We have arrived at a little cabin the woods with mountains all around and it’s raining! Such a relief after all the heat. The earth smells sweet as the rain falls and there is a sense of the plants unfurling to make the most of the moisture. The cabin has an outside area, a kitchen/ living area then 5 steps up to the bed and bathroom - perfect. 

Our trip down was smooth. I didn’t see so much as I was chatting to Itay, our hitchhiker. He’s 23 and from Israel. We exchanged information about our respective countries and talked about our travels. He thinks Paul and I are really cool 💪🏻( for old people) 😂. He is much more adventurous than us … sky diving and hiking long trails with overnight stops along the way. He gave me some tips on speaking Spanish and was very complimentary about my ability to pronounce the choking sound made by ge in words such as vegetariana! He and Paul connected via instagram and we parted company at El Bolson.

El Bolson is small and busy; it has a reputation for being a bit laid back and hippyish and true enough there’s quite a whiff of patchouli oil! The market was selling crafts and jams and soft fruit … we bought and ate some raspberries. Also there’s a whole food shop selling ready made vegan burgers… bought a couple and cooked them up for supper with bread and salad… quite a treat! 

Went for a short hike up a dirt track between the showers, now writing and eating delicious chocolates from Bariloche… it’s all about the food today! 

Hippy market 

Lovely plants 

A simple but lovely church 

More market

Great old American car 

On the market in El Bolsón there are stalls selling the equipment for drinking Yerba mate. This is the national drink of Argentina and is practically an obsession with people of all ages. Yerba mate is a plant of the ilex family. They put the chopped leaves in a vessel, traditionally made from a gourd, and drunk through a metal straw. It is a social drink with the gourd passed round groups of friends. It has a high caffeine content. 

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Hello sunflower 

The view from our cabin

Our cabin in the woods for the next couple of nights

Money in Argentina can be a problem. Not everywhere accepts credit cards and cash is king. However the cash only comes in small denominations. Rarely there is a ASR2000 (2000 peso) note but the largest common note is ASR1000 (1000 peso) note. This is fine but 1000 pesos is less than a £1 and most things are roughly the same cost as UK. The real problem arises at the cash points - the most you can usually draw out in one go is 15000 pesos, £14.35. The cash machines quickly run out of notes and it can be difficult to get enough cash to pay for things. As an example we needed 61000 pesos to pay for one of our stays and had to find 61 notes - tough ask in rural Argentina. It meant going round several banks until we had enough. Just managed it.