5. Puerto Montt, Chile & Bariloche, Argentina

Puerto Montt  is a major transportation hub and a port. It is a bit grimy and rough around the edges but one redeeming feature is a small fishing village a few km away, Angelmo.  We were lucky to be there on a Saturday - market day. Huge bins of fish and other goods were being sold - a very colourful sight. We spent most of the day there and had a great fish lunch at one of the many tiny cafes - most had 3 to 4 tables and were no bigger than the average kitchen.

Then off to cross the Chile - Argentina border for the fourth time - destination Bariloche, Argentina. Crossing into Argentina isn't too bad - everyone gets out of the bus and it takes about 1/2 hr for the passport process. They don't seem to care what you are bringing in. Crossing into Chile is another matter. All luggage gets hauled out of the bus and is scanned. Any fruit or vegetable gets confiscated. The whole border process takes at least an hour for a busload.

The Australian couple that we met a few weeks ago in Punta Arenas - Mark & Kerry - seem to be stalking us or vice versa. We have met so many times on buses or just in the street that it is getting a bit  bizarre. They are very pleasant company.

Bariloche is in the heart of the Argentine lake district. It is very scenic and it's other claim to fame is chocolate. It seemed as if every other store was a chocolate store, some of them huge. Also we arrived just before Easter, just as the Chocolate Festival was getting underway. They had a 30 ft tall Easter egg coated in solid chocolate and a chocolate bar stretching for a city block and a half - both the biggest in the world of course.

We spent a leasurely 5 nights there doing lots of walking/hiking. The weather was fantastic.A couple of great viewpoints accessible by bus, then chairlift or cable car were highlights. One - Cerro Campanario - was in National Geographic's top 10 in the world and we could see why. Unfortunately the camera is totally incapable of coming close to capturing the scene.

Unfortunately Marilyn almost fell out of the cable cae near the top but I just managed to hang on to her until we reached safety!!

We are now guilty of black market transactions! Or as they call it in Argentina "blue market". Because the inflation rate is about 30%, if you save your money in Arg.Pesos, in a few years it is worth very little. Therefore people are willing to pay more than the official bank rate to get US$. The official rate is about 5 pesos to the $. Through a "friend" of the hostel owner we got 7.8 pesos per $ - more than 50% better than normal. This all sounds great until you realize we did not have much US cash with us. NEXT TIME!!

Now back to Chile and the tortuous border crossing. The plan is to spend about few days on the island of Chiloe before starting to head north again. The hostel scene is working out extremely well so far. We've met some great people and the overall experience seems to suit us. So far we have always managed to have our own room, most times with ensuite and booking ahead is relatively easy over the internet. This little Google Nexus tablet has been invaluable.