South America - Argentina

With a heavy and sore head I staggered to the bus stop with the girls and caught the 45 minute bus ride to the Argentine border. So this was it...leaving Brazil for good. God, I loved my time in Brazil...every bloody minute of it (well, apart from Belem) so I was kinda choked to leave, as were the girls. The only downer about this great country is the prices. They are nearly on a par with the US so not that easy to stay on budget. Secretly I'm kind of relieved to get back into a Spanish speaking country so I can pick up where I left off with my new language.

The border essentials were fairly quick and painless but had to wait for an hour to catch the bus going to the actual town Puerto Iguazu. Walking out of the bus terminal a hostel tout hitched onto our group and led us a nearby hostel. It was a deceptive place, as you walk passed you can see a nice garden and pool but on closer inspection the pool is barely big enough to dunk your feet in.

Today it was all about chores so while the girls sorted out sending some clothes home (a bit of subtle persuasion was needed as their packs were unbearably big and heavy) I did laundry and checked emails briefly. On waking up me and Surekha went for a beer in the patio and there met Angus (the truly sarcastic Kiwi). Really nice fellah and we all had a long chat. When Krina went for a stroll she came back with the strange Peruvian fellah from the Sao Paulo bus (small word). More ribbing ensued (something to do with Krina kissing in a tree...?).

Dinner was a pizza for everyone and a few beers on the main town junction (literally on the junction). Then back to the hostel for more beers and were joined by a group of Israelis'. Shamefully all we could chat to them in a drunken state was about their military service (always happens when I meet Israeli's for some reason).

Caught the local bus to the falls (me, Angus and the girls) and was again amazed at the beauty. On this side of the falls it is slightly more natural because most paths are close to the water. After a long walk around we all spotted some motor boats ploughing into the falls with screaming people on board. It was decided that we can't miss out on this so paying the $30 fee we queued (a bit of nerves during this time I might add).

Donning the life jackets and heading off at full speed the boat ploughed sideways into one set of falls (soaking everyone completely) and then ploughed headlong into a big set of falls (any areas not previously soaked were now). All in all it was really good fun and worth every penny). Forgetting that our bus was due to leave at 4.30 and it now being 3.30 we rushed to catch the tourist train (there's a train ride to the falls). After 20 minutes it slowly dawned on us that we went the wrong way (doh) so cursing our bad luck we power walked our way back to the entrance.

At 4 we caught a taxi there and even after the cab driver being quite sure about us not making it (she was a female version of Michael Shumacher) we arrived at the bus at 4.31 and pounced onto it (very close to losing a $100 bus ticket). Being still soaked from the boat ride the first few hours were mighty uncomfortable but fortunately this was no ordinary bus ride. Apart from the numerous police checks (with sniffer dogs) we came across a road accident (which I was unfortunate to see a dead body lying on the road) which slowed us down.

Then 30 minutes later the donut of a driver ploughed into the back of a car (the only one on the road I might add) and then the final straw was a burst tyre. Thankfully this all gave me a good chance to get my pack out to change and also have a swift smoke. Apart from a few stops the bus driver and crew refused to let people out to stretch their legs which caused much unrest in the passengers and prisoners of mobile prison 185. It got so bad that Surekha tried to make a break for it by climbing over the drivers seat from the passenger side but getting caught she was chastised and sent back to her seat.

Eventually it took the force of numbers as a group of Italians and some others also demanded freedom to get us out for 10 minutes.

Arrived in Buenos Aires quite a few hours late due to the eventful bus ride. Caught a cab to Angus's recommended hostel (Hostal Tita Designed and owned by a local architect..and you can really tell). Sitting in the cab I was immediately smitten with Buenos Aires and its wide tree lined streets and grand looking statues. On grabbing a coffee (and after that a really good cup of Mate ..traditional herb tea that's served in a thing that looks like the Holy Grail and with a metal straw. This is then passed around as a kind of social event. Well good.) we all met a hostel straggler called Ben. A slightly mad but nice Aussie fellah (best mates of Angus the Kiwi apparently).

All four of us went for a look around the shopping area (Florida area). It was as quick as anything because of the decent metro system. Was well busy and bustling there with tourists and locals barging around and busker's and beggars everywhere. After a few hours of window shopping I was losing the will to live (1.6 hours is my mental and physical limit) but we all went for a drink and food so I woke up a bit.

The evening was spent chilling in the hostel supping on cold beer and chatting to other hostellers (quite a varied mix here...big Chilean group, big Spanish group, some stoner Americans (nice fellahs) and a French guy). The plan for this next week is 3 more days in BA and then head south to Patagonia and the floating glacier in a lake.

