A summary of my time in South America

I sit here in a cafe in Los Angeles, pondering over what's transpired over the last four months or so whilst in South America and amongst other things, it's given me a totally new perspective on life, my resilience, my strengths and best of all a renewed enthusiasm for taking on the world.... In other words, I will be coming home in a couple of weeks time, feeling completely reinvigorated and with  the ability to take on and overcome any challenge that comes my way.

As a result, I'll be looking to:

• Find and work for an employer that's got great ambitions, a prosperous future and one on which I can have an impact, either on it's bottom line, the way it operates or otherwise.
• Have an impact wherever I go and with whomever I am liaising.
• Learn some new skills of both a professional & personal nature!
• Increase my network of friends, professional & social.

If nothing else, I've got to take advantage of my good fortune being born into a middle class family in Australia, as opposed to in some poverty stricken or war torn country, where hope and the opportunity to grow, learn and prosper are so severely diminished.

Los Angeles

Well I managed to check in at Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires without too many problems. I mean sure the combined weight of my bag and box were over the limit, a situation which was easily overcome.

I just had to hope none of my fellow traveller's or the Customs people wanted to check the little bag I'd removed from my larger North Face bag cause it contained nothing but my dirty laundry! Given the fun and games I'd had on my way to Quito months ago I sorted of figured if they were going to confiscate anything it could be my smelly socks!

What was pleasing though, was that I got through the whole process / bureaucracy of checking in, negotiating the Customs rigmarole so quickly that I ended up at the Departure Gate a whole two hours early. That's a bit of a first me actually being somewhere early or on time. Pity it's such a boring airport with not a lot to look at or buy......

I did however find a little restaurant that was open, so was able to grab a Cafe con Leche, but once I'd finished that I found myself a sit in the boarding area, quietly humming to myself the well known song by Andrew Lloyd Webber - "Don't Cry for Me Argentina"!

Why, cause as much as I've enjoyed some of my time in the country, it's certainly not the easiest of places to get around!!!! I mean, fix the banking system so that withdrawing cash from ATMs is easier (and more of it would be great as well), get rid of the siesta break, so much of the bureaucracy, spend a little bit of money maintaining things and we might be right! Aggh, hopefully you'll have got it better by the next time I head over...... Okay, Okay, I'll get off my soap box now....

Eventually the boarding gate began to fill up and shortly thereafter we were allowed to board the plane! Whilst Lan Chile aren't ever going to win any awards for "Service Excellence" they did manage to leave the terminal on time, even if the plane lacked an in-flight entertainment system.... At any rate, we got to Lima several hours later and without any drama.... 

Transiting through their airport was quick and easy and provided me with the perfect opportunity to peruse the shops, not that I'd have had the ability to buy anything. Not cause they wouldn't accept my $USD currency, but rather I didn't have the physical ability to carry another thing.

Finally arriving in LAX several hours later, you possibly heard the audible sigh of relief when both my goodies appeared on the luggage carousel, but better than that though, was finally being able to catch up with my dear friend - Betsy!

Now I've just got to get my head around being on another continent and enjoying a totally different type of holiday now!

Buenos Aires

I had a great day today wandering around the city of Buenos Aires in the morning, my camera in hand when the opportunity presented itself. I then found my way to one of the outer suburbs of the city, to join a Street Art tour where I have got to say I gained a lot more appreciation of what I would previously have just titled graffiti!

We saw work, painted frequently with the permission of the land owner that certainly made a considerable impact on the local landscape. We were also shown the difference between the different styles of work and told the reason certain types of paint were used. 

It would seem that there's more to it that just coming along with a spray can. 

We were given a bit of an explanation of how the "artists" applied the paint because there's seemingly a variety of techniques needed to make their art "work". As a consequence, well aside from the fact I can't draw / paint to save myself, I won't be coming home to OZ, grabbing a few tins of spray paint and heading out to "decorate" a train, the lane way down the road or what have you, but I will be looking at "graffiti" in a new light!

At any rate, once the tour concluded, I headed home to my hotel, to pack and get ready for my flights tomorrow morning! 

