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After wittering on for most of the winter about the lack of a proper skiing holiday this year, Bri has surprised me (and I suspect himself!) by whisking us off for a trip of a lifetime* after spotting a little ad in the Buenos Aires Herald for 'unusual' skiing destinations. And so we're now in the far south, not far from the South Pole (well it's in the Argentine Antarctic really) enjoying a complete change of weather and scenery.
We flew here via Ushuaia and are only spending a couple of days in a little known would-be ski resort called Oudeyeo Flow; partly because it's very expensive, and partly because it's absolutely freezing. There's not much groomed piste, but lots of fresh powder and, of course, no crowds jostling for position at the ski lifts and hoiking up the price of a cerveza or a papas fritas sandwich at lunchtime. The accommodation is basic, sadly no 5-star luxury here yet, not even a complimentary shower cap, tsk, but the views are superb and there's nothing better than sailing down a deserted slope and spotting the odd penguin waddling along in the distance.
There are no bars or night-clubs so the apres ski is nowhere near as sophisticated as it is in Europe - in fact it's fair to say it's non-existent apart from the communal sauna. The custom, post-sauna, is to take a 'snow bath', otherwise known as throwing oneself into the nearest snow drift and rolling around with glee and the odd hint of insanity. Drinking a few beers beforehand also helps. It doesn't really get dark at night for more than an hour or two which is strange and a little eerie.
The heat and noise of Buenos Aires seems like a million miles away, but return we must, those subjunctive verbs they are a-calling….
*yes, yes, I know, don't write in.
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