This morning I made an executive decision (yet again). As I have been wearing the same clothes for the last 7 months (and no I didn't upgrade my wardrobe after being mistaken for a Colombian crack head on New Years Eve) it was high time to upgrade. The clothes are cheap and good quality here so what better place to do it. Also, something not mentioned previously, my beloved MP3 player that has saved my sanity many times during long bus trips went AWOL during the flight from Salvador to Rio.

Although the pack was all locked up when I checked it in some sneaky bastard squeezed their hands in and pulled it out (generously leaving the headphones). So a double mission today. After a whole day shopping (no mean feat for me) the fruit of my labour was a new and fairly cheap MP3 player but no clothes unfortunately. Tonight was Ben's last night in town so a good send off was in order. A big group of us went for a Japanese/ Argentinean fusion meal and drinks (again I was on the Capriccios').

This was followed by a club. The club started off very random and weird playing 80's tunes like Wham, Rolling Stones and MC Hammer in succession (weird) but it was all good fun. Then it went a bit housey, then hip hoppy (Ben showed us his break dance moves..kind of as bad as mine so I let him carry on). Then as predicted we went into Reggaeton mode and all the classics were played. A group of Colombians with us were strutting their stuff (I was on form and remembering my dance training in Colombia so had a few compliments from them). A valiant effort was made by everyone to draw groups of dancing girls into our midst but sadly they were blind to our collective dance moves (crazy girls´must have been on crack).

Crawling back at 6am this morning it was late wake up day today. Nursing a sore head (and a slightly runny nose for some strange reason) I headed to trendy area of open markets and cafe's called Palermo with the girls. We sat down at an outside cafe for an hour only to be told there's no hot food any more for the day. So off we went in disgust and dying of hunger at 3pm to another place. This time it took 30 minutes just to get a menu and another 30 min's to get the drinks. The two girls got their food first and by the time they'd finished it I got mine (which was the wrong food). So they took it back and in the meantime a walkout rebellion was formed by someone who´s name I cannot mention for legal reasons but it begins with S and ends in urekha, so we all just walked off without paying.

Finally found a good and quick food place and my belly was filled. On the way back to the hostel we came across a mini carnival going on in our street. It looked like different dance schools were competing (with judges) with crazy and cool dances and booming drums and beats (I totally loved it).

The dance was a kind of samba but when the big beat crashed in they would all jump in the air and do a big kick with the beat (so cool and hypnotising to watch). Tonight was a lazy night in with a few bevies and my book. Also got in a chat with Alex and Daniel (the two American stoners) and had a lil toke or two. Tomorrow...is....foootballlllllllll! Boca Jnrs vs Argentinas jnrs (nice).

Went for a bit of a tourist thing today and had a good look around the centro area (too many late nights and late mornings to be a tourist lately because life in this wonderful city really does beat to a different drum of time. Dinner at midnight is kind of a norm and trying to go to a club before midnight you'd be laughed at). Had a look at the Plaza De Mayo (with the famous pink presidential building where Evita and many others made their speeches), loads of churches and beautiful buildings.

By 3pm it was time to head back as I had a date with a famous football stadium called the Bombonera. Met up with Daniel, Alex, Krina and Surekha and we all headed off to the home ground of Boca Juniors (Maradonna's main club and where Riquelme currently plays). Got there at 4.30 and managed to get 3 tickets at $20 each (thanks to Alex's Spanish skills).

Problem is, unlike Brazil stadiums there was no alcohol in the grounds so we all headed for some power drinking. Found a rough looking bar and got quite a few litre bottles of beer between us and drank like there was no tomorrow. Got into the stadium with 10 minutes to spare and settled down for the game. The atmosphere was pretty intimidating at first but after learning a few of the terrace tunes I got into the swing of it (well...not the words anyway. I just mumbled in tune. The old chestnut and all round classic of a tune with the following lyrics was constantly sung 'Your mother is a whore and stabbed you repeatedly').

The noise was deafening and the fencing around us didn't help with the feeling of being caged in animals. The crowd was well up for it though and jumping around. The game finished at 4-0 to the Boca's and near the end a stream of Boca youths climbed onto the fence and taunted the opposition fans (who were handily on the terrace directly above ours....Sweet Jesus). All kinds of small and liquid missiles were tossed down at the Boca fans. Compared to the Botafogo game in Rio I preferred the skills and overall game of the Boca's. The atmosphere at the Botafogo game was much more fun and interactive but the atmosphere of Boca's was more exciting and electric.

