Big city bound

17th April, Flight Bariloche to Buenos Aires


Travel day today and thankfully everything went relatively smoothly. I got up early for a run and dashed back inside within minutes to pick up the camera as the sunrise was spectacular.

Running through my last Argentine Sunrise

After breakfast we got a shuttle bus to the airport pre-booked for us by the hostel. No problems at check in or on the flight and again we were lucky as we didn't get charged for the bikes or excess baggage.
Back in Buenos Aires, we got a relatively expensive taxi to Natalia's hostel where we'd stayed before, but it saved us a lot of hassle messing around with our bikes trying to get across town any other way. It was good to be back at Natalia's, it was as nice as before, just a bit quieter as I think we were right at the end of the season.
Buenos Aires was hotter and more humid than before but otherwise much the same, busy and mad and very very BIG!

An amble in the mountains, just before we leave.

16th April, Cerro Catedral, Bariloche


Really neither of us wants to come home, but tomorrow we fly. So today we decided to go for a nice walk in the surrounding mountains. Sarah had spotted a walk in the pages she had brutally torn from a helpless book, good call though as they have come in handy for this last part of the trip.














It was going to be a fairly long day with a bus journey first up to a ski resort. The journey was quite nice and as we wound our way towards the peaks we got an idea of what lay ahead and it excited the both of. The resort was a weird ghost town of a place, but I sure it isn't at all like this in the winter. We strolled up to the cable car as this is how we were to get to the start of the walk. According to the pages Sarah had from the lonely planet we could walk from the resort to the cable car station. However it sad that "The only reason for doing this was to save money or build character"! We had the money and at this point plenty of character, this did fade a little when we saw how much it was for the ride up, but it soon recovered when we found we could purchase a single which was half the price.
Now I have a fear of height as some of you know, but cable car never really bother me. This one however looked like cold war surplus and I was pleased when we got to the top! At the top was an obligatory over priced restaurant, we used the very nice facilities then headed off.
The walk was over mainly loose rock and scree, but with some very beautiful view. According to the book we just needed to follow the red dots, and although in some places they were a little hard to find it was very well marked. Mountains above and valleys below, it was yet again another beautiful part of this beautiful country. It was made even more spectacular by the turning of the trees as autumn gained a grip in the valleys below us. The walking wasn't at all technical and I had to go out of my way to find some sort of scrabbling to make me happy. On reaching the highest point we were greeted by some amazing views of some very strange rock formations, the action of wind and rain creates some of the most strange and weird structures. Some even look as if the challenge the laws of physics. All though do one thing and that is, they take your breath away.
Up here we found the Catedral, it had the feel of an abandoned castle cliffs looked like battlements and turrets, an eerie place. The presents of condor made the place more moody and for me a final glimpse of this majestic bird  felt a exciting as the first time I saw one. One the decent down towards the refugio I was given one last view and then they were gone. This walk was a little more harder going as the path was covered with large stones and made for slow going. We did stop for a nice break over looking a tarn which was above the refugio and fed it with water.


The walk from here was all down through forest and through ever changing colours. We didn't have a care in the world and we savoured this last day until the end. The end unfortunately came in the form of a full on sprint to catch the bus. For my talented partner Sarah no trouble, for me however it stung. It felt like when your a kid running down a hill and feeling out of control. The big difference between me and  the kid, is I know what it feels like to fall and you don't find to many kids wearing thermals either. Sweat was pouring off me by the time we got to the bus. The good thing that did come from my excursion was we would of had to wait an hour for the next one. 

Another celebratory Beer!

15th April, Bariloche

What 3400miles does to your tyres!

Today began with a lie in and then a good hostel breakfast of homemade jams and bread, cereal and coffee, importantly for a change it didn't involve porridge. All good things to set us up for a day of packing up the bikes and going through our kit ready for our flight home.
We'd bought some cardboard bike boxes from a shop the night before. It was the first time we'd had to pay for   the cardboard boxes that the bike shops get new bikes delivered in but apparently they are in short supply and at a premium in Bariloche. Once found though it certainly saved us a lot of hassle of looking for more cardboard so we had parted with our 30 pesos (£5) each without too much hesitation. We now spent today fitting our bikes into them. Admittedly Gareth did most of the fitting, whilst I sorted through the rest of our kit.
Bikes packed away and stored in the corner of our room we know knew that we had tomorrow to enjoy.
Time in the afternoon then to wander around tacky souvenir and many chocolate shops in town but it was too cold to linger for long.
Finally with out too much persuasion we made our way back to the small bar we'd found in time for happy hour. 2 pints each for 40 pesos. Justified as another celebratory beer or two!!