It's funny but as much as this country, frustrates the day lights out of me at times, Buenos Aires is a city I could stay in for another week or so to explore! Ah well, next time!

In saying that though, I'm looking forward to heading to Los Angeles, with one of the things I'm most looking forward to being (and its probably one of those things one shouldn't reveal on a blog site such as this is) is the cuddle or hug I receive from Betsy when I stumble through the "Arrivals" door at the airport.

Buenos Aires

Finally after wandering around most of the city for the better part of a couple of hours, I found a Post Office that not only was able / willing to accept a 1.75KG parcel of cycling gear but also sold boxes in which to send it home.... Being clever (or so I thought) I bought a box which is seemingly capable (authorised) to hold up to 5KG.... well that's according to what's written on it. 

Having made my purchase I subsequently went back to my hotel in order to fill it and thus lighten my load just that little bit more..... Okay, it's not really the way I wanted to spend the day cause I'd much rather have been out and about exploring the city, but I needed to do it in order to get a bit of peace of mind.

At any rate, once I'd filled the box with what I calculated as being 4KG of surplus gear, I headed back to the Post Office, in order to send off my goodies and thus allow me to begin enjoying the day.

Unfortunately however this is where the stupid Argentinian bureaucracy kicked in for whilst the box was okay to be packaged with 5KG of goods, in order for Correo Argentino to actually process it and put it aboard a plane / ship or what have you, they firstly needed it "approved" by a Customs Official. Of course the Customs folk operate out of a different location to the Post Office and on different business hours....

Problem is easily solved however, as was pointed out by the postal clerk, just buy another box and split the contents into two approximately equal weights! As I say, the bureaucracy in this country often defies logic, even to the locals!

One way and another it's probably not cost me a great deal of money just time, which I could have put to better use, but it's done now and at least it gives me the belief and I might be being delusional / naive about it, but hopefully I've made things a little easier and less likely to get charged for excess luggage for when I get to the airport on Sunday morning!

For now though, I think it's time I knocked back a few samples of their amber liquid!

Buenos Aires

Well its funny, but today I started my sightseeing tour of Buenos Aires in a cemetery, Recoleta Cemeteryto be precise.

They're probably not on everybody's hit list of places to visit (they're not mine normally either) but I went because although I'd spent a few minutes there yesterday, ostensibly to see Eva Perron's crypt whilst on my cycling tour of the city, I didn't have the opportunity to explore or photograph the place properly.... I'm so glad I revisited, it's a fascinating place!

From there I wandered downtown to see Puente de la Mujer which is Spanish for "Women's Bridge", a bridge designed by Santiago Calatrava and which supposedly was fashioned to represent, the arch of a woman's back during a Tango dance....

That said however, I think you'll find the same "design" has also been used in Dublin, Ireland and Redding, California as well.

Continuing my wander through the area it quickly became apparent that this area / suburb is where the "new" rich now reside. 

Things just looked ultra modern & sleek and to top it off there's also some great art galleries in the area as well.

Buenos Aires

What does a cyclist do when he arrives in a new and very large city?

Check out what's on offer as far as bike rentals opportunities are concerned and sign up to do a cycling sightseeing tour of course. I've just got to say I'm just so glad I did. It was a brilliant way of getting a bit of an orientation of what to see & do in Buenos Aires, and where things are relative to one another.

I'm just disappointed that my Garmin bike computer is safely packed away in the bike box and that in order to directly record a day's activities into Strava using a smart phone requires an operational SIM card cause I'd love to be able to see exactly where I'd been, tomorrow for sightseeing planning purposes and down the track, as a way of reliving my trip. Ah well, shit happens!

I had a very memorable time regardless and amongst other things saw the stadium used by Bocca Juniors, probably one of the best known football clubs in all of South America (Maradona played for them).

At the conclusion of my little tour and on my way back to my hotel, admittedly I did find a cafe that sold Empanadas so I had to buy a few, along with a cold Cerveza which I subsequently enjoyed in the park above. A very fitting end to a wonderful day's sightseeing.

My Team Tourist colleagues would be proud!

