San Martin de los Andes

We arrived by bus in San Martin de los Andes bleary eyed, just before dawn. As we stepped out from the comfort of warm blankets and a cosy seat we were shocked awake by a freezing wind; thus marked our welcome to the cold climes of Argentina. FFos decided that this was the perfect time to economize and insisted we walk to the hostel which was an unknown distance away. I am not at my best at 5:30 am and it generally takes me hot coffee and some awake time to welcome pre-dawn walks in freezing weather, and even then "welcome" is an overstatement. But, economize we did.  I quickly "warmed up" to the walk due to the gorgeous views all around (the Andes at the break of dawn!) and the brisk walk with a heavy backpack. We arrived at the charming hostel Pablo had found for us (it was OK OK OK), dropped our bags and fell promptly to sleep. A couple of hours later we wandered downtown and rented our first car in South America, for the next day's trip to Volcano Lanin. We rewarded ourselves for economizing at dawn by giving our clothes to a laundromat (instead of making "laundry soup" in the bathtub or pretending to be "dhobis"- silly games to make chores more fun) and eating lunch at a restaurant by the gorgeous Lago Lacar. Then we hiked in the lower Andes, and went past swathes of yellow wild flowers that smelled like peaches, got lost on our trail, and finally made our way to the Mirador Bandurias which has a stunning view.

After the hike we resumed our Che Guevara pilgrimage by visiting a barn where Che spent a couple of nights, which is now converted into a museum. 

We walked around town, cooked a simple dinner in the hostel kitchen, and enjoyed some Mendozan wine that we had brought with us. The next day was a trip to Volcano Lanin, some hiking in the lower Andes, and a carefully timed photo of FFos jumping over a creek! We befriended a dog that seemed to have made the volcano its home, which followed us around the trail.

Onward to Bariloche the next morning, on a gorgeous four-hour bus ride through the Andes.