Full Circle (x two)!!

14th April, Camping Ser to Hostel Achlay, Bariloche (28.5M)

Except for the loud Argentine music that started up as soon as I returned to the tent last night and the thin tent walls that don't keep sound out we had a good nights sleep. Gareth was feeling better and we had a leisurely rise being in no hurry today. We had plenty of time to eat breakfast and pack away the tent for the last time in the sun, which was out again today!
We decided to take the longer route back to Bariloche via 'circuito chico' (small circuit) a recommended road route for cyclists around the Llao llao peninsula with good views. We both had tired legs but enjoyed the days cycle around the peninsula with views across this side of  Lago Nahuel Huapi.
There were a few random tourist attractions on the circuit which were mainly closed for the season but we managed a quick photo stop at the dinosaur park!

On  the northern side of the peninsula we passed through the tiny port of Puerto Panuelo, where we'd boarded the ferry about 3 months ago to cross into Chile for the first time. It really felt like we'd done full circle. We then only had about 20km to cycle back to Bariloche and another 'full circle' feel. We stocked up at one of the best panadarias we'd been to on route with tasty bread, croissants and other pastries before finding our hostel which we'd booked into for the next 3 nights. They were incredibly friendly and we soon had our bikes unloaded and locked away, a double room to ourselves and dinner cooked in the kitchen by Gareth.

 About 3400 miles completed in total we felt a well deserved celebratory beer was in order!

Sanity restored

13th April, Camping Don Horacio to Camping Ser, Colonia Suiza (49.5M)


During the night the run of good weather we'd been having broke as the rain started, initially just gently but with increasing ferocity throughout the night. Thankfully except the lack of sleep worrying about the rain and our leaky tent by the morning there was only the occasional shower and with a strong westerly wind our tent was soon dry. Luckily as well there were no major holes in the flysheet as the little tortie kitten we'd been playing with last night decided to curl up on top of the tent when it couldn't find its way inside. Very cute and thankfully no harm done.
Onwards and eastwards at least we had a good tailwind despite having to wear more layers of clothing than we had for a long time. We had a small climb leaving the lakeside for a while and up there we had our first views of Bariloche across the lake. Not far as the crow flies, we just had to cycle around the edge of the lake to get there.
Reaching the eastern edge of the lake we experienced deja vu from our journey to El Calafate as again we turned right onto Ruta 40 and straight into a head wind. Thankfully it wasn't as severe as on the previous occasion but it was still hard work. A rest and lunch stop in yet another newly built bus shelter gave us the energy to continue on to Bariloche. The traffic was getting busier, but this wasn't what caused Gareth to come sliding off his bike as he slipped on some gravel on the side of the road. He quickly managed to pull himself out of the way of the oncoming lorry and escape with only a couple of grazes and a hole in one pannier bag.
It was hard work cycling the final stretch into Bariloche, battling wind and traffic and I was annoyed when a guy in a 2CV travelling in the opposite direction pulled over and signalled us to stop. It was unjustified as he turned out to be  a nice Argentinian, offering us accommodation in his farm house a little further back down the road. He appeared and I think he was really genuine, saying that he was a cyclist himself and a few years previously he'd cycled Alaska to Ushuaia. At the time I was feeling a bit apprehensive and we made our excuses and continued onwards. I felt a bit guilty afterwards as I think Gareth would have stopped for the night and I think he was genuine.
Anyway decision made we continued on to Bariloche and the tourist office for a map of roads and campsites on the Llao Llao peninsula. A stop for a coffee was needed to give us the motivation to leave the town and cycle a bit further onwards. We were really glad that we made the effort as when we got out of Bariloche and turned off to quieter ripio roads and it renewed our sanity after all the busy roads we'd been cycling on recently. We found a beautiful 'back road' to Colonia Suiza, officially shut to transit traffic due to rock falls but perfectly suitable for bikes with lovely views.
Arriving at the tiny hamlet of Colonia Suiza we found our way to Camping Ser, recommended to us by Alex and Julie. It lived up to recommendations with lovely huge warm showers, apple trees in the grounds and  a warm kitchen to use and sit in during the evening. Gareth had an upset stomach and went to bed early but I made full use of the dinning area to sit, eat and read in the warm.

