We have been travelling for 70 days, spent the night in 18 different beds, travelled approximately 11,000 miles, Axel has grown 1cm, Edith 1.3cm and I have grown a few more grey hairs. As I write this we are on the overnight bus between Mendoza and San Carlos de Bariloche, 11hrs into a 18hr bus ride. Certainly the longest bus journey I have ever been on. It has been alright so far. The bus seems brand new and comes equipped with USB chargers and WIFI. There is also a hostess who is making a splendid job of serving the meals (dinner, breakfast and lunch all included) and seems to be a bit more relaxed than air stewards. There is no forced smile and she tends to walk up and down the aisle rather than strut or march like you see on an aeroplane. I have always had a bit of a suspicion about our inflight attendants, it is very difficult to keep up the pretence of giving a shit in any job but doing so with a fake, forced smile must be torture. You can just tell that after they have said ‘thank you, have a nice day’ as soon as you’re out of ear shot they will be mumbling ‘prick’ under their breath. I am not going to lie and say the on board food is nice because it isn’t, it’s rank but it is edible i suppose and possibly a little better than what you get on an aeroplane. Food in general in both Argentina and Uruguay has been bit challenging at times, challenging in the sense that fast food plays a big key role, challenging in that restaurants don’t serve dinner until 9 or 10pm at the earliest, challenging that pretty much everything comes with a fuckin fried egg on top. Choices can be limited and the decision will most likely be a two horse race between meat or chicken milanessa or having a steak. Milanessa for kids (with chips obviously) and steak for the adults has become a bit of a staple. For us steak is a treat back home, a special occasion or the occasional Saturday night. Here steak is cheap, it not uncommon for a steak to be on a menu and be cheaper than pasta. Yesterday for lunch i had a huge ribeye steak and it cost about £8, that price included a salad , glass of wine and a pudding. The steaks are huge here but so are the cows so that explains things a bit. Back home Aberdeen Angus are cows with a reputation for quality, however I was told that you dont get them here (wikipedia seems to disagree), they don’t like them, they are far too small. The Argentines like their steaks big and big cows give bigger steaks. The size of the Lomo cuts (fillet) that get served up seems to back this up. Giant steaks served with a sticky malbec reduction is a dish Jessica and I have enjoyed. The general conditions on the bus are excellent and toilets are no exception. They are immaculate and although there was a toothpaste lid floating in the pan when i arrived for one of my visits I suspect this was an unfortunate accident, rather than an act of vandalism or some sort Argentine equivalent of a dirty protest. Our destination is Bariloche or San Carlos de Baricloche if using her Sunday name. The town sits at over 2900ft above sea level (893 mtrs) and is the transport hub for the Argentinian lake district. First impressions are good, huge mountains overlooking bright blue lake and the peaks of the Andes visible on the horizon. We are only here for a few days but hopefully can find a worthwhile excursion or activity that gets us out and about in this beautiful landscape. On Monday the next chapter begins, a 6hr bus journey to Chile where we will spend a couple of weeks helping on a farm near Puerto Varas. We are looking forward to it. Lorne