As I was waiting for the site to re-direct me to this page I noticed that the last entry date was from 15th January, which seems so long ago now, especially when I think about the amount of ground we have covered. Once again, apologies for the time between blogs but this time it wasn´t completely down to my inability to keep the thing up to date. In that time we have covered hundreds of kilometres on bus, spent many days trekking and camping in places where internet hasn´t yet made it! Also, the obligatory(for me anyway) belly upset and cold kept me down for a few days - but we´re back on track now!

But now it´s time for me to cast my mind back to 15.01 ..... As I recall we had recently arrived in Bariloche and had the bright idea to spend some time studying Spanish to improve the whole travelling experience. Before school started we had a few days to get to know the area and so hired a bicycle to do the ´circuito chico´ which is a bike ride around Bariloche that takes in some fabulous views across the city, allows you to stop at some beautiful lakes and lagoons and certainly tests your fitness, if not your bike riding skills. I was completely exhausted, had to push the bike up more than one hill (mountain) and spent the next day doing pretty much nothing!

Having recovered from the bike ride, it was time to move to our new hostel in Bariloche, booked as part of the spanish school experience. Having done that we took a bus to a nearby lake, which was apparently quite nice for relaxation and swimming - unless of course there are gale force winds and you take shelter in the nearest (and only) restaurant before opting for the short walk to the cascada (waterfall) and mirador (lookout). The cascada wasn´t so spectactular but the views from the mirador were impressive.

Having braved the cyclonic winds we headed back to town and, for the first time of the trip, stopped for a quick drink in a lonely planet recommended Irish pub where we ran into a couple that we had met briefly in Cordoba, Mark and Sheenagh. Given the level of coincidence involved here it was agreed that a quick drink or two were in order. Anyway, we caught up with Mark and Sheenagh a couple more times over the next few days and it was really nice to have someone other than each other to talk with! I guess it´s also one of the rewards of travelling - meeting like minded people who you can have a laugh and chat with. They had been travelling for 7 months and were looking forward to returning home - I know the feeling! Anyway, if you do read this, Hi Mark and Sheenagh. Hope you are settling well back on Oz.

Well, after an enjoyable weekend it was off to school for the first time in a really long time (more so for Tim). There were four of us in class (Tim and I, Patrick and Guido) who we had stayed with at the previous hostel.

The next two weeks past quite quickly really with life developing into a routine quite quickly. From 9 - 1 we were at school. After school we had lunch and headed to the beach to enjoy the sunshine and do our homework (!) and then back to the hostel for dinner, more studying and bed. The only additions to this routine we some after school activities including Salsa dancing and ten pin bowling. Both were fun, a good laugh but sadly, neither of us excelled at either.

At the end of the first week of school we moved again, this time to our host family - Marta, Rodolfo and their son, Gaston. This was good. We both really enjoyed the time spent with the family and it was a great way to help improve our spanish. They all spoke english which was helpful (for us) because if we didn´t understand them in spanish they would repeat in english and what we couldn´t say in spanish we could ask in english. Anyway, they were a lovely family.

In our second week we stuck to mostly the same routine but also managed to check out Cerro Catedral which provided views of the city but also looking back towards Chile and, on a good day, views of some volcano´s in Chile and Colonia Suiza to taste a traditional ´curanto´, which is really quite similar to a ´hungi´(sorry for the incorrect spelling). Unfortunately, we were really quite late and so didn´t get to experience the whole thing, we did get to eat though.

Unfortunately, I was ill pretty much for the whole time we in Baroliche, due to some dodgy meat. You would think, given we have eaten in the cheapest places we can find, from stalls on the side of the street, that one of those would be the cause of illness. But no, the time we decide to eat somewhere really nice and relatively expensive, it happens. Anyway, after two weeks of soup, rice with some an occasional fish and sprite, I tried meat again and it happened all over again. Now, I eat salads and vegetables and fish and have now re-introduced red wine to my diet.

The key question, I suppose, to the time spent in Bariloche was whether or not the school was worth the time and money spent. Well, I guess it must have been worthwhile; our vocabulary has increased, we have a much better grasp of grammer and reading, writing and understanding the language has certainly improved. Sadly, our conversational skills are still rather lacking ... hopefully this will improve as we travel further - even if it is just our of necessity!

Anyway, after 2 1/2 weeks in one place it was definately time to move on - more on that in the next entry.

So now we will sign off, wishing you all the best and hoping that the new year has treated you well so far.

take care,

Tim and Tracey

PS - Message for Lesley and Anthony - I now only have Lesleys work email and I guess youre not there right now, so it wold be great if you sent an email to our same old address so we can catch up on whats been going on.

PSS - Sorry for the lack of correct punctuation, I cant work out this keyboard!