Sam and E-J's Adventure

Surprisingly our flights from El Calafate to Mendoza were incredibly smooth, without any problems or delays. What also added an element of excitement was to find ourselves sharing a plane with the River Plate football players. These people to the Argentinians are like Liverpool or Man Utd to the English. We also had the main striker sitting in front of us, causing a constant flow of people walking up to him to ask for his autograph or photo. Even the air steward stopped what he was doing in order to get a much desired photo with the star.

When we arrived at the airport there was literally a mop of press and fans waiting outside the arrival gates. As we stood waiting for our bags along with the mass of beloved players, there was a constant flash of photography and fanatic fans yelling out cheers to their idolized footballers.

Having sat and stood with all the players throughout the whole journey, we felt a little guilty for not bothering to get at least one autograph for one of the fans, who had been waiting for so long in the arrivals lounge, especially when the players chose to depart the airport through a secret exit leaving their fans and press bitterly disappointed with getting absolutely nothing.

As we drove through the city of Mendoza, we were amazed to see how green it was. Every street seemed to be lined with rows of trees along the pavements. The place seemed so green and yet Mendoza is suppose to be in quite a barren, desert area. It was explained to us later that this is because the place was specifically cultivated and has draining system that runs throughout the whole city allowing trees and plants to grow.

After we arrived at our hostel, we decided to take a walk around the city and made our way to the Plaza Independencia. We strolled through all the market stores around it and E-J was still in the mood for buying so Sam had to desperately dissuade her from buying some pointless, wooden salad spoons.

The following day was all about organizing tours and after we'd booked a white water rafting trip for Sam and a horse riding tour for E-J, we decided to give it a day before we committed to any wine tours. The afternoon was spent watching a disappointing rugby match against Wales and then we ended the evening in a restaurant, by the name of Don Tristan, much to Sam's delight.

At 8:30 am the next day we were picked up by the rafting crew and driven to Rio Mendoza, about an hour out from the city. Our group doing the all day tour, consisted of ourselves, a Brazilian business man (who spoke no English) and a German couple. Sam took great delight in the name of the German man, Axel - though repeatedly said to E-J throughout the day, he's not as exciting as his name!.

Our guide was a friendly Argentinian and after the twenty minute talk about health and safety (we think this could be the longest and most efficient one we have had so far in South America) we began to prepare ourselves. Sam's cry at this point of "don't save the Germans" got a frosty reception to say the least! We got dressed into the appropriate gear of wet suits, helmets and splash jackets and made our way down to the river's edge. Sam and Axel were quick to volunteer to be at the front.

When we first started off, our guide immediately told us we were all rowing wrong and if we continued like that we were going to be exhausted in about 5 minutes! After a few more minutes of coaching, we were pretty much in unison. As we made our way down the river the first few rapids were quite tame, only Sam and Axel seemed to get the brunt of the water spilling over the front of the boat. Realizing this, the guide maneuvered the boat to ensure that everyone was pretty much soaked within the next ten minutes of the trip.

As the rafting continued the rapids got stronger, but there was nothing there that frightened any of us, not even E-J. After an hour and a half we stopped by the side and our guide made us an amazing lunch of cold cuts and wine. We couldn't believe that such an array of food could be stored so well in our tiny raft.

An hour later and feeling a stone heavier we returned to our boat to tackle some level three rapids. These were stronger, but again not as terrifying as they may look from the photos!

The only time that E-J almost lost it was when the guide purposely ploughed us into a rock! The rest of the time it was great fun and Sam was quick to stand up at the end and pose for the camera.

For the ride back into town, E-J was out for the count and by the time we were back at the hostel we could feel our limbs starting to cease up. That night we had a well deserved hearty meal and a good sleep.

The next day, we both felt incredibly stiff (particularly E-J, who seemed to walk similar to John Wayne), we had a relatively quiet day, sorting out our vineyard tour for the following day. As we approached the tours, we found them to either be full of two extremes in price; the cheaper industrial vineyards or the high end boutique vineyards. In the end we resorted to choosing a place which would take us to three boutiques and one industrial, along with a five course lunch at one of the vineyards. It was then that we decided that perhaps we weren't really doing the usual backpacker scene, but more a backpacker plus version, whereby we seemed to treat ourselves a bit more than most!