Close shave

12th April, Lago Espejo chico to Camping Don Horacio on Lago Nahuel Huapi (36.2M)


Yet again we awaited the suns arrival on the tent before getting up and as the lake mist lifted the views across Lago Espejo Chico were beautiful.
Once packed away we soon warmed up with the 3km ascent back onto the main ruta de los siete lagos. It wasn't long before we were back on tarmac and enjoying beautiful views across more lakes if not sometimes fleeting as we sped past on the now smooth road surface.
Within 20km we had joined a much more main road and cycling wasn't quite as enjoyable as we had to contend with fast cars and buses as they made their way to and from the Argentine/ Chilean border. We were heading eastwards, away from the border towards Villa la Angostura. We stopped at a couple of busy viewpoints on our way to the town. The views were across Lago Nahuel Huapi and were beautiful but slightly spoiled by the number of people and cars stopped at them.
At Villa la Angostura  we encountered our first queue of traffic for a long time passing through some roadworks on the entrance to the town. The cycle lane wasn't much better as it was full of slow moving, oblivious school kids on their way home for their siesta. A couple of days previously we'd been invited and given a map for a couples house in town where they invited us to stay and use their garden, kitchen and shower. Again a really nice reflection of Argentine hospitality as we'd only met them for a few minutes by one of the other lakes and only had a very broken conversation in Spanish with them. It was however still relatively early in the day and we hadn't covered many miles yet today and weren't that bothered about exploring Villa la Angostura, as it just seemed like a busy touristy town, so we decided to continue onwards.
Leaving the town we had one of our few run ins with Argentine traffic. A coach obviously in a hurry to meet a timetable squeezed pass Gareth as we cycled single file and clouted him on the back of his head with his wing mirror. I was in front and cursed the coach driver as left me untouched but passed far too close. Realising Gareth wasn't right we stopped  and although shaken thankfully there was no harm done. We cycled onwards, really not enjoying being back on a busy road after our weeks of solitude and infrequent traffic. Thankfully after a respectable distance travelled for the day we saw signposts to a quiet campsite on the lakeside. We pretty much had the site to ourselves and at the request for hot showers the fire under the water tank was lit and we were able to chill out and forget about busy roads.

One final Pass.

11th April. Villa Traful to camping Lago Espejo Chico


Now we will both confess that out and backs are our least favourite journey, but today we had little choice. The reason for the dislike is the knowledge of terrain and the fact the scenery in most cases isn't as amazing as the first time. You soon realise over here that the scenery needs to be seen as many ways as possible, especially in the autumn.

The final pass

We were soon our way and enjoying ourselves, it apparently down hill yesterday. Yesterday I would of argued with anyone that it wasn't. It wasn't to hard going and when we arrived at the beach we stopped at yesterday, we stopped again to enjoy the view and have a quick snack. It is quite amazing how over a matter of a few hours that the colour of the changing trees has intensified. This make the line just below the snowline look as though the trees are on fire, the colours are really that intense.We soon were packing back up and heading on toward our next campsite. One thing I forgot to mention yesterday is that we had to go over a pass this was to be our last climb of the trip and from here on in the road would be rolling.
The journey was along a road which in time will become tarmac and I'm sure it will loose a bit of its charm. It took us through forest, along side lakes of varying sizes and colours.The mountains still towered over head, some of these had a light grey appearance which was the ash from the volcano which I was really hoping we may have got a view of the rising steam cloud, but no such luck.We stopped at one of the many lakes for some lunch and to enjoy the autumn sunshine.
We didn't have to far to our next campsite and on our way we were joined by a group of Argentinian cyclists. Sarah did the talking and found out that they were cycling from San Martin to Villa la Angostura and intended to stay at the same campground as us. They were travelling with a support vehicle so they weren't carrying any  kit other than rucksacks, but we kept up. What did puzzle us however was when we got to the turning they shot off down a hill and disappeared from view, as I was turning the support car turned up and asked which way they had gone so we pointed straight on.
The campsite was down a rough road and was situated by the side of a beautiful lake. The place was all ours and from what we knew this was to be the case that night. We pitch camp and whilst sorting things out the Argentinians arrived, we joked with them about getting in extra miles really though I think it was more to do with who could go faster.They erected a huge camp and it even had electric lights which was run by a noisy generator, this wasn't on for long though and we all seemed to turn-in at the same time. It was a very quiet night.

A little side trip

10th April. Lago Falkner to lago Traful

Life in the freezer

Sarah was the first to venture out of the tent and it was apparently a sight to behold. I felt I needed a little more information, but when she insisted I handed the camera I felt it was probably worth a look. What a beautiful morning, everything outside including the tent was covered in a silver film of frost. It was really one of the autumn mornings that I love to wake up to. The sun soon put pay to the glorious scene, this however warmed the air and us to as it was bitterly cold.

