ONE DAY TO GO TIL WE GO SKIING!!!!

We are currently in Malargue, which is an hr or so from Las Lenas, the ski resort. Got here by way of two buses from Bariloche, changing at San Rafael, where we spent a cold three hours sat in a coffee shop drinking our own weight in java in the early hours of the morning. The whole journey took 20hrs!

On arrival at the tiny bus station, we saw a leaflet for an eco lodge which looked fab, and appeared to be in the centre of town. So we strolled over to where the place was, only to discover that the place was a kind of tourist office, and the actual hostel was about 5k out of town! Of course, we only realised this after being bundled into a taxi and wondering where the hell we were after 10mins of driving! The lodge is in the middle of no-where, and the lady who looks after the place speaks no English, so it was an interesting start! However, after spending the night there, we have warmed to it. The real owner came down and he speaks English, and gave us a lift into town, and loads of info about the place, and the ski resort. Think he is gonna take us to the resort tomorrow, which will be a lot easier than getting the bus! He also has the sweetest sons alive, who are about 4 and 7 i guess, and the youngest was pointing out all the sights of the countryside to Soph yesterday, the little sweety. He also told us the names of his horses, which roam free around the fields the hostel is in the middle of; Rosario, Cleopatra, Luna and another we can`t remember the name of, make a lovely scene to wake up to, wandering around in the snow! - particularly for Soph, who is suffering horse-separation anxiety!

So today we have walked the hour and a half in to town (!) as we don`t want to pay for any more cabs! and also it seems abit backward to keep getting cabs to accesss an eco lodge! Just goin to have a wander around today, we were offered free skiing at the resort, as it is the first day of the season, but we thought 8 days would probably be enough and that we need abit of instruction before we take to the slopes! Don`t want to spend the last few weeks of our hols in a cast! (it would create a hell of a tan line!)

So, i guess next time we leave a blog, we will be at the resort! how exciting!