All in all they were both the best games of football I'd ever seen live (bar the England vs Argentina game at the Korea/ Japan World Cup. Exhausted, drunk and stoned we all headed back to the hostel and continued getting exhausted, drunk and stoned.

Bit of a chill out today and also time to make plans to leave this beautiful (with a capital Beau) city. Went to the main bus terminal and me and the girls bought our tickets south to Rio Gallegos for tomorrow night (Holy Shit...it's a 36 hour bus journey). After this trip we sadly split as a group as the girls head further south and I head north after seeing the glaciers. We grabbed an Argentinean style hot dog (nice german sausage style meat) and luckily chanced upon a Man U vs Arsenal game being shown.

Back at the hostel and while the girls were shopping I just lounged around. Tonight was time to visit the well known Tango Cathedral (or so we thought). At 10pm we all jumped into a cab and went to the given address only to find it was finished (little did we realise it was still going on somewhere else...doh). Everyone was starved so we all went to a nice and cozy restaurant where I had a well delicious steak and we all had a chat about stuff and things and the usual drunken bits and bobs.

Drinking continued and we were joined by Daniel and Alex and his never ending magic bag of never shrinking gear (I think he stole it from Gandalf to be fair).

My last chance to get some new clothes today so with a mammoth effort of recovery and stamina I climbed out of bed and headed for the shops to do a Power Shop. Returning triumphant with exactly what I needed this success was all too much for me so I had a siesta. Tonight's bus leaves at 8.30pm so the rest of the day and evening was spent packing, siestaing and watching footie on TV. Surekha, scared beyond belief at the prospect of a 36 hour bus ride decided to jump ship and fly instead. So the lovely Flora at hostel reception managed to get a flight booked but then it all got too complicated and the plan was ditched for the bus instead. Again, pretty sad to leave a place and BA really is a great city of night life, history and class (really loved it).

So at 8.26pm I settled into the not-so-luxurious bus seat and pondered my time in BA with a smile on my face. Then I remembered how long this journey was and the smile turned into a grimace for the next few hours. I soon settled and armed with my new MP3 player, a bottle of water, some crackers and 2 packs of fags I started to roll with it.

Bus, bus and more bus. On and off all you can do is chat, sleep, eat, read (a brand new experience for me..I usually go into a cold travel sickness sweat if I read on a bus) and listen to tunes (currently really enjoying Afroman's When I get High, B52's Roam (good travel tune) and JT's What goes Around). Only two events to report on this long bus trip: Surekha and Krina snoring in some kind of harmony to the tune of Afroman's When I get High, and three new bus passengers joining this mammoth journey (not normally worth mentioning but they were quite and odd bunch: one had only 1 arm, one had only 1 eye and the youngest looked like he should be strumming a banjo in Alabama. I'll call them Bill, Bob and Billy-Bob.

During the pretty non existent stops I'd be out of my seat and out the door like a shot to get a smoke in and stretch the legs and back. During these stops me and Surekha would have a puff or two just to alleviate the boredom of the journey.

Didn't sleep much last night but at least the girls did (snoring away). I'll have plenty of time to catch up on sleep when I get to El Calafate. At 9am the bus chugged into the Rio Gallegos terminal to the relief of everyone who'd lost all feeling in their legs, back, necks (well, everywhere really) on board. This was me and the girls' last bit of travel together after 20 days of good fun. Funny, after just 20 days of traveling together and seeing each other pretty much 24 hours a day you really do make friends quickly (bit like a power bond). It feels like I've known those two scallywaggettes for way longer than the 20 days.

Feeling a bit down after farewell hugs I settled down for a 4 hour wait for my bus. I then got chatting to Bill, Bob and Billy-Bob and was immediately brought into the group and straight away the 'Mate' was brewed up and passed around. Food, fags, biscuits were handed out all round and the talk went from football to Colombian vs Argentine girls (tough call...Argentinian girls are super fit) to the economy.

They're a good bunch of fellahs (field workers at a local farm) and really helped me pass the 4 hours of waiting. I'm still not sure why they were waiting outside the bus terminal because after asking when they start work they all replied Sunday (3 days away). I did try and get a snap of my Mate buds but they were extremely camera shy (hmm). Eventually caught my bus at 1.30pm and after sleeping for the whole 4 hour ride woke up in the small town of El Calefate.