 A dusty road to somewhere

The usual routine was done and we were soon on the road and heading on along this beautiful road. The scenery however took on a slightly stranger appearance. The layer of ash which had been deposited by volcano Puyehue could be scene, it wasn't quite as much as we had been lead to believe. It didn't really spoil the scenery, but change it to a strange Luna type landscape. The road and scenery was quite as amazing as the previous day, but this was to change when we turned on to the road to Traful.

The turning to our surprise was smooth tarmac this really put a smile on my face as I was tiring of the dirt road. It turned sharply and wound up from right to left and on the left bend we sat and had some lunch and watch a grader smoothing the road below. Once fed we started on again and the smile soon vanished as the tarmac ended and the dirt resumed. It wasn't to bad going though and we enjoyed the changing scenery, there where a couple of patches of soft sand which Sarah always managed to clear, but I decked the bike nearly every time. The reward to our days effort was just around the next corner in the form of the most magnificent lake and mountain views yet.

Our first stop was at the head of Lago Traful on a small beach looking out toward the mountains opposite. These mountains where covered by trees which had the ting of autumn about them, the upper slops just below the snowline was a beautiful bronze colour and here autumn was in full swig. We enjoyed this spot for awhile and then set off again, it wasn't long before we stopped again to enjoy this lake. The rest of the journey to Traful  was along the edge of the lake and it did not disappoint, neither did the town.

Autumn Colours

On arriving in this very small town we first found somewhere to camp, the one we found was a little pricey, but seemed very nice. Next was a trip to the shop to by supplies for tomorrow, we found a small shop not far from the campsite. In here we found everything we needed included some very nice homemade bread. The one thing that we had both noticed was how there was volcanic dust on everything. To end a perfect day we treated ourselves to a meal out, this was partly due to me wanting to try some local trout. We both had the fish and neither of us was disappointed if anything we felt pretty stuffed. What a perfect day

Lagos 1, 2 and 3

9th April, Playa Catrite to Camping Lago Falkner (31.1M)


Beautiful it might have been last night, but freezing it was this morning. We'd set our alarm to get up in time to watch a beautiful sunrise across the lake, only to find this morning that the lake and ourselves were encased in a freezing mist. I pulled on pretty much all my clothing and then practically sat on the stove to keep warm while I cooked the porridge. Gareth had the refuge of the warm tent for a bit longer while he packed away our gear from inside the tent, but soon joined me for some warming coffee and porridge.

By the time we'd breakfasted and packed away the sun had started burning through the fog and it was slowly dispersing and lifting away from the lake. Those first rays of sun that eventually reached us were absolutely lovely to feel.
Back on the bikes, we had 1km of steep ascent out of the campsite to the main road and this soon completed the warming process. We were now above the fog, in the sun and soon back to wearing just shorts and t-shirts.  We continued up the road for another 16km, it was a constant steady climb, but felt easy today. The scenery was beautiful and it was lovely to be cycling in the sun again.

salon de te

Still on the fairly leisurely cycling theme we stopped twice this morning. Once for some food on a rocky outcrop over a gorge with lovely views down the valley and the second time was after a lovely but cold descent to Rio Hermosa and a 'Salon de te' (tea room), where still in our relaxed mode we decided to stop for another break and a coffee.
The rest of the days ride was equally delightful, we stopped at various miradors and sights and really took our time, It was really really enjoyable.

Gareth took 'relaxing' to heart

On reaching Lago Faulkner I still felt good and full of more cycling, but the campsite here had been recommended by the parks office so we decided to stop and enjoy the beautiful views across yet another beautiful lake. There was a free campsite with equally good views nearby, but we decided that hot water and a covered area to cook in tonight were worth the extra money. We pitched the tent on a grassy bank with lovely views across the lake. I think that we are just a couple of weeks too early. Autumn is beginning and the trees are beginning to change colour, but haven't reached there real deep fiery red colours yet. Most important in our tent pitch selection this evening was to keep out of the shade. We wanted the sun for as long as possible! When the sun did go down the temperature plummeted and we were very thankful for the covered cooking area and the hot showers.

Record breakers

8th April, Easter Sunday, San Marin to Playa Catrite (4.5M)

The sun was out and the trees werechanging with autumn

On our bikes and back in the sun. The road between San Martin and Bariloche is known as 'Ruta de los siete lagos (the road of the seven lakes)' and is renowned for being beautiful. We still had more than enough time to get to Bariloche for our flight on the 16th April so with the weather constantly improving we decided to take our time and enjoy our final weeks in Argentina.







