Hola Everyone
Well we arrived in Buenos Aires about 3pm on 4/2
and were collected and taken to our hotel.
The hotel was quite up market so I took
advantage  of the top floor
pool to have a swim which was very
relaxing after the flight. Then a short nap so
that I was ready for the tango show.

The show  was great, as well a the
tango there was some Andean
music and dancing,
as well as a performance by a man
with bollieros (I'm not sure
about the spelling) - basically
a heavy ball on the end of a
rope.
He was just amazing as he
swung these to create a tap
dance rhythm. I gather there are short videos on their website
-La Ventana.The following morning, Saturday, we flew to Bariloche,

arriving midday. Unfortunately, Yvonne's backpack, shoes and gortex,
did not arrive so we had a worrying few days until they reappeared.
That afternoon we went for a drive and a walk on a nearby mountain
and Sunday we caught a cable car to the top of another mountain where
the views are fantastic.We also saw some wonderful trees - arrayanes,
a type of myrtle with orange trunks.

We are coping with very little Spanish so far - people are very helpful,
and I'm finding South America is far more European than I expected.
I realize that I know very little about Argentinian or Chilean
history but I'm learning.

We spent two fabulous days at Mt Tronador and saw two glaciers,
one high  up on the cliff, like white icing on a cake, the  other,
the black glacier, low down at the base of the mountain.
We were very well fed at  Pampa Linda and after so
many three course meals, I now need to fast.

Wednesday we set off early to cross into Puerto Varas in Chile.
Fifteen hours, three boat trips and five bus rides later we
arrived at our destination.It´s a spectacular trip as you see
Mt Tronedor from the Chilean side and then a beautiful volcano,
similar to Mt Fuji as we neared Puerto Varas.

Today we went up the sides of the volcano on two chair lifts.
However,coming down was more exciting. We tried something that
is called ´´canopy´´.You have to put on an abseil harness and
you are clipped onto a very longcable.You then whizz along the rope.
I couldn't get the brakes to work soI resembled a speeding bullet.
The man at the end had to jump off the platform because
I was accelerating so fast. There were 4 long rope
sections and on the last I managed to effectively use the
brake. We all were on a high  when  we reached the ski resort
where the bus was parked.

Tomorrow, it´s off again on another flight and we soon
start the W  track so I'll be incommunicado for some time.
We had a wonderful dinner tonight to prepare ourselves
physically for the arduous days ahead. We will now be out of
contact for at least 1 week

Adios amigos