After a brief walk around I struck gold in a small hotel (hostels were full according to the tourist office) with hot water and a room at $20 a night (ok..its not cheap but I need sleep). The plan for this next week is to spend a day or two admiring the huge moving glacier that's on the Lake Argentino. Then head somewhere deeper into Patagonia for a few days. Back to BA (love it too much) for a day or two then Mendoza for a day. Then I leave Argentina and head across the border into deepest, darkest Bolivia.

Duties had to be done today so all morning and most of the afternoon I caught up on my blog (no mean feat...2 weeks of writing and photos to sort and an internet connection so slow it would be laughed at in the 90's). Then it was time to do some serious investigation into seeing the Moreno Glacier (apparently the 3rd largest mass of ice after Antarctica and Greenland). I was well keen on actually walking on the glacier so had to bite the bullet and go with an organised tour ($100 for the day trip). It all kicks off at 9am tomorrow, so with an excited spring in my step I headed for dinner and a few calming beers (Quilmes is the beer of choice and budget here in Argentina).

A word about Calefate. It's not the prettiest of towns and is absolutely packed with tourists (and especially Israelis). It's small and compact with one main road and the usual array of tourist shops and restaurants...and sadly a casino). The owners of the quaint hotel I'm staying in (Hospedaje Alejandre) are an elderly couple. He's quite a jovial old fellah but she's a demon. She's already got it in for me for smoking in the room (no no smoking signs about I might add) which has caused a bicker between the two. I did offer to not smoke in there but he insisted and when I came back from dinner there was a new ashtray waiting for me (I suspect he's ken to smoke in the house too).

Well, today is glacier day so at 9am a coach load of tourists and me headed off. One and a half hours into the trip we rounded a long bend and lo and behold there was the spectacle that is the Moreno Glacier (complete with stunning rainbow across it...amazing). A huge wall of ice between two land masses and a lake next to it (Lake Argentina). The next two hours I was pretty much just staring in awe at this huge mass of ice and every now and then it would put on a sound show of the natural kind when a small chunk of ice would crack and crumble off. This sounded like canons going off and was followed by a long rumbling as the ice chunks crashed into the lake (stirring stuff). Apparently in 5 days time the glacier is due a major crumble which is special to see and hear (dammit...gonna miss that one). There is only one living creature on the ice and that's a small insect that has a coating of alcohol on its body to protect it from the cold.

Next was the boat ride to the glacier itself and the boat drew up close enough to get a real sense of perspective of how big this thing is (huuuuuuge with a capital Hu). Time to don my crampons (metal spiked footwear) and off we went for a hike on the ice. The going was pretty difficult at first (because of the crampons) but I quickly got used to this new way of walking (legs wider apart and smaller steps...almost penguin-like). The colours of the glacier were such a sharp, crisp blue especially when we came across caves, water flows or dangerously deep crevices.

Exhausted and late in the day it was time to head back but before that we were served a glass of whiskey with chunks of Moreno Glacier ice (nice). During the bus journey there and back I befriended an elderly German couple. Pablo was an Ecuadorian professor of physics who also taught in Saudi but now lives with his wife Barbara in Germany (nice couple). Apparently he had to lie about his age to go on this trek (age limit is 5 to 60 and he's 67). Back at base a quick bite to eat and crashed out immediately.

(sigh)..today I was supposed to catch my prepaid bus to El Chalten at 7.30am but waking up and glancing at my watch it showed 10.30am. So a mad dash to the bus terminal and I managed to change my ticket for a 1pm one (30% charge...doh). While I was waiting I befriended one of many stray dogs around these parts. He decided to follow me around absolutely everywhere for the next 2 hours and even got me into trouble with shopkeepers when he scampered in after me.

The 4 hour bus ride from El Calefate to El Chalten (Routa 40) goes through some of the most beautiful scenery I have seen on my travels. Beautiful bright blue lakes and rivers with a backdrop of rows and rows of snow-covered mountains. Every now and then a hanging or normal glacier would pop into view. The journey was sore on the backside but soothing on the eyes.

Arrived at 6pm and it was time to do some SAS style hostel hunting to try and beat the crowds of backpackers on my bus. As predicted there were no beds to be found anywhere but after an hour of hunting in this dusty wild west town I found one. It seems my hostel was still under construction (I couldn't help but think of the film 'Carry on Abroad' when the door handle of the room fell off in my hands, the toilet seat was half the size of the bowl and the whole lock mechanism for my locker dropped out).

Dinner and then checked bus times, as I need to leave here in 2 days time (buses get booked up quickly just like the beds here). Still haven't decided if I'm going to head south to the end of the world or head north to Puerto Madryn to see some sea wildlife. A long day of trekking for me tomorrow so an early dinner and night. Speaking of night..it's 10pm as I write this and it's still light outside...weird.

