Now we're getting to the heart of it, Mendoza and the Maipu Valley, it's all about the vino! We arrived in Mendoza after a bit of a nightmare bus journey. Our first bus had no air con, so we switched buses at a depot to a seriously posh one, leather seats and everything, things were looking up only for the fan belt on this one to go. So back to the depot to swap again. Emma had a bit of a shock when we swapped buses again as an Irish lad came up behind her grabbi...

A picturesque bus journey through the mountainous lake district we arrived on the shores of Lago Nahuel Huapi and Bariloche town. We'd made a reservation in what we'd heard was a good hostel, which had the most fantastic panoramic views from the 10th Floor Penthouse of an apartment block. The sun was shining, so for the rest of the afternoon we sat on the balcony soaking up the stunning views. We spent the next day getting our bearings around the Alpine style t...

Ice cream! Yum, yum, yum. Thats the only reason we stopped off here, and it was well worth it. All locally made organic ice cream, favourite flavours from the huge selection available (11 varieties of chocolate alone!) included banana split, white chocolate and Calafate berry. Doing the fat man walk back to our quaint lodgings, we were grateful for the big comfy bed. After a delicious breakfast with homemade jams and breads we squeezed in one more ice cream befo...

Arriving just before 6am we sat and watched the sun rise over the snowy peaks surrounding the town before heading to a B&B. Emma was full of cold and unsettettled bus sleep meant a day in bed for her. Fortunately, the room came with cable which meant a full Saturday of Premiership football for Jona. After a proper kip Emma was feeling better and we downgraded from the B&B to a hostel more suited to our budget. Sunday afternoon beers turned into Sunday ev...

Wrapped up warm against the biting Atlantic wind, we headed south with our over enthusiastic tour guide to visit the colony of Magellan Penguins. Surprised at how far they migrate in land to nest, we soon found ourselves surrounded by mating pairs - 500,000 at the last count. Emmas fondness of the cute little critters led to much 'cooing' and mimicking of their hilarious little waddle. We were surprised at how close you could get to them and the penguins had ri...