On our way again

... I said I would not make any promises on the update frequency, didn't I? 

We spent three weeks in Punta del Diablo.  While the place is not as spectacular as, say, the Andes, we very much enjoyed the nice weather and the abundance of strange birds and other wildlife  (Fireflies!). For instance, the main birds of prey flying around were vultures, on a cycle tour we saw a grazing capybara two metres away, and our cabin itself was surrounded by frogs, insects and kolibries. We were also adopted by a local dog who occasionally came by for a hug, but luckily he wasn't very wild.

In punta del diablo,  we realised that the only way to get anywhere else in the south of South America,  was through Buenos Aires  (we are so good at planning...) so we took two buses and a boat back to the big city. This time I did get to dance before taking a bus to the last city that guards the emptiness of Patagonia: San Carlos de Bariloche. The ride lasted a whopping 23 hours, so thank goodness they showed Spanish-dubbed Disney movies! These buses have a functioning toilet on board, although ours had aspirations as incense, filling the bus with less than  pleasant scents...

In Bariloche,  we stayed with Javier, a former flatmate of Sandro's, who now lives there in a faux swiss chalet overlooking a lagoon with mountains in the background. Pretty much all of Bariloche is like that: lakes and mountains and islands (and faux Swiss chalets).  We hiked to the top of one of the mountains, which offered stunning views along every step of the way. At the top, big white-collared condors flew right in front of us and we were treated to a glacier-covered mountain which was completely invisible from the city. However, the hike also taught us how very out of shape we are: we could not walk for the next two days (in our defense, the trail was super steep). Besides the views, we also sampled the food, which turned out to be the best we had so far: juicy steaks the size of my head and fresh fish. We even occasionally found vegetables! Thanks to Javi for a wonderful time :).

We could have stayed much longer without getting tired of the beautiful scenery, but we are determined to chase good weather, so we took the bus to Mendoza on the first rainy day of our stay (16 hours, excluding the massive traffic jam). I am writing this while still on the bus, with hopefully only a few more minutes to go before arriving. I  can see snow-covered peaks rising up from an otherwise flat landscape, vineyards and plenty of sun. I think I will like it here....