That evening, we were collected at around 7pm to be taken to a horse riding ranch just out of Mendoza. The ride should have only taken 15 minutes, but the driver managed to get terribly lost and after having a fit about how difficult the place was to find, he finally got us there, much to Sam's relief who was on the verge of canceling the whole trip!

When we arrived at the ranch we were both a bit wary of the place as it looked rather derelict and there was a load of dogs and a kitten running around us. We met our guide, Gabriel, a rodeo expert and he took us through the safety precautions of riding a horse. This consisted of, pull the reins to the left to make the horse go left, pull the reins to the right to make it go right and pull the reins back to make it stop. At this point E-J asked whether there would be any helmets, but our guide laughed and said we wouldn't need them. Within seconds, we both found ourselves following the guide and heading towards a rather steep hill. At this point, our horses realized we were pretty useless, so took it upon themselves to lead the way, following their usual tracks. The route was incredibly barren and desert like and we found ourselves riding up and down steep gravel hills.

The horses, far more in control than we were seemed to know exactly how to handle the steepness so that we were both able to literally sit back and enjoy the ride and the banter from Gabriel. After half an hour of strolling along, we were both feeling rather confident, so Gabriel decided to push us to the next level, by making us trot. We then reached a straight track and he told us it was time to gallop. Having not been on a horse for a good 23 years, E-J was a little reluctant to do this, but within seconds the horse recognized the route and started to trot, canter and finally gallop off across the gravel track. As E-J pelted off down the lane, holding on for dear life, she began to scream out to Gabriel, "make it stop, make it stop", forgetting that all she had to do was pull on the reins. Gabriel, expertly trained was able to galloped up along side her, killing himself with laughter over the ridiculous, terrified grin on E-J's face and pulled on the reins so that the horse immediately stopped. The next section of galloping was fine, except that Sam managed to drop his sunglasses, forcing Gabriel to gallop back to retrieve them.

As we continued to pass along the incredible hill side, we took in the amazing views of the mountains behind us with the sunset.

By the time we made it back to the ranch it was dark and we had both had a fantastic time riding and talking with Gabriel. We were then treated to a lovely BBQ with Gabriel, along with the two other workers on the ranch. Sam on seeing a small jug of wine decided to ensure he got "value for money" from the tour and drank it very quickly, what he hadn't accounted for was Jug number 2 and then jug number 3! This was a great way to enjoy the evening and from the adrenalin rushing session of horse riding we both soon found the alcohol to take fast effect! After many laughs, we finally left the ranch around 1am, on Sam's insistence. The early hours of the new morning where a blur to Sam, who spent them in the bathroom managing to recognize some of his earlier barbecued food!.

At 8:00 am the next day we awoke to get ready for our wine tour. Sam on falling out of bed landed on a bit more of his evening meal and we then quickly changed and showered in time for the tour. We were greeted by our tour guide and driven to the first vineyard on the list, Alta Vista. There, we were told that instead of joining another four people for the tour as expected, we would be experiencing it all on our own, which made it incredibly special. Alta Vista was one of the boutique vineyards, owned by a French couple and it had the most beautiful grounds with a back drop of mountains. It is still quite traditional and the fermentation of their premium standard of wines is still done in the traditional cement vats, rather than in the more modern metal vats. We were told that the grapes are hand picked punches and then once they go through that process there are a group of women that literally hand pick each grape, making sure that it is to the perfect standard required. After several more facts, we were taken to the tasting room where we tried our first drop of wine at 10am. Sam was seriously suffering at this point, having miscalculated last nights wine, he struggled to keep the early tasters down! E-J was loving every minute of enjoying the exquisite wine and we also got to keep a bottle of the most delicious Malbec.

The next place we went to was called Largarde and this was one of the oldest wineries. The buildings themselves, were made of adobe (which is fatal should there be an earthquake) but are very cool inside and the ceilings are made out of a type of bamboo. All of this is kept in the traditional styles that were used to keep the wines at the right temperatures during the fermentation. After a similar talk and run through the features of the winery as before we were taken to the tasting room for more delicious wine. We were also taught how to distinguish a Malbec from another red; as when looking at it, it has a fluorescent purple ring within it.

