La Rioja, Argentina

Packing doesn’t get any easier, I don’t know why I expect it to when I have the same amount of stuff. The bag is holding ok though and it all goes into it and my day bag. I have seen people travelling with more… I have gotten up early so I can cycle down to San Martin parque. The gates there were made in England supposedly originally for the Sultan of Brunei. I take the house Brompton bike and start pedalling, this is harder than I would like due to the seat being lower than I need and the route being uphill. I make it though, bit sweaty but manage to find the gates first time and then to route around the lake. It is a beautiful morning of a long weekend and people are walking through the willow trees or rowing on the lake. I wish I was staying longer as it is a long weekend and there looks to be a few music events on in the parque. I head home to have a early lunch and say goodbye to Javier, before hopping into a taxi for the bus station. My bus is with Andesmar and it was the best time for me. This trip to La Rioja is 8.30hrs so I paid an extra £5 for Cami class. This gives me much more legroom and more recline. There is where the good points end, as I get crisps and an Alfajore for food. The temperature hits 31degrees in the coach and the central movie sound varies from silence to killing my eardrums. There is subtitles though so I figure Independence Day is helping me practice my Spanish. The scenery is largely flat with the Andes is the far distance. I do spot about 6 gauchos on horseback riding along with the Argentinian flag which seems surreal. I finally get in at 9pm and catch a taxi to the hostel before crashing for the night.