had begun to colonise, but very little else was there.

Anyway, the trip finished at Temuco on a good note ....that was before most of us flew to Santiago for the above described fiasco. We even won over the little Chilean jobsworth of a Police officer with a big gun who wanted us to stop gambling, at Temuco airport. We pursuaded him that it was just for fun not cash and so left Temuco and our cycling trip, all smiles.

Anyway, I am heading back over the border tomorrow night, ready to start much needed Spanish lessons on Monday.

Chao from Chile.

p.s. here´s a bus lane and stop pic (right) for those transport planning types, who may, or may not be interested!

Pucon

Well, here we are in Pucon in the Chilean Lake district which is a tourist Mecca. It is the hub for adventure sports in the area as well as blue rinse coach tours. Not sure the two are compatible.

I have had a couple of really good days biking now, and am beginning to get the hang off road stuff. I have managed either not to be last, or to be within sight of the penultimate rider if I am last which makes me feel safer.

Yesterday we cycled over the border from Argentina back in to Chile....it was gratifying at passport control to fill in "bike" as our means of transport. I managed to do around 45km, some tarmac and some gravel and grit before I hopped on the bus when the terrain changed for the worst. Five front runners managed 90km, of which the last 45 were really horrible (to my way of thinking) steep gravel slopes.

Anyway, here is a picture from yesterday...its in Argentina at Mamuil Malal looking towards Volcano Lanin on our way to the border with Chile. The landscape was amazing and there was very little traffic which made cycling on the road just perfect. I was also at the middle of the pack which left me with a little more confidence and time to enjoy it (not that I could see anyone in either direction).

As we moved on through the border we got to the Aruncaria woodland - entire forests of Monkey Puzzle trees which was incredible (see left hand side -2 big trees plus loads of little ones). They were absolutley massive compared to the ones we plant in our gardens in the UK. We also saw loads of lizards and butterflies in the forest.

Today the rest of the group are climbing the 9,000ft Volcano Villarrica which is a 10 our trek in crampons. When you get to top you can see and smell the molten lava. To get down you sit on your rubber tyre and use your ice axes as brakes which sounds great fun. I was really looking forward to this bit in the trip, but I think bacteria of the "Holidayous ruinous" strain to which I am under the control of had other plans. The penicillin is working as I don{t rattle anymore when I breathe out, or worse, in. But the 6am start and the cough etc would probably impact on my ability to go biking tomorrow so I opted out, with regret. Amazingly Codine is a prescription drug here but penicillin isnt. Codine supresses coughs and fever and it really works, but its also addictive - I think its closely related to morphine. I won´t bother myself to see a GP and since I am on the mend and definately through the worst I will manage without.

Tonight I think we go to thermal spas to relax, as there are loads round here. Perfect temperature and conditions for bacteria to breed, so perhaps I ought to give it a miss. I would hate to leave the hospitable Chileans in Pucon a leaving present of bronchial bacteria.

So the cycling part of my trip is nearly over, and none of us can belive quite how much ground we{ve covered. Dinner and drinks never seem to finish before about midnight or 1am, and we are out the door by 8.30 each morning so its been pretty active, and I have made some good friends. If I{d had the skills I have now acquired from the start the first few days would have been much better, but I have them now! Dinner seems to last from about 8.30 or 9pm when we first start looking out restaurants, to late oclock when we finish. It takes almost as long as a french dinner, but unfortunately most of it is down to waiting for the food. Makes for very sociable dinners though.

Chile is very different from Argentina - a lot less affluent. Towns we{ve been through in Chile have been geared up for tourism, and this town, Pucon, would put Britain in Bloom to shame. But outwith the towns its a different story- housing is very poor quality and farming appears to be subsistence. Yet people are really well dressed from top to toe. Chileans seem a bit more serious and reserved than the Argentines. Mind you if I saw a bunch of filthy sweaty cyclists heading in my direction I might be a little cautious too!

I fly with the group to Santiago on Friday, and from there I{ll head to the language school after a weekend recovering.

So, Chao from Pucon.

photos!

This big pic is from the second day, heading off after lunch. This road was quite well surfaced, but I was in the support vehicle by this point with my cuts and bruises!

The smaller pic is of us all at the Enchanted Valley, which was incredible. Completely barren apart from wasps and the odd grass patch, and of course enormous mountains. Very windy and hot but a beautiful section of about 35km.

This one is at the Chilean-Argy border, crossing the Andes. It snowed and we all got very cold and wet standing there with our picnic. It was worth it though!

Anyway, that´s it for now, folks

Sorted!

Can´t work out how to get the pics on for now, so will have to do without today.

So, where to start.............what a week it´s been. I left Heathrow on Saturday 24th Feb, and for the first time I can remember I was early, a whole 4 hours early. Which is plenty time to change your mind about jetting off in to the unknown, especially if you are a fan of flying like me (!)

