Zapala 2

Woke up this morning thinking in Spanish! Well, when I say thinking in Spanish, I was thinking of various things I need to do today, and how to ask the necessary questions. So far, I´ve managed to change hotels - I walked to the one that I was meant to be in, but it´s further out of town, and more than twice the price of the one I was in last night. Admittedly, it looked a lot posher, with a big casino that can only be described as Argentine bling, but I´d rather spend the money on nice food. So I swapped to the hotel over the road from the one I stayed in last night (which is now full). Both are pretty run-down and very basic, but clean and functional and about 12 quid per night. Last night I got very lucky on the food front, as I went to the restaurant next door and ordered a steak which came in a delicious mustardy sauce, with a big pile of roasted vegetables - sweet potatoes, pumpkins, courgettes, aubergines, carrots and onions. Was very glad I hadn´t ordered a starter as well, as it was a huge portion - probably big enough for two - but I hadn´t had a proper lunch, only the stuff they handed out on the bus, so managed to scoff the lot.

Am now at El Chancho Rengo, a cafe at the main crossroads in town, enjoying a late morning coffee. Realised I accidentally stole the room key from my hostel in Temuco yesterday, so I´ve managed to make an envelope and stick it together with sticking plaster to post back to them. I´ve made a new friend too - the dog from the hotel I'm staying in, who followed me through town and into the post office, and is now lying by my feet.

Zapala is actually a very nice town - only small, but it has a good feel to it, and seems a bit wealthier than Temuco. You wouldn't want to spend long here, as far as I can tell there isn´t much to do, but it's an ok place to spend the day waiting for my pick-up tomorrow. Think I'll book somewhere to stay the night here for when I come back from the ranch, but am not sure about booking a bus or anything as yet, as I was hoping to pick other peoples' brains about where to go next, and don't necessarily want to make definite plans in case I want to stay on at the ranch.

The sun is so hot here - the air isn't too hot when you're in the shade, but think I'm really going to struggle at the ranch in this heat. Will have to be surgically removed from my baseball cap! Have also brought a couple of scarves and loads of sun-cream, so will just have to stay wrapped up - will probably come back whiter than when I went away, which is what usually happens.

Ok, will say ciao for now, as I'm not sure when I'll next get the chance to update you on my adventures - probably early March, as I plan to leave the ranch on the 10th or 11th, but I guess it depends slightly upon what date other people there plan to leave, as it sounds like it's a bit of an epic journey - I get picked up from Zapala tomorrow, then it's a three or four hour drive to the trail-head, where we swap four wheels for four legs, to do the last 15 miles or so on horseback, including a river crossing. (Yes, Mum, I promise to wear my riding hat!) Am slightly concerned about what happens to my very heavy rucksack at this point, as I can see everything ending up completely soaked, but I've got a fairly large, rubber dry-bag to put the essentials in. Am also hoping that I might be able to fill it with water during the daytime once on the ranch, to heat up in the sun, so that I can have some sort of bath/shower with it in the evening, as I think the alternative is heating water on a wood-burning stove which sounds pretty time-consuming. We'll see... there's a lot of unknowns about this whole trip, but I think it will be an adventure one way or the other - just hope it's a good type of adventure.

Lots of love to you all - hasta luego!