I was running out of actual hard cash, and was planning to pay my rent for the month today, so I already had an excuse to head towards the bank.

After finding a bank that had enough money for my needs (paying rent and having cash to spend), I went round to MusiMundo, the music shop just round from the central square and had a look at their CD players. One there for under $200 (about forty quid). Wicked!

Got my cash together, wandered round the store a few times, picked up some cheap books from Argentinian author, Julio Cortazar, that were recommended by the Latin American course at UCL (Final del Juego and Las Armas Secretas, for anyone interested) and also the current Blink 182 album that, like the rest, I hadnt bothered buying back home.

The guys at the counter looked surprised that I was paying cash, and even more surprised when I pulled out a wadge of pristine notes, so much so that I thought they werent going to accept them!

But they did, and I trotted off back home with my new CD player and enough money to pay my rent.

It was only when I got home that I found that the CD players pins were not compatible with the ones in the house. Disaster!

Luckily, I remembered that Howys has an adaptor, so I got that out and fortunately the pins fitted...just. If you move anything then it loses the electricity supply and the machine turns off. Mare! So, if you hit the table its on, or accidentally kick the adaptor then it flicks off. A pain, but at least it plays CDs!

Having got the rent and CD player out the way, I went and did the normal gym and e-mail things, before running into Rhian on the street on her way to the Welsh nursery and we had a quick chat and arranged to meet up later for a bite to eat.

First of all, I had to go and book my tickets to go out to the Andes for the weekend, so I bought myself a cheap ice cream and then went to the bus station where I went for Mar de Valle and bought myself a ticket to Esquel for Friday night, coming back the following Thursday night. Eight hour trip each way - not bad for $76 (fifteen quid).

Rhian called round later on, and we decided to go to a place called Juans which was in both of our guidebooks and neither of us had visited. She had empanadas, stuffed with dead animal, and I, for a change, had a pizza.

After eating far, far too much, we went round to a SJs for a drink and then home around midnight(ish)...I think.