The third vineyard, Ruca Malen was a more modern place and had a very modern architecture. Here, we had our incredible five course meal. We sat in a room which had a 360 panoramic view of all the vineyards and the table was full of glasses so that we could sample each course with a different, specifically selected wine to bring out the flavors.

We were both in our absolute element and could not believe how beautiful the place was. Before we started our tour there, we were able to sit on a balcony looking out to the vineyards and the mountains, sipping their unbelievably, premium Malbec wine. We felt incredibly spoiled.

The last vineyard we visited was more of an industrial place and we immediately felt that as soon as we entered the place. We noticed, it was all about quantity (with an element of quality) and yet all the other places had regarded the quality of the wine to be of the highest of priorities.

By the end of the tour it was 5pm and we both felt incredibly full from all the rich food and delicious wine. E-J also noticed that she looked like something similar to a freak show as her teeth had turned seriously blue!

That evening we had a light meal at Don Tristan's again and then had an early night in preparation for our final destination in South America, Santiago.

Sam's Comments: Mendoza is a one of my highlights, great food, amazing wine and plenty of things to do, although I will go easy on any free alcohol next time!

E-J's comments: I absolutely loved Mendoza, possibly from all the thrilling activities we did rather than the actual place itself. The rafting was brilliant fun, the horse riding was an adrenalin rush I have not felt for a while and the wine tour was simply out of this world. I feel so spoilt!!!

When we finally arrived in El Calafate we were both relieved to be off the dreaded Route 40 having suffered cramped legs during the last part of the journey. By now we were hobbling from the stiffness in our legs after our long, five hour walk in El Chalten. We found our hostel and at 11pm headed to a restaurant for a late meal.

The town of El Calafate had a similar feel to Bariloche, full of wood and stone built buildings giving it a kind of swiss or ski resort feel.

We also noticed how the place again catered for the America tourist with all of it's souvenir shops and clothing gear, branded with the words Patagonia or El Calafate. We found the huge, modernized cement structure of the town's casino to be an interesting feature, situated slap, bang in the middle of the town. It's style of structure really did not fit in with the rest of the place.

Typically we chose a steak restaurant and although we thought we were only getting half a bife de Lomo, it turned out to be enormous!

This was another amazing steak to add to the list and the restaurant itself was also great with the waiters full of banter. We got back to our hostel around 1am and prepared ourselves for our mini trek on the glacier the next day.

Surprisingly our early start was met with an efficiently organized transport to the glacier, which actually collected us (for once) bang on time. After an hour an half we arrived at the first view point of the glacier and it was an incredible sight. It literally looked like a block of ice that had been planted in the middle of the lake between two mountains.

As we got closer, the site became more and more impressive, and surprisingly the temperature around us stayed warm. We then boarded a boat that took us very close to the spectacular glacier, which close-up looked so blue and so mesmerizing. The closer we got the more unbelievable it looked and the way that it was formed in the lake, with such straight angles made it look almost artificial.

We learned that this glacier is constantly moving forward, but does not show, as big chunks of ice are constantly falling from it everyday. Also, the glacier is made from the snow on the mountain behind and it takes 10 years for the snow to compress into ice and a further 400 years for it to finally reach the front of the glacier.

As the boat drove up and down the side of the glacier, we could hear a few sounds similar to explosions, which were pieces of ice falling into the water from the other side and also sounds of cracking, as the heat in the air caused the glacier to constantly crack. It was fascinating!

The boat then dropped us off on the left side of the mountain, where we were put into groups and met the guide that was going to take us onto the glacier. After a short talk about the glacier's history, crampons were fastened to our shoes and we found ourselves setting foot onto the wondrous ice.

When we first stepped onto the glacier the sensations were so strange, we felt as though we should fall down or slip over and yet the crampons really helped us to stick to the ice. We were given a brief instruction about how to walk in these potentially lethal shoes and slowly made our way up the path.

As we walked around the glacier traveling up and down the curves, it became almost magical when all we could see was ice everywhere.