Buenos Aires

Well it was with a sigh of relief that I managed to get all my bags checked in at Bariloche Airport this afternoon and once again I owe a big Thank You to Daniel of Cordillera Bike Rentals who not only gave me some tips on things to see and do on my bike in the Bariloche area, who minded my stuff whilst I headed to Puerto Varas, Chile and then again when I headed down to El Cafalate, but who also helped me get all my gear to the airport. 

Seriously folks he was a god send! I couldn't recommend him or his services highly enough!

Anyhow getting back to this afternoon's adventures, I was rather fortunate when I checked my luggage  in, cause I only had to pay a minor surcharge of 190 Argentinian Pesos ($AUD 25.00) which given the extent to which I was overweight, was a bargain. Having said that and because I'm not necessarily expecting to be so lucky for the next leg of my trip, I will have to have a look as to what, if anything, I can get rid of in Buenos Aires. I figure it's better to be safe than sorry, though having said that, I'm not overly optimistic as to what I'll be able to offload. A situation which isn't helped by the fact that there probably isn't too much chance of my being able to post things home from B.A, though who knows....

Fortunately and surprisingly to a certain extent, the flight wasn't to bad and more importantly both my bag and my bike box, showed up on the carousel when I / we got in to Buenos Aires a couple of hours later....

Now all that's left to do is to explore the city a little, grab a bite to eat and see if I can come up with a plan for tomorrow's activities.

San Carlos de Bariloche

When you are start thinking about what your going to do when you get home, organizing your diary for the months ahead and start reviewing your budget / finances for what lies ahead, I somehow think that might be a sign that your over your holiday or at the very least bored by your present surroundings.

I mean Bariloche is a pleasant enough little city, but it's the area around it where it's appeal really lies and that's not something I was able to do today, having packed my bags and more importantly my bike into its box for the homeward journey. 

I'm not too sure whether the Troll will get to explore Los Angeles or whether I'll just hire a road bike instead for a couple of days so as to keep the legs turning and to get around a bit.

Either way though, I'm looking forward to what lies ahead, both in terms of Buenos Aries and Los Angeles, particularly the later cause I'll be catching up with a friend, Betsy, I haven't seen in years. I can't wait and believe it or not, it'll be the first time I've been to America (other than for a three hour stop over at LAX) and I get to do it over the Xmas - New Year period. Yeah!

Bus Trip to San Carlos Bariloche

Thank God I bought some supplies in El Calafate, cause if I had relied on the bus company to keep me feed and watered, I'd have faded away to a shell....  

Basically it's a 28 hour virtually non-stop trip from El Calafate to San Carlos Bariloche and whilst they say they'll provide three meals during the length of the journey, a solitary biscuit in the morning doesn't count as a meal, though at least the roll at lunch time was at least half way decent.... But as for not providing a caffeine addict such as myself with at least one coffee in a 24 hour period, well that's just in humane! I can't wait till I get to Bariloche.... 

Hate to say it, but I think I might be making a dash to the McDonalds store, for a bit of sustenance, if you can call it that, cause I don't know what else is likely to be open by the time we get there...... Who know's I might get lucky!

El Cafalate

I'm being to feel that whilst organising to get around Peru & Bolivia may be more intimidating in a way, it's probably easier and without some of the difficulties that Argentina throws at you..... Whether that's cause it seems to be a more "direct" booking system, with a it being a face to face transaction or not, I don't know. Admittedly, I didn't try to purchase bus tickets on line in either Peru or Bolivia as I did in Argentina where I nearly became unstuck..

My reason for saying this is that whilst I was able (after an hour or so of mucking around) to be able to book my bus tickets to and from El Cafalate on the internet, I was unable to print them off the bus lines system, nor save them as a PDF file or what have you, a situation that the staff at Bariloche's bus station were able to rectify (for a small fee) for the trip down.

I ended up with no end of hassles trying to get the same sort of assistance in El Cafalate however. Fortunately I had retained a screen dump of everything I had done during the booking process, with which I was eventually able to convince the staff in El Calafate that I should be heading back to Bariloche on a ticket that had already been paid for using their own website...... 

