After camping for three weeks out of six during her extensive trip around Argentina and Chile, Vicky Gashe realised the advantages of packing a tent and experiencing life away from the ‘gringo trail’ and universal English of hostels. Many nights led her to drink mate, eat asados and sing folk music around campfires whilst practising her Spanish. Her definitive guide to camping will help those who wish to follow in her footsteps.

In the imagination of writer Jules Verne, Fray Bentos was responsible for serving breakfast to the first travellers on the moon. For Jorge Luis Borges, it was the Uruguayan home town for the fictional Ireneo Funes, a teenager with impeccable memory. To the troops and Europeans of the World War I and II eras the name conjured up the image of food – tinned corned beef, OXO bouillon cubes and more than 200 other products which would emerge from “the kitchen of the world” until 1979.

“Small tours, all kinds of activities, and the groups will be around eight people. Group size is limited so we have to book you ahead of time…” The words of the tour agent in Bonito surfaced in my mind as I plodded along on a packhorse behind a group of at least 14 horses with no other vision of wildlife than the horse’s ass in front of me. I considered myself lucky, however, as the group the day before had consisted of nearly 19 people.

Ask anybody about wine and tourism in Argentina and they will likely name Mendoza. But the province of Salta is going head to head with its southern sister, and its excellent wines and growing tourism infrastructure are putting it on ever more equal footing. Things are still more rustic than in Mendoza, but this is something that arguably adds to the desert provinces’ charms.

Compared to its neighbouring countries, Argentina doesn’t have ideal natural conditions for surfing and it isn’t particularly popular here. Nonetheless, there are spots in the country where the sport can be practised. Mar del Plata is Argentina’s surfing capital where it isn’t just seen as a sport, it is a passion, a whole scene and a way of life.

Two precious weeks to travel; two weeks in which to soak up a little Buenos Aires, city that I love, and to embrace somewhere new. Intrigued by Chile, and longing for a few adventures, I felt what more and more travellers are experiencing; the pull to Pucón.

“You want to hitchhike? It’s easy…there’s a provincial border on Ruta 3 just past the turn off for Las Grutas. All you have to do is walk 10km through the desert and you’re there.” It seemed easy enough. We had spent a fortune on bus tickets from Buenos Aires and were ready to turn the remaining 2,000km to Tierra del Fuego into an adventure.

I come across Tandil rather early on in my stay in Argentina, looking to review a cheese shop. When I discovered that the cheese shop would mean a number of hours on a bus, I thought, well, I’d just better get to Tandil. Overshadowed by the more obvious tourist destinations that Argentina has to offer, Tandil doesn’t really get much press.

“The most southern city in the world” is the sales pitch for tourism in Ushuaia. However, this remote city on an isolated island disconnected from the Argentine mainland by water, mountains and the Chilean border, offers the adventure tourist much more than just a sign proclaiming “End of the World” and a gateway to the Antarctic.

Looking back, I deserved to be punished. In fact, in a weird way, it was what I wanted. I saw my epic 35-hour journey to the tip of Patagonia and subsequent six weeks hard graft on a sheep farm with Quinchado, the 65-year-old Chilean gaucho, as a form of penance.