The glacier looked so blue and so clean from a distance, but walking along it, we could see a layer of think dirt resting all over it, which had been blown onto it from the mountain. Also, the cracks in the ice were the most intense blue and seemed to go so far in depth.

The guides were incredibly thorough in their touring, making sure that everyone followed the clear path they were making and digging holes in the ice, to create steps for us to climb up and down when it was too steep. They would also act like barriers, standing on the crest of a lip, while we carefully walked up and down past them.

After a two hour trek, we were beginning to feel like pros and wanted more of a challenge and just as we walked down one of the final lips of the glacier, we were greeted with a surprise. Sitting in the middle of the glacier was a wooden box and a table with several whiskey glasses on it. Our guide proceeded to open the box to reveal a bottle of whiskey, he then knocked a load of ice off the glacier, sprinkled it into the glasses and topped them up with a large amount of beautiful whiskey. We all cheered and enjoyed the deliciously frozen drink.

The guide then offered more and after Sam's third strong glass, he thought he'd better stop as he was beginning to feel a little light footed. The last stretch of walk back to dry land seemed much easier and more relaxed, especially for Sam, who felt as though he was gliding along the ice.

When we made it back to the mountains edge, we had forty minutes to sit back and enjoy the magnificent view of the glacier. At this point, most people had become quite used to it, so retreated to an indoor area, but we both sat on the cliff edge in ore of the beautiful structure before us. We sat there listening to the cracking sounds and watching enormous pieces of ice fall into the water, which then followed with an incredible explosion of sound, half a second later.

We then caught the boat back and were driven to the other side of the glacier where the main view point is, that everyone can visit. We found this side to be equally impressive, though not as special as before, as we had been able to appreciate the other side all by ourselves. This side also showed a greater dimension of the glacier and how far back it stretched to the snowy mountains behind. It truly was a spectacular sight.

After the bus journey home we went out for a bite to eat at an incredibly over priced pasta restaurant and decided to try our luck at retrieving our money at the local casino down the road.

With 3 pounds to spend each at the roulette table, Sam immediately put it all on black and lost. E-J on the other hand, had far more success with the numbers. Winning back double her amount. The night went on for some time with E-J repeatedly handing Sam several chips, which he then proceeded to lose. Finally, E-J feeling she had paid for her meal, decided to cash in what she had won, Sam was disappointed that she hadn't gone with his instinct and put it all on black again.

The next day we had nothing planned, so we spent it wandering around the small town, looking in the overpriced souvenir and clothes shops and dealing with admin. Realizing that this place literally drained money as fast as we could transact it, we tried to keep our activities to a minimum. We ended the day with a few beers in a lovely, local wooden bar and then returned to the steak house from the first night, for another incredible steak. We were not disappointed, as this steak was the best to date!

We both then calculated that Sam was now on his 16th steak since being in Argentina, and seriously, we needed a break from red meat!

Having enjoyed the outcome of the night before, E-J suggested that we repeat this and win our money back at the casino. Again, spending no more than 3 pounds on our chips, Sam repeated his same usual mistake of betting it all at once. More patiently, E-J wasn't having much luck either until she was down to her last chip and managed to win four times as much back, making herself very pleased with the final outcome.

The next day, we left for the airport of El Calafate reasonably early, where we would catch a airplane to Buenos Aires and then another onto Mendoza.

Sam's comments: El Calafate, was a pretty dull town but the Glacier was amazing, by far the best free Whiskey I have ever had!!

E-J's comments; I found El Calafate to be a very pretty little town, but sadly too expensive for backpackers. The glacier was simply spectacular, words can't really describe it as you have to see it for real; All your senses are aroused and it makes you really appreciate the magnificence of the place. I am so glad I forced Sam to go so far South!

As we walked down to the bus at 6am, we arrived at the pick up point to see many clubbers walking home from a big night out! We waited for the bus for a good forty-five minutes with a few Korean tourists and other backpackers. Then at 6.45am we were off onto one of the most historic roads in Argentina, Route 40. We sadly can't tell you too much about the first few hours as we both fell straight to sleep immediately!