Major hiking day day today as I take on the Laguna Los Tres hike (famous for its stunning views of Mount Fitzroy). So armed with a load of sandwiches, drinks and warm clothes I headed off at 9am. A 5 hour one way hike it started off fairly easy and the views were totally beautiful (glaciers, rivers, lakes, mountains and of course the famous snow-capped Mount Fitzroy in the distance). During my halfway stop at a lake with stunning views I sat down for my lunch. This is when I was mugged. Ok, the fellah was 5 inches tall but he had a mean look about him and a sharp beak. Cheeky little rascal just hopped onto my pack, grabbed my salami slices as bold as anything. After a few minutes he called his mates over so I knew when I was beat and scampered off.

The previous stretch of the hike was woods and open areas and now it changed to rolling hills and dry scrub as the Fitzroy was getting closer. The last part was the hardest bit of hiking I've ever done. An hour of steep walking on loose rocks and gravel and I eventually crawled my way to the top sweating buckets. The view as I came over the top was amazing with a freezing cold lake and the Fitzroy as the backdrop. Tested the water but even I'm not stupid or Aquarian enough to swim in it.

On the walk back (more like a stumble) I chilled by the ice cold river and drank the most delicious fresh water I've tasted (all water here is drinkable because of the strict rules of no washing, swimming or doing anything near it). Back at the hostel and armed with a well deserved beer I sat for a while in the communal area and patted myself on the back. I gave up all hope o having a chat with anyone as Hebrew was the language of choice here (sweet Jesus the Israeli's are a noisy lot but good fun).

Today was a gentler walk for me because my legs feel like they're made of lead and I've pulled a muscle in my knee joint (happened racing down a particularly steep and rough track. Typical, a group of cute girls I was chatting to were struggling down, so me in my infinite wisdom tried to prove it's easier to actually jog rather than walk.). The Laguna Torre was my destination today with the added bonus of the nearby Glacier Grande. Again it was a beautiful hike this time starting in dry dusty hills, then going through flat dry forest with ultra powerful rivers. The next bit was flats and hills of boulders and this is where I felt the strongest gusts of wind in my life blowing down from the glacier. A few times I nearly lost my grounding and close to getting blown off my feet into the depths below.

The next part was a walk around the lake (with floating ice) which was one hour of very treacherous walking on top of an exposed narrow hill (the wind really didn't help me). Again nearly toppled over the side. The view of the lake and the Cerro Torre was amazing but sadly too windy to chill and watch for any length of time. As far as wildlife goes I saw loads of wild rabbits and birds. My favourite find of the day was a group of woodpeckers hacking away at a tree nearby oblivious to me standing right next to them.

This evening I had the bus to catch to El Calefate so I ploughed down the trail passing gangs of elderly hikers with their hiking sticks (cheats). The plan was to get the 6.30pm bus to Calefate (4 hours) sit at the bus terminal and catch the 3am bus to Ushuaia (yes, I have already decided to take this route now). Sadly when I got to El Calefate all buses were fully booked for a few days. So at 10.30 I went back to Hospidaje Alejandre and was flatly refused a room by the demon wife (don't blame her really).

Booked into a nice cheap hostel near the bus station and knackered after two days of serious hiking I had a few bevies and pondered whether I should head straight back to Buenos Aires to met my Amazon buddies Meera and Dijle...

I seriously don't want to waste more time in this sleepy and super touristy town so in desperation checked out some flights. All fully booked for weeks and the only available one was $450 (havin a laugh). By a stroke of luck and by checking every single bus company again and again I managed to find one seat available for tonight's 3am bus to Ushuaia (last seat). The rest of the day I just relaxed and read at the hostel, content in the thought that I've found a way out of here.

Got chatting to a rather wild-eyed German girl student (nice enough though) and shared a few beers while I waited for the early morning bus.

Very drunk I boarded the bus at 3am and cursing my nights beer drinking I spent most of the time in the toilet trying to balance in the ride that is a bus toilet. The journey was full of stops (a real pleasure for a smoker like me). All in all there were 4 border stops because you have to go through Chilean territory to get to Ushuaia by bus. Another stop was a ferry crossing to Tierre Del Fuego worth mentioning because I saw some beautiful black and white dolphins surfing and frolicking next to the boat.

