25th – 26th January

A 12 hour coach journey over the Chile / Argentina border (much more impressive looking set up complete with guards but chaos ensued as seemed anyone who did anything had gone to lunch) high up in the Andes took us through some stunning rugged scenery before arriving in San Carlos de Bariloche late in the afternoon.

Bariloche is situated by Lago Nahuel Huapi and boasts both the summer trekking season and a ski destination in the winter (apparently our friend Nick did a ski season here but given the amount of bars we are dubious he saw the snow).

Rather than search trip advisor for somewhere to stay in Bariloche we put our trust in Matt and Mon’s blog and booked into the same place they stayed during their round the world trip in 2011. And Matt / Mon if you are reading this we are pleased to say we are glad we did as La Barraca Suites (more of a boutique b&b rather than a hostel) and it’s owners were an excellent choice with a 10 minute walk into centro and great views over the lake from both the bedroom and when sat on the toilet!

Heading into town and on the recommendation of Cyril and his wife (the hostel owners) we headed straight for El Boliche de Alberto for our first taste of steak and Malbec on home soil and we weren’t disappointed by having to queue before 8pm as we enjoyed good wine and large portions of steak at very cheap prices (less than £30 for 2 people).

We were hardly able to move afterwards but had just enough energy to move to a bar for the first of many locally brewed beers (appears there is more to Argentina than just steak and wine!)

Up early on the Sunday, we went to catch a bus out of town – a simple task after we had been to the tourist information to find out where we could buy a bus ticket (not on the bus apparently) only to swap this for another ticket when we got on (a bit of a faff really). Finally on the bus, we headed 18km out of town to hire some pretty shoddy bikes to cycle the 35km around Circuito Chico. We set out on our leisurely ride around several deep blue lakes against stunning mountain backdrops and breathed in it.

But we were soon out of breath as the flip side to this scenic cycle were the various long inclines we had to get up (living in Surbiton doesn’t prepare you for this) but at least we got to freewheel down the other side. 3 hours later and exhausted we arrived at a cafe that was the drop point if you wanted to finish the remainder of the Circuito Chico on the bus. With full intention of ‘bailing’ we stopped for empanadas and a coke and decided not to be so soft and got back in the saddle for the last 7km to the hire shop before getting the bus into town a little saddle sore. Next time we are renting a car…

To recoup in the evening we found a pub that was almost a micro-brewery and sat at the bar drinking different IPAs and eating tapas. Beats sat in the saddle.