In the last few weeks, I have never enjoyed work so much. I keep having to pinch myself that my dream of earning while travelling has actually come true. My office changes every day; this morning I worked on the deck of our hostel with a view out across brightly hued autumnal trees and Swiss-style chateaus; yesterday I worked from the hammock. I love juggling work and travel – working gives me a purpose & a kind of self-discipline; while travelling to new places constantly keeps my mind fresh and inspired.

La Cumbrecita’s Main Street

Days in the little German-meets-Argentina village of La Cumbrecita that we’re staying in are chocka-block awesome. In between my work projects, we take day walks exploring the foothills of the Andes, stumbling across picture-perfect waterfalls, rivers and mountain tops. We visit the local chocolate boutique most afternoons, strolling past log cabins, wildflowers and German flags to get there.  Nights are spent eating giant meat cook-ups from the outside BBQ, drinking Malbec & speaking pigeon Spanish to our newfound hostel friends. If we’re not careful, we could happily spend months here.

We speak a lot of pigeon spanish with these guys

We spent three nights in the bustling city of Buenos Aires before fleeing to the mountains. BA was our favourite metropolis yet – leafy, tree-lined streets and tiny cafes; old-school architecture and an arty, friendly vibe. We took a crash course in Spanish, frantically cramming as much as we could into a few days. Hardly anybody speaks English here, so we realised pretty early on that we were going to have to make more of an effort with our verb conjugations. Let’s just say it’s a work in progress.

In Buenos Aires we met a lovely Canadian brother & sister travelling together who invited us out to a show. Called Fuerza Bruta – Brute Force – I had no idea what to expect. The performance was incredible; a mishmash of live music, acrobats, aquatic dancing (in a pool, suspended above our heads) and drama. It’s impossible to describe the power & passion these guys performed with. Fuerza Bruta was entirely in Spanish, but they spoke a universal language – and it was seriously moving. After the show, we went out salsa dancing with two Argentinian girls we knew. We arrived back at our hostel just before 6am, giggling and stumbling over the cobblestones all the way home as the sun showed its first rays. Now that’s what I call a good night.

Acrobats from the Fuerza Bruta show

We’re off into the mountains hiking for a few days from tomorrow; Joel has been keen to get into the wilderness here since we first arrived. The mountains here are ruggedly beautiful; strewn with huge boulders and tall trees, it’s a very different feel to the Kaimanawas, where we normally go.

There’s pretty waterfalls everywhere

Argentina is by far our favourite country so far – the people, the culture and the way of life has so much in common with New Zealand. Needless to say, we wake up excited for each and every new day here, not knowing what new experiences it will bring. That’s got to be what seeing the world is all about.