Arrived in Ushuaia late evening and checked into a recommended hostel nearby and immediately thought I was in Tel Aviv (packed with shouting Israelis...as was the bus getting here). Did some checking for tours but it was too late in the day so I just relaxed and settled for a cheap steak dinner and slept off my hangover. The plan for the next week is back to Buenos Aires (just love the place too much) and then head to Salta in the north for a day or two...then it's adios Argentina and helllllloooo Bolivia.

I've only got two full days here so chop chop with organising stuff. At the tourist office I checked on some penguin tours (always wanted to see and meet penguins in the wild) and while I was doing that I saw the passport stamps there and I just couldn't resist the temptation to have my passport stamped with 'You have been to the southern most city of the World' (well...had to be done). My penguin tour was booked for 3pm today. It was a hefty $70 for the 6 hour tour but in my eyes these kind of things have to be done...what other opportunity will I have to meet penguins up close.

In the meantime I got a bus to the locally famous chair lift that goes up towards the Glacier Grande. It was the slowest lift I've ever been on...ever (I saw worms overtaking me below) but beautiful views all around. Did a bit of hiking when I reached the top but when the skies opened up here in the freezing cold altitude so I headed back to go and see those penguins. The tour started with a one and a half hour minibus ride. This is where I met Beate, a really cool German girl with the weirdest accent I've ever heard in my life. A strange mix of German, Australian and South African (quite shocking but funny to be fair). Then it was onto a small boat to get to the penguin island.

Approaching the island was well exciting with a sea of penguins flopping and waddling about on the beach (it took all sorts of discipline from everyone not to jump out of the boat straight away). There was sadly a huge catamaran parked up next to us and with much envy its passengers had to watch us get off the boat and mingle with the Magallenic penguins (and another species I can't remember the name of which are slightly bigger with orange trim). The other passengers weren't allowed to disembark. Got to say it was an amazing experience to walk among them and watch them up close. There were rules of course; no touching, keep as low as possible and a distance of 2 metres.

We were of course allowed to sit down with them and the cheeky little blighters would sometimes waddle up to you and start flapping their little wings and peck at you (not too hard...but apparently it can be pretty dangerous). This was their malting time so a lot of them looked like scruffy little street urchins with rough jackets of feathers on. An attempt was made by me to integrate myself into one of the penguin groups. I walked the walk...but just couldn't talk the talk so resigned myself to just sitting there and watching the action. I could have stayed there for days but sadly after an hour it was time to head back. During the trip back we stopped off at a famous wind blown tree that looked very odd.

Later on met a friendly Scouse fellah called Paul at the hostel. Boy, did this 54 year scouse traveler have stories to tell (he is also obsessed with finding a cheap way to Antarctica ..I don't blame him...but he may be here for a while). Me, Paul a Polish girl and Beate had a slap up dinner and way too many beers at the local 'Irish Pub' (Guinness in cans and German tourist posters on the walls...so Irish). A very good day and night was had all round.

Rotten hangover this morning and a group of Swiss backpackers in the dorm decided to wake up early and shout, holler, open the windows and generally making a nuisance of themselves (hostels have no mercy on the hung over victim of beer). Went back to the chairlift this morning with Paul, my new Scouse pal. While I was waiting for the bus there I on a whim checked the date on my watch and nearly had a heart attack. It said 2nd March and my bus to Buenos Aires was due to leave at 7am on 2nd. Thankfully it was just my watch at fault so I didn't lose my $110 ticket (phew ..nothing better to cure a rotten hangover than a shock and a half day of hiking in the crisp cold air).

Paul was great company for hiking telling me some good yarns and providing a few good laughs when slipping in the mud (unhurt of course). The views from the Glacier Martial were really good today and especially of the last bit of land mass before the end of the world. Very early 5am rise tomorrow so took it nice and easy and had an early night.

As of 5am I am aiming to break my personal best bus journey time. The treat in store for me over the next few days is 50 hours (3,500 km) on a bus (with one change after 14 hours). Not a record breaking I'm looking forward to but I have to get to Buenos Aires to then start heading north and, well, I just love BA to bits (sadly a meeting with my old Amazon buddies Meera and Dijle in BA won't happen just yet as they are now heading south). Then after a few days more of BA life I head to Salta to see if I can catch up with Surekha Krina.

The bus journey started well enough and armed with a fully charged laptop and MP3 player I was up for it. At the bus terminal during the change of bus I met and chatted to an Orthodox Jewish fellah (poor bloke's having a tough time backpacking because he can't travel on his holy day ...every saturday). Also sat and chatted with Meika (the wild eyed crazy but nice German girl from the El Calefate hostel). Is it just me or are all Psychology students a few beers short of a crate?

