Long busrides, breath-taking landscapes

What's so bad about a 17-hour busride? Nothing, in my opinion. There's time to relax (obviously, there's not much you can do), no big decisions to make like where to go & what to do, the buses are comfortable here (even the 'semi-cama', half-bed is good enough for sleeping and using your sleeping bag as a blanket keeps you warm if the air-con is on), I love the feeling of being on the road - and the best thing: the landscapes! While watching the pampa between Buenos Aires and Mendoza I was wondering how long it would take to reach a point in the horizon by walking. I also dreamt of a possibility to visit a farm in the middle of the plains. Yesterday, the landscapes before Bariloche just took my breath away! (photo above) In Iceland I was impressed by the big emptiness, the vast areas of wasteland and the fact how far you could see. Here in Argentina the emptiness is even bigger. Yesterday I saw huge lakes without any buildings on the shores, just some mountains around.

So, what happened in the last few days? I arrived in Mendoza on the morning of Good Friday and was very lucky: I hadn't found a Couchsurfing host (many people went away for Easter or had family or friends visiting) or made a reservation at any hostel, but found a bed at one of the hostels, which were fully-booked at Easter time. Mendoza itself was touristy and boring. I ended up taking a bicycle tour to Luján, where I visited the family vineyard of Bonfanti and big, internationally owned vineyards of Norton and Terrazas de los Andes. For Saturday night I got an invitation to have a barbeque on the small mountains... How could I have said no?! On Sunday I took a tour to the high mountains. (photo below) Taking all these tours, buses, eating, hostels... I'm afraid I can't keep my advisory budget of 1000 EUR/month if I continue like this. Now I know what I was working and saving for so hard in Finland.

Now I'm in Bariloche, couchsurfing with a friendly and active 61-year-old woman. Beautiful home with a view to the lake and the mountains behind (photo below), hot water in the shower, Susana loves to cook... It's almost like being in a 5-star-hotel! Susana doesn't speak English, so I have to survive with my Spanish. Luckily I can always use my hands and smile to communicate! :-) This "intensive course" is really good for me.

Now I should plan my onward travel, decide where to go next, buy the bus ticket and send Couchsurfing requests and also plan what to do here in Bariloche. So many options, so many decisions to make...