Neuquén and Bariloche

Since our last post we travelled from Puerto Madryn to Neuquén to indulge one of our/Frank's passions: dinosaurs! We saw gigantosaurus bones (bigger than T. Rex!) and cycled through the afternoon heat to the site of some giant dinosaur footprints (*a-mazing*). After our evening meal, our waitress drove us to the place we needed to catch our bus: people here are incredibly generous.
Bariloche provided a haven of a hostel that had been recommended to us by Robbie and Carol, some backpackers we met in El Chaltén. Penthouse 1004 was super-friendly and helpful which was good because Frank immediately came down with a soaring temperature and had to stay in bed a couple of days (as promised, travelling is not always plain sailing).
First night in Bariloche, we went to a concert which was part of an international tango festival being held there this year. Some of the performers were incredible (two young brothers who played devilishly difficult guitar together, a Peruvian cantante with masses of personality and two dancing pairs who wove tension and wit into their performances); some weren´t quite so great (a lot of wailing songs with over-emphasis on the words corazon, souffrir and mourir).
After finishing off In Patagonia (thanks Julie!), I met two very nice girls to spend the day with: Niamh (Irish) and Michelle (US). However, after a trip up to a viewpoint to see over Bariloche (which is truly stunningly gorgeous), Niamh got set upon by two guys trying to nick her backpack. She screamed and kicked, and Michelle and I flapped in their general direction, so they ran off pretty sharpish (with a net loss: one of them lost their sunglasses in the scuffle). It was a scary incident, but Niamh was very self-possessed and we spent a really great evening afterwards, talking and steadying our nerves over a bottle or two of malbec.
Frank was feeling ok-ish by the next day and we decided to attempt the hike to Refugio Frey. This involved getting a cable car to the top of a mountain, climbing over and along a ridge for 3 hours, along scree slopes and over rocks with soaring pinnacles above and a sheer slope for 500m down on the right...then a couple of sharp descents and finally reaching the Refugio (a very basic hut with one dorm full of mattresses on the floor). What a rush. The scrambling was great fun and the sight of the Refugio warmed the cockles no end. We camped outside to save money, but during the night the wind came up, and the tent was virtually flattened. Frank heroically braved the dust-storm several times to try and secure the tent, but we bailed at dawn and tottered over the Refugio who welcomed us in to kip on the mattresses for a couple of hours.
The next day, after a couple of bowls of porridge mixed with grit blown in by the winds, we hiked back down the mountain. We got a good night's sleep in a campsite just outside town and then returned to Bariloche for a (we felt) well-deserved asado (grill) dinner.
The hike completely sorted Frank's health and he's back to normal.
We're now in Mendoza, planning our next step. We'll probably tour some vineyards tomorrow, getting between them by bike.
Love to all,
Em and Frank x