Phew. Nice town it may be.... but I had places to be.

El Chalten

Today was spent exploring some of the glaciers, lakes and mountains in South Patagonia and I'm so glad I did.

I had a wonderful day, got to find out a little bit more of the recent history of the country and had the opportunity to see and photograph the landscape from a different perspective than if I'd been riding through the area. IE: I had to do a bit of mountain climbing in order to get the shot below and several more like it!

Essentially I'd initially booked my trip down to El Calafate such that I had the chance of doing the glacier tour on either of two days. Why? Essentially because the tour company only accepted email (not direct web page) bookings ten days or more prior to doing their guided tour. As a result, getting lucky and doing the trip out to the glacier on day one meant that I had the opportunity last night to see what else in the way of tourist / sightseeing activities was on offer in the area!

Glacier Porito Moreno

Today's adventure to see what I believe is one of the largest glaciers in the world, has been on the cards for a few weeks now and I can only blame my mate Terry and my travel agent Ching-Yin Ng from Flight Centre for putting the idea in my head.

I've got to say that whilst seeing it come into view on the bus from El Cafalate,  then taking photos of it from a boardwalk nearby were impressive, but that was nothing in comparison with being given the opportunity to explore it on foot. Putting the crampons on and trekking up and over the glacier was a first and I've got to say I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Seriously I'd put today's fun and games up there with the day I spent at Machu  Picchu or riding across the Salar De Uyuni in Bolivia.

El Calafate

Whilst we typically think of Australia as being a big flat barren country in which you need to ride (or drive) significant distances to get between places / tourist icons and so on, the same would seem to hold true of Argentina as well.

A quick search on Google tells me that whilst Australia has a land mass of 7,633,565 KM square, making it the sixth largest country in the world, whilst Argentina isn't far behind at 2,736,690 KM square and the eighth largest.

All of which puts yesterday and today's 29 hour bus trip into context and to think I'll be doing the same thing in reverse in only three or four day's time. I tell you what, this bloody glacier had better be as spectacular as everyone hypes it up to be....

On the positive side though, is that spending so many hours on a bus with little to do other than read my book, listen to music, watch the TV (some of which has been in English with Spanish subtitles, though the sound system doesn't seem to work), is that I've had plenty of time to contemplate life, set a few goals for the year ahead (maybe not so much O/S travel) and think about what I've got out of this trip other than just fitter!

Bus trip to El Cafalate

What a hectic morning.

Why, cause I spent the better part of an hour or so, haggling with the receptionist on the front desk of my hotel that I needed / wanted a statement (or something in writing) showing the nature of my payments. It's not normally something that I need to do, however I'm just a little bit jumpy about the way the hotels operate over here. 

It appears that the hotel I stayed at in Puerto Varas, Chile last week has charged not only the checkout bill for the length of my stay, but also the two individual night "deposit" transactions. Supposedly these weren't ever to be put through, but purely used to hold onto my money in case I left without paying. In other words I've paid for the same room twice. 

Hopefully the bank can help me resolve these disputed transactions.

But what's that got to do with this mornings little adventure?

Well basically, they charged my credit card on arrival (something which showed as a pending transaction on my online banking facility) then reversed it, because they'd put it through a couple of dollars short. Whilst I'd offered at the time to make up the shortfall in cash it seemed beyond their (or the systems) capability.

Unfortunately however as their reversal transaction still doesn't appear on my credit card statement (online) I am once again a little fearful I'll be charged twice and as a result was seeking some reassurance (or proof for down the track) that wouldn't be the case.

As the provision of a statement showing both sides of the ledger (you can tell who's a boring accountant,  can't you) well it seemingly wasn't possible and as a result I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed that it will all work out in the end! I've gotta be honest and say there's a good part of me which will be happy when I'm boarding my plane outta here.

Fortunately I left the hotel with just sufficient time to get to the bus station, have them print my bus ticket and to jump on the bus so that the rest of this week's little adventure could continue.