Anyway, 30 something hours later I arrived in Puerto Montt in Chile (just inside Patagonia) and met up with the rest of the cyclists. We headed straight for the showers and then to the workshop to pick up our new wheels for those of us who hadn´t flown our bikes out. Shock horror, my bike was a Giant (brand) with front suspension, and was the same model as I´d kept falling off at Glentress. A couple of test drives later and I was a bit worried as I hadn´t seen any surfaced track either.

So after dinner and a sleep we headed off in the support vehicle to get a ferry to get to the middle of absolutely nowhere. And then we started pedalling. The first trauma for me was that within 4 minutes I could not see a soul - I was outwith (legitimate Scottish word, Dad) the body of the kirk. Two hours later I caught them up at the tea break stop, by which time I had come off the bike in a back wheel over head spectacular on the very rough (for me) terrain. I was rather traumatised by this incident...there was no blood to show for it but it didn´t half hurt as I got trapped between the headset and crossbar. Of course since then the bruises (aka trophies) emerged. They are impressive, even if I say so myself. Knee to, erm, unmentionable female parts is purple, blue and a little green.

I think the remainder of the group wondered how I´d got on to the trip if I couldn´t seem to ride a bike. So did I! The company´s director had guided my last cycling trip and said I´d be fine for this one. I´d asked him if routes was surfaced with tarmac or bitumen as I am not a mountain biker, and he was quite sure I was fit enough and technically competent enough. I am flattered he had such faith, but there is no way I had the technical skills to handle the kind of terrain we saw in Chile in the first few days.

So day two saw me a good half hour behind everyone else in the first leg (not that you know how far you are behind til you meet at the allotted waiting place) but when I did show up for the snack break I had a proper trophy for my morning´s efforts..... Iodine, bandage and chocolate all came in handy after a Chilean coach driver forced me in to the cambered scree where I really came to grief. He didn´t stop of course and there was no one in sight for miles in any direction. So once I caught up with the group and was patched up I hopped into the support vehicle for the remaining 60km that day. My skinned knee now looks a lot better, though if I´d peeled it with a potato peeler instead it would have looked a bit neater. I now cycle in tracksters/leggings not shorts.

Incidentally I have never seen so many dogs roaming round, which to a lone and steady cyclist is a little traumatic when there is the possibility of rabies. There are also more wasps than I have ever seen, put together. And what carnivores! They eat ham not caramel. Somehow or other, probably because other traumas overtook, they don´t bother me anymore, when I am outside. Unless they get in my helmet which is unpleasant. But no bites yet! Woo-hoo!

Day three was a rest day in Bariloche, but the group went cycling. I didn´t want to reskin my knee and wanted to check my stuff into the language school which I start on March 12th. So I got the right bus, found the address for the school and found, erm, nothing. I looked round the area, and still nothing. I phoned. No answer. I phoned the main school in Buenos Aires who had no idea what I was talking about. Then I went to Tourist info who had a list of all schools in the town. Except mine! A mystery. So I thought I´d fallen for an internet scam as I´d already paid in advance. Later that evening when we regrouped I got the guide to call my homestay lady and we then were able to track down the tutor. It seems the school only operates when they have pupils, and it looks like I´ll have one to one tuition.

Anyway, panic over. The town and environs is absolutely stunning, the tutor is a lovely lady and my homestay hostess is a nurse who doesn´t speak English but the guide said she sounded like a very nice warm person. There are so many trips and activities to sign up and I should really get good tuition so I am very much looking forward to it.

So we are now on day 10 of the cycling, and since the first few days things are looking up. The rest of the group (11 in total) are all in their 30s, 40s and 50s and mostly couples. They all have experience and have a decent level of fitness. Yesterday´s puny little 48km ride was the first one I managed in it´s entirety!

When I eventually cycled into the lunch stop yesterday at the top of a 10km uphill section with the support vehicle right behind carrying someone else, I got a cheer! I was only a couple of minutes behind some of the others too. I got some lessons yesterday afternoon and learnt to speed up on the downhills which has been my biggest problem.

I´ve also realised that in first few days when I was really struggling on the bike it was in part due to a chest infection which was developing. I´ve now got some penicillin and it´s getting better. Codine helped the symptons but penicillin should tackle the problem. I was very chuffed with myself for getting the penicillin as I really didn´t know what was Spanish for "green phlegm".

My room mate has found another room because my cough is so noisy, but I feel much better. Mentally and physically. It would have been easy to go home at the beginning of the week, when the language school didn´t seem to exist, couldn´t ride a bike, ego bruised and everything ached with the lurgy, but I am so glad I stuck it out. I have really enjoyed the last couple of days and have made some good friends. And Argentina is such a fantastic country. Patagonia is everything one could hope (even though I have only seen a tiny bit of Northern Patagonia). It´s miles and miles of vastness and seems to go on forever. It is cold early in the morning, and heats up to pretty hot (don´t have a thermometer) and most people have caught the sun. Factor 50 is a must! Haven´t seen much wildlife, but I am sure I will see more when we are not on the bikes.Just realised the time- my laundry is due for pick up. It cost all of 1 pound 45 pence to have it done. Fantastico!

More soon, but bye for now.