The journey so far has been pretty good. I've got a whole two seats to myself so a good kip tonight I think and hope. Any newbies getting on the bus get a good stare from me (just to put them off ...I even thought of taking my socks off and laying them on the seat next to me as a deterrent step too far I think). The meals provided on the bus were the usual mixed bag of unhealthy stuff; breakfast was a soft biscuit and coffee, lunch a steak with mash (quite good but most of it fell on the floor as I was trying to cut the steak with a plastic knife in a foil box) and dinner was a Wiener Schnitzel with mash. In between you get water and soft drinks too.

My current listening favourites on this trip are Lou Reed's Satellite of Love (off one of my all time favourite albums ..Transformer), Oasis's Married with Children (love it) and the Bravery's Time Won't Let me Go (currently my favourite tune...gotta thank Krina for letting me nick it off her ipod of goodness).

Slept pretty well considering I've lost all feeling (nowhere in particular...just lost all feeling). Safe in the knowledge that I have another full day and night ahead of me I settled myself and put my brain into neutral. The usual meals and drinks were served and then horror of horrors at 3pm during one of my many sleep attempts an old lady sat down next to me (I was obviously off guard so couldn't try the sock trick). She was no ordinary old lady..she was a chatterbox. She seemed very nice but after an hour of trying to work out what she was talking about in her rapido Spanish I made my excuses and slept.

In the evening after dinner I thought Christmas had come early when the bus fellah pulled out a bingo set and announced a round to be played (real proof of how dull the journey was for me). Of course chatterbox next to me won in the end (I only had one number to get ) and she won the generous prize of a cheap bottle of plonk and a car windscreen sun shield.

The films shown on board were actually bloody good; Blood Diamond, Oceans 13, Harry Potty 1,2 and 3 and Little Man (all in English...woohoo). Ok, so the bus trip sounds kind of luxurious; food, drink, bingo and films...but shit...it really is dull.

So, 7am and I'm back in Buenos Aires again and strangely it feels like I'm coming home. Yep, I really like Buenos Aires...alot. Knowing the metro system inside out by now I headed back to good old Hostal Tita. As is usual after long bus trips I crashed out in a normal bed to get a sense of normality. Refreshed and raring to go I headed out for a walk in my favourite city (well..its a close one with Rio). In hindsight I wish I'd taken more pics of the city but in general I don't like carrying the camera around unless I'm aiming for somewhere (I'll have to change this for the future I think).

Tried to hunt down Will (another El Misti mate) but he was nowhere to be found. Back at the hostel it was pretty quiet but chatted to a group of Spanish girls (also back in BA for a second time..saw them first time too). Also had a drink with the oddest mix of couple I've met; he was a white Bermudan and she was a white Malawian...never did ask how they met.

Apart from supping on a few beers the rest of the night I did some boring stuff and backed up all my photos online (ready for my oncoming trip to Bolivia).

Good and proper kip last night apart from an incident of hostel horror at 4am. Our dorm room of 3 bunk beds and six people was awoken by a loud 'Oh...fuck' and then a manly scream. Looking across to the beds opposite mine I saw carnage. The top bunk had dropped and collapsed onto the poor sleeping fellah on the bottom bunk. Remembering that the base of the beds are wood with sharp corners we all jumped out of bed and pulled him free. Luckily he came out of it unscathed..so we had a good laugh about it all. Everyone went back to sleep (maybe a bit more aware of top bunks this time) and by morning the guy who's bed collapsed had disappeared (he was a tad weird anyway ...slept with a teddy bear).

This being my last day in BA I walked around town a bit (with a slight mournfull air I might add). I had a bus to catch at 9pm tonight so after packing my bag I chilled out with the Spanish gang (also leaving today). Adios Buenos Aires (I will most definitely be back again) as I boarded my night bus to Salta. Sitting there pondering my two visits to BA I realised I was sitting next to the biggest chatterbox on the bus (why me!!?) who kept nudging me every 5 minutes. She was nice enough though and kept plying me with biscuits saying I needed fattening. During these first few hours I was reminded of the early scene of Planes, Trains and Automobiles...she was a female John Candy.

The rest of the day was simply about watching the view (its getting steadily more mountainous and drier) and getting nudged by Joanna Candy next to me. One of the benefits of these long rides apart from listening to good music, watching some wonderful scenery and meeting great people is a chance to ponder the next stage of the travels and study it in the book (plus from the many tips and notes from fellow travelers). Arrived in Salta at 4pm and checked into a hostel with a pool (nice). Going from the bus terminal to the hostel noticed the place is looking more dusty and outbacky and the people are darker in skin tone.