San Carlos De Bariloche

Well things didn't initially go to plan, the money exchange office being closed leaving me with a fist full of Chilean Pesos (they're polymer notes, like ours) which of course are useless here in Argentina.

I wasn't keen on the idea of dealing with one of the black market / street traders so I had to rob the hole in the wall which is a bit of a pain in the proverbial, cause as I might have mentioned previously, the ATM's here only allow you to withdrawal pitiful sums of money and then charge you a sizeable "fee" as a percentage of the transaction. 

It's no wonder that the country is in the doldrums, they don't exactly make it easy for international tourists to spend their money! 

At any rate, given that one of the major incentives for getting into Bariloche yesterday was to
reorganise my bags, air my tent (it was wet when it last got packed away) and to disassemble my bike and box it up given that I fly off to Buenos Aires on Tuesday week, I rode down to the bike rental / hostel from which Daniel operates.

Boy o boy, did I get a reminder (once again) of how strong the wind is here! Heck, I suspect if I lived in the area permanently I'd be a skier rather than a cyclist. It's just not fun, slogging your guts out in the wind! Give me the hills any day!

Now that the bike's packed, for the next couple of weeks at least, it may get an airing in Los Angles, time to be a true tourist now, starting with a bus trip to El Calafate tomorrow morning! It's only a 24 plus hour drive!

Villa La Angostura to San Carlos De Bariloche

Despite there being a howling gale and it raining cats and dogs, I decided to ride on to Bariloche today so that I could get down to Puerto Pañuelo, where Daniel from Cordillera Bikes is located early tomorrow morning and thus give myself time to disassemble and pack my bike for my flight Tuesday week to Buenos Aires.

It's a pity that it's come about so quickly cause I'd like to have spent more time traveling around Chile, the scenery and the people were to die for, Orsono being the possible exception.

Unfortunately however, if I'm to get down to El Calafate before I fly off to Buenos Aires then something had to give.

As for today's ride, it was bloody cold, wet, slow going owing to the wind and not a great deal of fun, I've got to be honest, but I made it. Something that I didn't do a fortnight or so ago, when the weather was considerably better, but what the heck! I did it and those with Strava access will be able to see me full circumnavigation of the last week or so.

Orsono, Chile to Villa La Angostura, Argentina

It's with a degree of trepidation that I set out this morning.

It wasn't particularly warm and the weather forecast for the next two or three days didn't look particularly appealing. Rain!

Unfortunately as this trip unfolds it becomes more acutely obvious to me, just how poorly I'd prepared. Ah well, it is my first go at doing a self-supported ride and it was put together somewhat at the last minute and in a foreign environment.

As I'd discovered on Tuesday not having enough warm clothes, my tent & sleeping bag, along with detailed maps or a GPX route that I could upload into my Garmin bike computer, (a bike computer incidentally which is now so out of date that it doesn't have the live mapping or course correction option found in more recent and more expensive versions) was making things a little tougher than they needed be, albeit my panniers (which I subsequently discovered weren't waterproof) being lighter as a consequence.

I just wish today i could have ridden at my own pace, as opposed to having that nagging feeling in the back of my mind that if I wasn't careful I wouldn't be able to negotiate my way through both the Chilean & Argentinan customs.

Essentially, I needed / wanted to get back to Bariloche as soon as possible, so as to give myself time to pack my bike up, etc! If I'd had more time however, I would have paid a visit to the small car museum I passed along the way, as well as allowing me time to lock my bike up and join in / watch the fun and games of the rodeo that I only temporarily stopped at....

At any rate, arriving into the little town of Entre Lagos around one o'clock, I decided to grab a bite to eat, though there wasn't much on offer as far as cafés and restaurants was concerned. I did however manage to track down a street vendor who was selling large sized Empanadas and cups of Milo but you know, I think I'd got off the tourist trail there somewhere, despite being on the main (well most direct road between Osorno, Chile and Bariloche, Argentina given the lack of eateries / hotels and so on!

Lunch consumed, I headed on, with unfortunately only a rough idea as to the distance and profile, and as it dawned on me, as I continued turning the pedals that I didn't know the hours that the Chilean and Argentinian Customs offices were open! 

