bahia blanca

By the time I reached the atlantic ocean I wanted to jump in it. The bus was fu*king hot. The AC was inadequate and bearly worked. Sweated the whole way. Not a nice way to travel but as usual cheap considering the distance so i could put up with it.

Bahia Blanca is not, as such, on the tourist map. But it made sense to stop there as its location conforms to my aim of breaking down long bus journeys into smaller, bit sized ones. As soon as we alighted from the bus we were greeted by a chain smoking rozzer (packing a great big revolver) who couldn't do enough to help us. He claimed he worked for the international police force. I doubt this but I do not doubt that he was desperate to practice his English. Which was good. He arranged our outbound bus tickets (the times were not what we asked) and he pushed us into a taxi with instructions to the driver as to where we should say. He was extremely helpful and courteous but I felt I hadn't any time to think. So mid journey I changed the destination to a decent enough hotel. $5 a night, with breakfast....can't complain with those prices.

Given that Bahia Blanca is not a tourist destination, not much happened there for me. The place is pretty and tidy (much as I am finding in every Argentinian town). Got drunk, ate well and relaxed in the pleasant sunshine. Another thing that I am becoming ever more convinced of too is the essential decency and friendliness of the Argies. They impress me greatly as a people and as a society. They have figured out the nice way to life and relate with one another.

Next stop the beach.

neuquen

One of the better overnight bus journeys. Good service, comfy seats and airline-like food. A spot of bingo was thrown in too. It was uneventful trip until the early hours when the rozzers boarded and sought identification. I was worried whether they would take exception to my friends British passport. The Malvinas (Falklands) matter is still a sore point here. But he didn't.

I was tired when we arrived as I find it difficult to sleep while motoring along. The problem with arriving early in a place and in need of sleep is whether a prospective hotel will allow you to book in at 6am. I waited a while before asking the question but fortunately it was a favourable answer. The only problem was I was overtired and couldn't sleep anyway. By the time I resolved to go out, the heavens opened and kept it going until well into the everning.

The intention was to stay in the Patagonian city of Neuquen only overnight then get moving the next day. This stopover would allow me to break down the journey to the Atlantic coast. The rain didn't affect my plans too badly as the place as is small and there isn't too much to see anyway. But it is a pretty place and as I am discovering more and more, looked after with a palpable sense of civic pride. For instance, the tourist office is well appointed and extremely helpful. The streets are clean and nicely ordered. There is little litter.

It is not a tourist destination but more a means by which tourists move off and into the lake district. But there were a couple of things worth seeing. The graveyard and the war memorial to the dead of the Isla De Malvinas campaign! The map of the island was naturally painted in the Argentine colours. The town is crowned by a pleasant stolling area with a massive flag post and of course, a statue of Jesus. But at least they are original. Every city I have been to in South America has an imitation of Rio De Janerio´s Statue of Christ. They are variations but similar and never as large as the Brazilian one. However, Neuquen has a massive though tasteful statue of Christ hanging form the cruzifix.

mendoza

Before leaving Chile I spent another two more nights in Santiago. This time it was a little more lively than the previous stint there. Had a great night with a Chilean couple who didn't speak one iota of English. It continues to amaze me how effective communication can be achieved even without a working knowledge of the others language. Grunts, nods, gestures and of course, much beer. The true international language.

Chile was good but I cannot say that it will feature on my favourite list. I suppose that coming from Peru, it was always going to have a task to compete with its northern neighbour. I found it expensive and the food was unremarkable. I mean, think of completo's! But in fairness to the country it is easily understood why Chile is considered at the top of the league in South America. It is well organised, clean and functions efficiently. Take at look at Santiago's metro for instance. It has the best education and health care in latin America. And Santiago is a beautiful city. If I were more an outdoors man then this would have increased my enjoyment of the country as it does have fantastic scenery and outdoor pursuits.

So onto Argentina. My final trip over the Andes to the heart of the Argentinian wine growing region. The city is quite beautiful with a lot of thought evidently put into making it a pleasant and comfortable place to live. Whether that is the spacious plaza's, lovely civic buildings or the endless streets blanketed in over arching trees. That feature is both aesthetic and practical. It gets hot here and the tree lined streets provide a natural air conditioner for the inhabitants.

Given my recent moans about the cost of things I was faint at times when seeing the prices of stuff in Argentina. Next to nothing! Easily eat like a king and get proper smashed for $15. Wonderful. And the quality of the food is excellent. Mainly meat dishes but I have not had a bad one. The only thing I regret is the fact that I did not drink any wine while I was there. But Quillmes is in one of best beers in the world so it is forgivable to foresake the vino.

There is not much in the way of sights. A museum or two. It is mainly about atmosphere. Nice parks and plaza's. Just generally relaxing and watching. Boy, I could watch those Argentine girls all day. Beauty personified! It was also nice to see shoe shine vendors on the streets again as this is a favourite of mine. The number of stray dogs was notable but so was their good behaviour too.

But it was soon time to continue the journey. The original plan was to go to Santa Rosa but I couldn't find a bus connection so instead a nightbus to Neuquen would do. Patagonia. It's nice to have the flexibility to change destination at the last minute.