Hello one and all,

Welcome to the next installment of our world travels:

Our first overnight bus ride from Valparaiso took us to a small town south called Pucón, in the Chilean Lakes District. Getting off the bus was a bit of a shock to the system! - we couldn't believe it was actually cold in South America! Our main reason to come here was to climb the volcano Villaricca, like most of the tourists there, but unfortnately our plans were foiled as most tours were closed due to the avalanche they had the day before. Fortunately, this picturesque alpine town was lovely place to stay for a few days and we enjoyed relaxing here and even got good enough weather to enjoy outdoor drinks at one of the local bars. On our last day here, we took the local bus an hour to the Parque Nacional Huerquehue. Here we took the 3 hour 'Los Lagos' trail up into the mountains for great views of the surrounding mountains, volcano and lake. Up 1500mtrs we found ourselves amidst the hills and surrounded by several beautiful, pristine lakes. Well worth the effort to get up there!!

From Pucón, we took the 5 hour bus to the next town, Puerto Montt. The town here was nothing to write home about but we only stayed for 2 nights so we could take our day tour of some more of the Lakes District area. This day involved a great stop at some stunning waterfalls, formed by the lava from the nearby volcano. The bus then took us to the lake for a 2hour catamaran across to the tiny village of Peulla, situated at the base of the Andes. Unfortunately the weather was awful (though this is the norm in the Lakes) and even though the village was pretty, finding things to do to occupy 3 hours was pretty difficult.

Next morning, we got the bus across the border to Argentina (still the Lakes District) to a small town of Bariloche. This town was incredibly different to what we thought of South America; all chocolate shops, St. Bernards and German beer. Most of our time here was spent enjoying the town, walking around the craft markets and drinking plenty of hot chocolate!

Next, down to the hippy town of El Bolson; only 2 hours south but sunshine again! This town is lovely and peaceful, and our hostel is owned by a lovely Argentine family who´ve looked after us very well. The central square in the town centre is overrun with massive craft and food markets, bands and gymnasts, artists and many hippies! Was great to sit on the grass and watch all the people relaxing and enjoying the various bands. We also took a mamoth walk from town up into the hills for amazing views of the valleys and rivers below. The trail took us around past Indian Head (a rock shaped face) and down through the forests to some amazing waterfalls. All in all a great few days here and now we're waiting for our next over night bus to take us to the east coast of Argentina.

Hope everyone's well and looking after yourselves. Not long til we're home now, so we hope you're not missing us too much!

Lots of love,

Katie and Steve xxxxxx