Bariloche

Getting to Bariloche from El Calafate took nearly 30 hours by bus as there was road works on Route40.  The bus station at Bariloche is about 4km out of town so we took a taxi to our hostel.  We stayed at Periko's hostel which cost 50 pesos a night.  The hostel was great with the staff suggesting loads of things to do.  Our first bit of sight seeing was Cerro Otto and Cerro Campanario.  Cerro Otto cost 70pesos to go up the chairlift to 1400m above sea level, this also included a bus to the chairlift.  The view from Cerro Otto was fantastic until we saw the view from Cerro Campanario.  The guy at the hostel told us it is one of National Geographic's top 7 views in the world and we could see why.  Cerro Campanario (nearly 900m) is actually lower than Cerro Otto and the chairlift cost only 40pesos.

We also booked a hike to Tronador a mountain that has a Black Glacier on it.  The hike cost 160pesos (this included a guide and bus out there as it is 80km away from Bariloche) and entry into the national park cost 50 pesos.  The tour itself was very disappointing and was basically just a bus journey to and from the mountain.  We did very little hiking because of the time of the year a lot of the trails were closed due to snow and ice but if it had of been during the high season it would have been a good place to hike.

Also while in Bariloche we went to the local Irish bar Wilkenny.  It was a great bar with alot of women and very sexy waitresses.  A good night was had by all but watch out for the bill as the price of drink is expensive and can build up on you.