The idea of having to turn back, or sleep rough in the cold with the rain coming down, frightening the daylights out of me!

What I particularly didn't count on when I got to the Chilean Customs Office at around five o'clock is that it was still some twenty kilometres (all of it uphill) till I'd get to the border and a further ten kilometres before I'd reach the Argentinian Customs Office.

As the time ticked by, the rain came down and I become enveloped in fog (or a cloud) that making me even more anxious to reach the customs office, before it closed. I sort of figured after that it didn't matter too greatly how long it would take to get to Villa La Angostura. I knew I'd be able to do it and would ultimately end up in a hostel / hotel somewhere in town. Even if that meant waking up the reception desk!

I contemplated stopping a car / truck for a lift to the border, how I was going to negotiate it given my lack of Spanish I don't know, but nonetheless, something inside me said - Keep going, whilst there is still traffic, there's a likelihood that the customs office will be open! As proved to be the case! Paperwork completed, I then headed on to Villa La Angostura just hoping to get there in time to find a restaurant still open and a centrally located hotel with a room available. Sure enough I did, but it did take a few kilometres and a bit of time to find a hostal with a bed available, there obviously being something on in town! Phew!

A quick bite to eat was found to eat, followed by a very long and relaxing shower.  

Puerto Varas to Osorno

Whilst I left Puerto Varas a little later than planned, cause I had to hunt down a couple of bananas and a tin of tuna or what have. I mean if I'd thought about it, I would have done it yesterday.

Either way, essentially I wanted / needed them cause I wasn't sure how far or hard today's ride would be and I wanted to make sure I had a bit of food in reserve should it be required. Ultimately it wasn't a problem, as the photo below indicates!

I think doing a circumnavigation of the lake is a fairly touristy thing to do, even if most people are more sensible than myself and do it on a motorbike, in a car or as part of a bus tour rather than a bike. Either way, I'll end up eating them in the next day or two, regardless of how many cafe, restaurants stops there may be on my route back to Bariloche.

The next little problem I had was getting out of town, having not sourced a map of the town and therefore having no real idea of where I was going. Fortunately I've got a fairly good sense of direction and was able to find the major highway which was to be part of today's route. Yeah!

I then headed on to Puerto Octay along the shores of Lago Llanquihue and with the sun shining down and yet not getting too hot, I've got to say it was a really, really enjoyable ride. Once I got to Puerto Octay, I had a bite to eat and then decided to press on, with the aim being to get to Entre Lagos, some 60KMs away.

Unfortunately however I missed the turn off the major road out of town, it wasn't sign posted (honest) and instead I found myself heading into the major town in the area - Osorno! The one advantage in doing so, was as proved to be the case, one of increasing my odds of finding a hotel for the night.

Rest Day - Puerto Varas

Whilst I'll probably kick myself a little when the credit card bill comes in or when it starts raining on Saturday, as forecast and I'm heading up an unpaved road over / through the Andes, but nonetheless, I decided to extend my stay in Puerto Varas another day.

Whilst I probably should have jumped on my bike for the 40KM return trip to Puerto Monte.

Apparently it's a beautiful little village on the Pacific Ocean, I decided against doing so:

• Partly because of the hassle of getting my bike out of the hotel's storage area;
• Partly cause I just needed time to get a few things organised, such as hotels in El Calafate and Buenos Aires, a sightseeing trip to the glacier in El Calafate, transport down there and back from Bariloche, etc; and
• Partly because I just needed time to unwind.

What better place to do that than a five star hotel with a decent view.....

I just wish their restaurant knew how to make a decent coffee and my life would be complete!

Ensenada to Puerto Varas

I stayed at a B&B, called Hamilton's Place, in Ensenada last night and I've got to say it was a fantastic. 

I had probably the best salmon, I've ever had anywhere, bar perhaps some of the stuff I've cooked at home for myself (which I suspect is my way of acknowledging, that I need to get back into the kitchen)!

I had a wonderful conversation (lasting long into the night) with my hosts, before subsequently retiring to a very warm and comfortable bed and unfortunately though, that proved to be part of my downfall cause with the rain drizzling down, I deferred the start of my day by an hour or so, with the idea of simply lazing under the doona proving too appealing.