When we stopped for lunch we sat in the delightful setting of the petrol garage forecourt and took in the sights! We were then informed by the guide why this road was so dangerous. He told us that the road was used by few cars and travel had to be done during the day as the area is extremely barren and few places provide fuel let alone water.

The next few hours passed slowly as we took in the scenery with the scorching sun burning through the windows. We were told that the air con (which consisted of several small fans strapped to the ceiling) was broken, so we would have to suffer the heat and as the journey continued the Korean tourists kept pulling out their huge cameras at anything that moved inside or outside the bus. We both just sat back and took in the surroundings. About half an hour before our first stop we pulled over to take in the view. We were both not as impressed by the landscape as the rest of the group, perhaps we had already been spoiled by the incredible landscapes we had seen in Peru and Bolivia, but Sam took great delight in the bus drivers moustache and insisted on getting a picture with him!

At about 8 pm we arrived into Perito Moreno, a small and rather shabby town that had a minimalistic feel to it. This was accentuated as we tried to find somewhere to eat and realised that nothing was open! We therefore resolved to eating at the restaurant of our accommodation, the Belgrano Hotel, although this may sound rather splendid, it was in actual fact very basic!

The following day our bus arrived at 10am and we set off for El Chalten. As usual, we both tried to go to sleep until we stopped for lunch. Lunch was in a typical South American time frame, having been told we were to stop for twenty minutes, we stopped for one hour!

The afternoon was spent on the road and E-J soon regretted not wearing her sports bra as the road turned into a bumpy, gravel track. Due to the poor conditions we managed to obtain a puncture and had an unexpected stopover at a local farm. The stopover became amusing to both of us when we saw a Korean tourist being chased, knocked and pushed by the llamas.

As we approached El Chalten and having done over 12 hours on the bus, we managed to see the impressive sunset on a backdrop of mountains.

Finally at around half past twelve we arrived into El Chalten and after a much deserved beer, collapsed into bed.

Rising early we decided to enjoy the scenic town of El Chalten before our evening bus set off for El Calafate. The mountain ranges of El Chalten are everywhere and by walking for 5 minutes you can be totally surrounded by them. That is why Butch Cassidy and The Sun Dance Kid rested here for 3 months after robbing the bank of London, Chile.

Picking up a few sandwiches and bottles of water we decided to walk to Laguna de Torres, which was a natural lake. We set off and soon had time to saver the fine landscape of conafor trees and giant mountains with their snowy peaks.

The vast landscape was really impressive, however with the sun still rising we were starting to feel tired. Having climbed the pebbled dune we finally arrived at our destination. The area was not a disappointment, seeing the beginning of the glacier, with ice floating in the lake, it really did look spectacular.

We sat there admiring the view, eating our lunch before going down to the water. We both picked ice out of the water and manged to only hold it for a minute or two as it was so cold. Knowing that we had to be back in time for our bus we started to head back.

As we came back into the village of El Chalten we where exhausted and extremely thirsty. E-J kept telling sam "I am walking like John Wayne". The only cure for this was to find a pub and enjoy a quick pint before heading back to the hostel for the bus to El Calafate.

Sam's Comments: Awful bus journey, although the Korean tourists did provide a lot of entertainment!

E-J's Comments: The journey down here was pretty unpleasant, I think I've just about had it with South American buses! Laguna de Torres was beautiful, I'm so glad I got to see it even if it did mean a brisk five hour walk there and back and my legs killing by the end of it!

The bus ride to Bariloche (Home to the 1985 Skiing world Championships) was definitely the best so far out of all our travels, especially when we were handed a glass of sparkling wine to enjoy while watching an evening film during the journey. Also what helped for E-J, was that she was able to sleep 12 out of the 19 hour journey.

When we arrived in Bariloche, suprisingly we found it to be incredibly hot. we knew it was the summer season, but it was scorching. We found the buildings around to be made of stone and wood, giving it a slightly swiss feel, though we also felt there was a part of it that looked so clean and brand new as though it was all really just for show.

The next shock was how expensive it was. In the past we had always managed to wangle a deal here or there, but Bariloche only gave you a couple of companies to do tours with and no room for negotiation. We also found, if you wanted to try to do something independently to any of their overpriced tours, they were of no help to us.

