Coaches & K9s

Tuesday morning we left our 24 hour haven and headed back to Bariloche to catch our bus to Mendoza. 

We had 2 hours to kill so decided to have lunch at Alberto's to make it 4 meals there in 6 days!

We boarded our first Argentinean, long trip, bus at 3:30pm and settled in for our mammoth 17 hour journey to Mendoza.

Argentina is known for having some of the nicest buses in the world so don't feel too sorry for us! We'd booked "Full cama" which meant our seats reclined fully flat and we were served food, wine and champagne as we weaved our way through the Andes, watching action movie after action movie chosen by the youngsters upstairs!

Soon there were no more people left to shoot and the Ninja Turtles had finally defeated Shredder so we settled down to see if these 'beds' were actually any good.

Above: Lauren posing, pretending to be asleep

Below: Cheeky grin as I get the real thing on camera at 7am, just before we arrived in Mendoza.

The beds were ok bearing in mind they're really a leather seat laid flat. Once they're laid flat they are about 5ft 4" long and 1.5ft wide. Being 6ft 2" meant that sleep was only possible in 2 positions; on my left, or right side with my knees bent at 90 degrees. If I chose to lay on my back, my neck matched the top of the seat leaving my head dangling over the edge!

Still, bearing this in mind, we both managed to sleep for a few hours and at 8:30am we arrived at Mendoza bus terminal.

In just about every travel book you read, South American bus terminals are the number one location to get conned, robbed, pick pocketed or just have bags and belongings stolen. Day or night, old and young people alike fall foul of the sneaky thieves. Worst of all, by a long shot, is Mendoza bus terminal.

Sometimes bags have been stolen directly from the bus as they unload and sometimes, unless you tip the un-uniformed hoodies who load the buses, your bags won't even travel with you, wherever your destination!

So, at 8:15am, the Tour Manager in me awoke and summoned Lauren into action like a friendly but efficient Sargeant Major.

On went our money belts under our clothes containing phones, cash and passports. I looked like I'd just gained a stone but there was no way anyone was robbing team Brocklebank on my watch!

Next I watched our progress towards our destination on Google Maps so I knew exactly our eta. We were going to be first off the bus and I was personally going to be in front of the under bus storage as it was opened.

The bus had hardly stopped moving when team Brockles were off and stood ready for inspection by the storage bins.

Hoodie number one had his tip off me before he'd opened the bin and our large rucksacks were on our backs, our day sacks on our fronts and we were marching through Mendoza bus terminal towards the taxi rank before everyone had exited the bus!

Our taxi took us directly to our guest house and, to our surprise, our room was already ready for us which was so welcome after a night sleeping in your clothes!

Once we'd settled in and freshened up we headed out to get breakfast, something that Argentineans more often than not get very wrong. Obviously this is in our opinion but if you enjoy stale bread, processed ham and plastic cheese slices served with weak orange squash, get yourselves on the next plane out here and pick pretty much any of the hotels or hostels we've stayed in!!

We found a little Cafe, ordered some toasties and coffee (the best we could find around midday) and were served toast and croissants.... GUTTED!

We sucked it up and wandered around the shops until we were promptly asked to leave as they were closing for siesta!

After 4.5 weeks in South America, I still can't quite get my head around their working hours and which shops stay open, which close and when they'll re open again in the late afternoon or evening.

After picking up some more cash we headed to a local Irish pub to watch Chelsea vs Spurs (we'll forget the score if possible!) and on the way Lauren adopted yet another dog who was out wandering the streets. She told him when he could cross the streets and he followed her everywhere. To be fair, we'd probably be safer crossing whenever HE crossed seeing as no Argentinean drivers pay even the slightest attention to zebra crossings and at major traffic junctions there's rarely a 'green man' to beckon you over! You're left to crane your head around to see the actual traffic lights and only cross when the relevant traffic light turns red! Even then there's no rhyme or reason to filter lanes of traffic coming around the corner from the opposite direction and added to the fact they drive on the wrong side of the road, it's a miracle we're still alive!!

Still, we made it to the pub and Lauren's new K9 friend invited himself in too and made himself at home on the floor under the TV! 

He was soon moved on by the barman (i think because he had no money to buy drinks) and after the disappointing result Lauren treated herself to a £4 leg wax which, apparently, after a few beers, was not as painful as usual. Cyclists and girls take note.

Whilst waiting at a cafe for Lauren to finish at the beauty place I snapped a picture of what is now a daily sight for us; a group of local dogs, out for a stroll together. No owners, just 5 dogs trotting around the streets but also very determined. It was as if they were late for work or maybe their weekly dog grooming session.

After a quick £2 mojito or 2 (the best we've ever tasted!) we headed back to the guest house ready for a fun day ahead of us.