So today was certainly not about setting any records, except perhaps for the fewest miles cycled in a day. We had a lovely ride, on tarmac once again, along the edge of Lago Lacar. We climbed steadily throughout this before a steep descent down to a beach on the lakeside. It was only midday but we decided to enjoy the scenery and stop and camp here overnight. During the day the place was heaving with Argentinians enjoying their Easter Sunday with asados (BBQs), fishing, a couple having scuba diving lessons and many more just relaxing on this lovely warm sunny holiday. We were the only people camping and once the sun left the beach, the temperature quickly dropped off and then people began to leave. I returned from one of my few runs I managed while in South America to find that we'd been given a refund for the camping as there was no gas or hot water. They left the toilet block open so we could stay for free if we wanted or move onto another campsite with facilities just a bit along the lake shore, but by then our tent was up and we were happy to stay for free. It just meant a bathe in the lake for me after my run instead of a nice warm shower!

Post run bathing....

The sunsets more than made up for any lack of facilities and actually we'd paid more in the past for a less well equipped or beautiful site.

San Martin de los Andes

7th April, San Martin


A relaxed and chilled day nursing hangovers and trying to rehydrate. We moved to a double room this morning that soon looked like a Chinese laundry as we hung our damp kit everywhere. We didn't dare leave our key at reception even when we left the hostel in case they went into our room for any reason. We had a nice walk through town including a very expensive but very yummy hot chocolate. Gareth in his hungover state also managed to consume 10 croissants throughout the day and a slice of cheese cake. The bakeries were good, but I'm not sure that it was really making Gareth feel much better in the hangover stakes.
We tried to burn it off with a walk along the lake front. Very pretty and the weather was definitely improving with no rain today, just very very strong winds and clouds racing rapidly across the sky.

Birthday Boy

6th April, Gareth's Birthday, Wild camp near Hua Hum to San Martin de los Andes (33M)

Gareth at 35 years old 

So, much to Gareth's disgust we were in a wet tent and about to cycle down a wet road on his birthday. Definitely not on his wish list. There was some good news however as despite a very wet tent, it wasn't actually raining this morning and there were a few patches of blue sky around. We packed everything away, breakfasted and set out on our way. It was slow hard going. The rain had made the ripio road quite soft and it just seemed to grip hold of our tyres and hang on. We seemed to be constantly ascending and then descending again but we never seemed to get up any speed on the descents. It was really taxing and then any height we did gain was soon lost again on the next bit of the road. We passed the spot where we had turned around yesterday, typically there was a campsite only about 1km further on. Very annoying.

A birthday hug

After a while we found a parks visitor and picnic area where we stopped on the lake edge for a birthday picnic. It was a nice setting for a birthday meal and I can't remember what was on the menu, but I don't actually recall it being that inspiring, mainly because it had been 4 days on the road since the last time we'd entered a shop. Anyway the sun was out, at least for a while and the views were nice. When it did rain it was just after we arrived on the beach and was only a shower, but it did mean that all the other people left so that we had the place to ourselves.
Back on the road we continued onwards and mainly upwards although still with the occasional annoying descents, it was demoralising loosing height after all that hard work on the previous ascent. There was definitely more climbing and eventually we reached the highest point of the road at 1200m. What a relief when all we could see ahead was a long almost continuous descent down the valley towards San Martin.
Finally we had a rest on the bikes as we free wheeled our way down the valley. There were beautiful autumn colours just beginning to come out on the trees around us and just before reaching San Martin there was a mirador where we finally got to see our goal and the largest area of civilisation since leaving Pucon.

Civilisation and a clear (ish) view

Arriving in San Martin, we found our way to La Puma Hostel,which had been recommended by Alex and Julie. There were no double rooms free but we booked into a dorm room and with the others not having arrived yet we had time to spread out all our kit to dry and have a long long shower. Despite being Good Friday, I even managed to find a laundrette open and put our clothes in before it shut at 10pm. Definitely not a service that you'd find open on a Good Friday in the UK.
Clean and dry we then went to explore the town, had a beer at 'The Dublin' pub (definitely in tourist land now) before finding a lovely tapas type restaurant where we drunk far too much and ate a lovely meal of 'picadas' (finger type foods), including cured and smoked meats, pates, olives, bread and pickles. Very very yummy and one of the typical styles of eating in this area of Argentina.