During my chill around the pool I got chatting to a group of German girls and a pair of lads from Yorkshire (Ivan and Chris). Had a few bevies and settled down. Booked myself a tour to a place called Cachi (apparently a very beautiful driver through mountains and ending in a very rural Gaucho village). Went for a marathon walk with Ivan and Chris climbing the famous 1,200 steps to the top of the cities hill. Pretty amazing views but our hope of catching a good sunset was scuppered when the skies opened up (I'm seeing a kind of pattern with me and the weather emerging here...bloody rains). After showering at the hostel went back to my room and was accosted by a group of American girls screeching in their loud voices (yep, I was alone in a room of screeching Yanks...God take me now). I was forced to show them the contents of my mystical small pack. One of them even did a mini video diary of me explaining what each thing was for...erm, this is a T-shirt and I have 4 of them...and so on..exhilerating stuff).

After the video diary had a few beers and had my first try of the famous Coca leaf with the two northern monkeys (Ivan and Chris). Played loads of pool and won a few games (blimey). The plan for the next week is spend a day here then head to the Bolivian border. From there head to the famous Salt Lakes and do a long tour exploring the amazing landscapes. Oh...and the penguin photos and videos are accidentally in week 30.

Early 7am start for the Cachi tour this morning. The bus was full of Argentinean couples and only Spanish was spoken (good for my Spanish anyway). The views were beautiful but it seems I picked the wrong day for this tour ...total cloud cover). Stopped off at a few viewing points, including an endless field of cacti. The village of Cachi was nice and saw a few Gaucho's trotting around on their horses. A lot of indigenous folk selling sachets of all sorts of herbal goodness picked from local bushes; Coca leaf, Manu Manu (no...not a Manu United herb but in fact a natural erm...Viagra) and all sorts of others. Reached the heady heights of 3,300 and boy it was cold up there. Slept most of the way back. Back at the hostel made plans to leave this wonderful country that is Argentina. Have to catch a bus north to the Bolivian border tomorrow.

The two northern monkeys decided not to stay the extra day here and instead will join me for the trip north. They're both good lads and the next few weeks promise to be a good laugh (Bolivia promises to have the biggest salt lake in the world, mines where I tip the miners in dynamite and Coca, a road to cycle down called Death Road (because of its numerous deaths off the sheer cliffs), the highest city in the world and tons of indigenous goodness...oh, and Bolivia is wonderfully cheap (God Bless your cotton socks Bolivia).

One of the only souvenirs I've bought myself on these travels is a Mate set (cup, straw and a pack of Mate) which I'll be trying to post home tomorrow. When and if I get back to Blighty I'll make it a tradition to drink using the shared Mate tradition...friends and family beware.

Did a few early morning chores but my main one of sending the Mate set home failed (shit...forgot it was Saturday). Then it was time for me, Ivan and Chris to head to the bus terminal. Unfortunately (or stupidly you could say) we got the bus times mixed up (even though we had a sheet of paper with the times on it). So instead of catching an 11am bus we had to wait for 3.30pm. So off we went into town for a whirwind tour of town centre.

Lunch was at a recommended restaurant and consisted of a huge plate of mixed meats to share. It was all good until we reached the middle parts which had cow intestines, stomach lining and God knows what other treats (not pleasant to eat). Another short wander around town and then a hop onto the bus heading to Bolivia. It was a good trip all round and some wonderful sights as the landscape got rockier and more mountainous. Arrived in La Quaca at 10pm and an executive decision was made to cross the border tonight rather than cross in the morning.

The crossings on both the Argentinean and Bolivian sides was easy and noticed the border guards sitting at their desks preparing and chewing on masses of Coca leaves. Asking at a police box for directions I was greeted by more Coca munching. So now me and the two lads headed through the deserted streets of Villazon (Bolivia) and eventually found a half decent hotel, dumped our bags and went out for a food hunt. The only decent meal to be found was a beef and potato stew served on a bed of corn mash (20c of stewy goodness) served by an old indigenous lady. Sat there for a while and chatted with her and passing locals.

So, time to wash down the tasty stew with a beer down at the local (one of only three in town). It was well quiet in there until midnight when hordes of locals came in, including two lashed up local fellahs who decided we were going to be their talking targets for the night. After half an hour of listening to their nonsense and having our beer and fags siphoned off we headed off back to the hotel. This is when the dizziness and headache hit me (I was to feel the full force of it in the morning).