On a positive side for E-J, she found Bariloche to be full of chocolate shops. Although when ordering her craved hot chocolate, she had the misfortune of ordering a submarino, which ended up just being, over processed, hot milk.

Our hostel was more like a hotel and was 2 km outside of the town. It was lovely to be out of the bustle of the touristy town and the place was surrounded by 40ft evergreens. It was also run by an old, eccentric German, who had very extreme and opinionated views about certain nationalities, especially his own. Despite not wanting to get on the wrong side of him, we found him to be very friendly to us and helpful.

The next day and a half, were spent dealing with the admin of getting to El Calafate, which turned out to be more difficult than we had originally anticipated. Naively, we hadn't realised it would be such a problem to get there, but after discovering that the only road down to it was the route 40, which changes from tarmac to rough gravel and rocks for the majority of the way, with very little in between the two locations. Also the tour that we had planned to do in El Calafate, sounded a little too extreme for E-J, who at her best, wasn't the most competent at climbing, let alone trekking and climbing over an ice glacier for 6 hours! Eventually, all was sorted and we were able to explore the beautiful landscape around Bariloche that everyone raves about.

The next day we walked to the cable cart, which took us up to the top of the mountaion, Cerro Otto. At the top of this there is a 360 restaurant, which seems to be the gimmic place that everyone flocks to. We decided to avoid this overpriced feature, though E-J decided to have a wander around the restaurant, just to get an idea of the panoramic view. We then decided to walk along one of the pathways and get some pictures of the breathaking sites of the lake, Nahuel Huapi below us.

We then headed in the direction of another walk, but within 5 minutes Sam was insisting that we turn back, as with no map we might get lost. E-J tried to explain to Sam that this place was a well known walking district, and it was highly unlikely that we would get lost following a track. E-J aso pointed out the families with their young children where walking past us, but Sam was having none of it. It was only when we were back at that start that we noticed the sign board, pointing out the three walks that you could take, which only took a maximum of 1 1/2 hours.

After we were back at the bottom of the Mountain, having finished a minor squabble about not doing the walks, we decided to explore another famous tour, which was called the Isla Victoria tour. This is a boat ride which takes you along the lake to several different islands dotted around the place. Finding it a little over budget we decided to have a drink in the famous hotel Llao Llao instead, which was 100km from there. This hotel was huge and beautiful. It claimed itself to be one of the leading hotels in the world and when we walked inside we could see why. It had a long, wide corridor, which stretched a good 75 metres in length and was completely decorated in rich wooden beams all the way around it's perimeters. The view from the restaurant window was also spectacular and we both day dreamed about returning there for the ski season, one day when we are rich and successful...

As we left the hotel, it began to rain and twenty minutes later we were standing crammed with a load of other people on the local bus back to Barlioche. An hour later, having had several elbows and armpits shoved into our faces we were back in Bariloche and headed to a bar for another well deserved drink. That evening, just for a change, we treated ourselved to the supposively best steakhouse in Bariloche and found the steak to be amazing! It was then that E-J said that she was seriously steaked out and needed a break from all that red meat, having had 7 steaks in Argentina since we arrived there on the 16th January. Sam worked out he had beaten this record with a total of 9!

The next day, after moving to a more central hostel (which was slightly painful as our original booking had made a mistake) we headed to Cerro Catedral, which is the biggest ski resort in South America. The journey took an hour by bus and when we got there it was a strange place. Decked out to be a ski resort, it looked more like a ghost town full of empty restaurants and bars with slopes full of grass, wild flowers and muddy rocks. E-J had always wondered what a ski resort looked like during the summer and she found it to look rather depressing. Meanwhile, people around us where raving about how beautiful and tranquille the place was. We decided to catch a chair lift to the top and after E-J's numerous stories about her times on a chair lift when skiing, Sam was desperate to get off!

The view from the top was very impressive as we were able to see a large panoramic of the place with the lake and mountains all round. We were also able to see the Chilian Mountain range, which seemed so close. After an hour of taking in the sites, we headed back down to the bottom of the mountain, again by chair lift, amuzing ourselves with trying to see if we could get a response from the people travelling in the opposite direction with our waves and holas - very childish, we know.