When I finally arose and ambled downstairs to the dining / lounge room, I was greeted by some juice, some scrambled eggs and a couple of pancakes accompanied a cuppa tea. T'was, yum!

At any rate, it was still only nine thirty by the time I'd finished up, and I still had plenty of time for me to do the 60-80 kilometres I had in mind doing, before then finding myself some accommodation for the night and More importantly somewhere to grab a bite to eat. 

What I didn't count on though, is still being there three or four hours later still chatting. Some people could chat the hind leg off a dog! Seriously though, it was getting a bit of perspective on what it's like for an ex-pat from Canada to live in a country such as Chile.

As a result it was a bit of reluctance and the sight of grey clouds approaching that I decided to jump on the bike. 

Whilst I rode as fast as I could, I ultimately got caught out, some ten kilometres from the town of Puerto Varas in the rain when it started to bucket down. With it went my aspirations of cycling on to Puerto Monte (and the Pacific Ocean) but the idea of spending another hour or so in the rain not really doing anything for me. 

Maybe I'll visit it tomorrow. 

San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina to Ensenada, Chile

On the ride down to the first ferry, well catamaran actually, I realised I'd forgotten to pack two vital things:

• The strap for my heart rate monitor (I'll just have to play it by ear); and
• A pen in order to complete all of the paperwork I'll be given by the Customs / Immigration officers either side of the border. 

Having never packed for a week long self supported ride before (albeit one in which I intend to stay primarily in hotels), their not exactly an automatic inclusion in the "Must pack list".

With grey clouds like this approaching it is no wonder Trolls normally live under bridges!

At any rate, getting back to the ride, well whilst I'd like to be able to include a few photos taken during the first two lake crossings, it was bucketing down with rain, so there was no chance of my getting a decent shot or two, even had I been brave (or silly) enough as to have gone outside. In saying that, I should also confess that I had to pop my winter & wet weather stuff on during the third ferry trip.

And the rain came tumbling down!

The Troll enjoying (or not) it's third ferry ride for the day!

Of course it was probably a bit late doing so by this stage in the day, having started this morning in only my shorts and a summer top. None of which of course kept me particularly warm during my 30 KM ride between Peulla and Puerto Frias an unpaved road through a wonderful nature reserve and which is also the prime means of traveling between Lago Frias and Lago Todos Llos Santos.

I suppose that was my second mistake for the day - Not checking the weather forecast for the day ahead. Ah well, shit happens!

San Carlos de Bariloche

With panniers fitted / loaded and a ferry ticket bought, tomorrow the journey begins again.

Daniel, a decent chap who owns and runs a bike hire company here, in Bariloche, has helped my create a six or seven day route, that will include more than a couple of days or so in Chile, before returning to Bariloche, Argentina.

It starts with three ferry rides across the lakes in the area, one of which I believe is shared between the two countries and I can't wait to get started. It's funny, but I'd talked to Julia about the concept of doing a two or three day self-supported tour of Victoria when I got home. To see how much I enjoyed the concept and how it compared to doing something like "The Andes Trail". IE: Riding with a group of people. It appears however, I'll be putting that concept to the test a whole lot sooner than I'd expected. Ah well, nothing like throwing yourself in at the deep end. Besides, I couldn't finish my trip to South America;

• Without at least riding through Chile, as had originally been on the cards, albeit on a different route; and
• Allowing my cycling miles (achieved over the last couple of months or so) to go to waste. Got to keep the momentum going, particularly if I'm to achieve cycling some goals I'm already setting for 2015.

Heck, who knows I might even try to do the same thing when I ultimately get to Los Angeles in terms of hiring a rack, panniers, and so forth, so that I don't become a pain in the arse to the friend I'll be staying with over the Xmas / New Year period.

For the meantime though, keep your fingers crossed for me that I don't come across too much in the way of unpaved roads and I'll try to update my blog daily. Be forewarned however that it might not be till I get back to Bariloche before you hear from me again!