The trip back to the centre of Bariloche was equally unpleasant to the day before, as we were the only two people to willingly and rightfully give up our seats for the elderly. We again found ourselves in the same situation as before, being shoved in all directions. That evening, we resorted to having pasta and giving our digestion systems a break. We then headed to bed to be ready for our 6am wake up the next day to begin our journey along route 40, stopping in the towns of Puerito Moreno and El Chalten before we would finally arrive in El Calafate.

Sam's comments: Beautiful Bariloche is far too commercial for me. Steak count up to 9 in 11 nights!

E-J's comments: There are elements of Bariloche, which I did find incredibly beautiful; The sea of evergreens covering the bottom of the moutnain range and the way the deep blue lake seems to stretch for miles. I was also disappointed by how Bariloche is catered solely for the American tourist and prices are doubled just because they know people will pay!

The flight over to Buenos Aires was most enjoyable, thanks to the fact that we had control over our own TV screens. E-J was in her element watching the musical "Hairspray", while Sam was loving the fact that he was beating the computer at chess.

When we arrived in Buenos Aires, the first shock was remembering to thank with gracias rather than the Portuguese, obrigado. We did the usual, of checking into a hostel and then explored the area we were staying in.

The next day, after dealing with the admin of changing hostels, we hit the shops on Calle Florida. This is where all the main high street shops are found, along with a number of leather selling shops. A couple of hours later and we had purchased some jeans, a Christian Dior suit, a leather handbag and some other essentials for a backpacker! We then walked around the Centre of the city, taking in all the main sights, such as the Casa Rosada (where Eva Peron said her famous speeches), some churches and other magnificently structured buildings. The place had a very European feel to it.

We walked over to Puerto Madero, which is a more modern area where you can find all the sky scrapers and walked along the river bank to find a bar.

We ended our evening, by heading back into the centre and to the restaurant Cafe Tortoni, which is well known for its Tango shows. This was now 11pm and having not eaten we were starving. Without making a booking, we were incredibly lucky to be given a seat at the tango show and sat there enjoying the amazing show with a delicious bottle of Malbec.

The show was in an incredibly small and intimate room, so that we got to see the tango dancers up close and personal, taking in the detail of their impressive moves. The performances were amazing and by the end of it we felt as exhausted as they must have been!

The next day was our day of sharing requests, so in the morning we went to the Evita museum for E-J (which Sam actually found very interesting) and in the afternoon we headed to La Boca, where we had a tour around the ground of Boca Juniors FC, Diego Maradona's first football team.

The stadium itself, was actually pretty tiny, but it was fascinating to see all the seating area and how some of it still has a standing area, which must enhance the atmosphere so much during a game. Sadly, we were told that by next year the whole stadium would be seated.

We then walked around the inside of the stadium, to the conference room, where Sam enjoyed posing for a picture and into the changing rooms, which turned out to be a bit of a dump! We found it most amusing that one of the most famous football teams in South America had a cafe machine in the changing room! Sam envisaged the manager, instructing the team at half time to have a doube expresso to peak them up if they were losing!

After the tour we then wandered around the Caminito district, which is where you can find all the coloured houses.

Disappointingly, we found this place to be terribly touristy and having been spoilt by the excellent tango show the night before, we found the street tango dancers very average.

That night, in need of an incredible steak we headed to a place in San Telmo, called El Disnevel, which had been recommended to us. From the outside it looked nothing special, though it was totally packed (which was a good sign). When we had our steaks, they were simply amazing. It was almost as though the meat melted as you cut into it. After this, and feeling incredibly full, we headed to a bar near by for a drink before calling it a night.

The next day, E-J for no reason was in an absolutely foul mood, so Sam, thinking what would be best, suggested some more shopping! A few hours later, with our wallets again, feeling a bit lighter we headed back to the hostel before going out for a few more drinks around town. At 11am we headed over to another hostel, where we had found out our friends Ben and Veronica were staying. Having caught up over a few beers we headed to the restaurant of Ben and Veronika's recommendation. This turned out to be no other than El Disnevel.

After another hearty steak, washed down with a few drinks we headed to La Boca in the hope of finding a recommended Jazz club. Sadly, when we got there it was closed and by the time we were back in the centre we were all practically a sleep so decided to call it a night.

Sunday, was what E-J would like to call, tour day as she literally ticked each thing off her list as she went along. First we walked from the centre into the district of Recoleta, which had the most beautiful architecture and is known as one of the expensive areas. When we reached the church Nuestra Senora del Pilar (which is thought to be one of the most beautful churches in Buenos Aires), we looked around it and then walked around the Sunday market called, La Feria de Recoleta, which was just outside. After wandered around the market and purshasing a few souveniors we headed to the Recoleta Cemetery.

The cemetery itself was breathtaking, with all the amazing mausoleums, which were decorated in the most ornate and opulent designs and sculptures.

As you walk through the walkways branching into smaller alleyways, it is as though you are in a city of chapels. What also adds a little eariness to the place, is that it is literally swarming with cats and as you look into the windows of the mausoleums you can see the tombs of the whole family buried together.

We first followed the crowds to the mausoleum of the Duarte family, where Evita Peron was finally buried. There were lots of people posing for pictures next to it, but we finally got to see it and overheard that Evita is buried 6 feet under the rest of the tombs and cemented in, so that no one is able to steal her body again. We found this to be quite sad, that although she now rests with her family there is still a divide of concrete between them. We continued to wander around the cemetery and appreciated the detailed structures and sculptures around the place. A couple of times we would turn a corner to find it completely deserted, without another sole in sight and this would send a shiver down E-J's spine, particularly when she came a across a mausoleum that had been broken into. As over dramatic as ever, she let out a little yelp at this and ran in the opposite direction.

After we had wandered around the cemetery, we made our way to the Museo de Bella Artes and spent a couple of hours appreciating all the foreign artists, including Jackson Pollock, Cezanne, Picasso, Van Gough and Monet.

By the end of this we were both pretty warn out from all the extensive walking around and after E-J's final insistence of seeing the Evita monument in the Ruben Dario square, we headed back to the hostel for a beer and a break.

Feeling refreshed and in need of ANOTHER sumptuous steak, we went in search of a restaurant called Cabaña Las Lilas, which had been recommended to us by several different people. This was in Puerto Madero, so we walked there (again) and had a drink by the dock, before having one of the most delicious steaks to date!

By the time we had finished it was 11pm, so we headed over to our friends hostel again and proceeded to stay there drinking until 4am. As we finally dragged ourselves away, we walked back to our hostel, suprised to find the supposive party city, desolate, empty and asleep.

The next day was pretty much a right off, as we were exhausted so we spent most of the time dealing with the usual ordeals of admin. In the evening we decided that we would visit the Palemero district for some drinks and food. This place is also referred to as the Soho of Buenos Aires, full of trendy bars, restaurants and boutiques. After a drink and a pleasant meal, we headed over to our friends hostel to find they were still out, so resorted to a relatively early night.

When our final day arrived we did a few chores in the morning and decided to cram in the last few things we hadn't yet done. First, we headed to the Torre de Los Ingleses as we had hoped to get a good panoramic picture of the city from the top, but sadly, it was closed due to maintenance. We then headed back to Palermo, for E-J to hit the shops for one last chance to find some bargain deals. We managed to be dropped off in completely the wrong place by our taxi driver and after walking around with a few arguments in the middle of the street about each other's abilities to map read, we resorted to catching another cab to the right place. We wandered around the boutiques full of beautiful clothes and E-J wished that we were here on holiday rather than as travellers...

Realising that our time in Buenos Aires was almost over, we raced back to the centre, had a quick bite to eat and with 15 minutes until departure, raced to the bus terminal to catch our bus to Bariloche in the nick of time.

Sam's comments: A great city offering brilliant steak, good nightlife and plenty to do in the day. I do think that after a few pints I could pick up the Tango dancing very quickly!

E-J's comments: Buenos Aires is a lovely place and I love the architecture, the contrast of the old with the new, but I still felt there was something missing here. This may have been due to the contrast of the backpacker limitations compared to the previously indulgent time spent in Brazil with the Matias'. I absolutely loved the tango show and the place definitely has an air of sophistication about it.