Santiago - Chile

Preparing ourselves for home, we have spent the last 5 days in Santiago Chile where there are hardly any street sellers or Chiclets kids, there are road rules that people obey, and there is a movement and lifestyle similar to that of any modern European city. Sensing our immenient departure and a need to wind down, we have done very little in Santiago. It has rained everyday and the sky remains a constant light grey providing little inspiration to venture outside and spend money which we no longer have. The city reminds me a little of Vancouver in the winter, with a consistently cold temperature, snow capped moutains in the background, and a flair for dark, unobtrusive jackets and clothing. Unfortunatly though, there is not a coffee shop on every corner as in Canada, and finding a cup of anything other than Nescafe is a hard feat. Spending a month in Columbia and developing a addiction to great coffee has reinforced the fact that we changed countries and cultures. So if you cant get good coffee, why not just drink great wine?!!
Chile produces some excellent wine which is available for super cheap. A good bottle is under $5 in the supermarket and so we have sampled many and have not found a bad one yet. A grape now unique to Chile due to insect wipeouts in other places, is called the Camanere and we have enjoyed this alot. We have also indulged inmany pisco sours and have learnt how to make them so watch out for a taste sensation at our palce when we get back. As well as drink lots of beverages here, we have walked around the city and checked out the plazas, shopping malls, parks and clean buildings that make this city function. We have watched movies, slept in, cooked great dinners, and enjoyed being almost the only guests in a really cool, homely hostel. We wanted to go snowboarding but we are just a little too early for the base to be decent, but its snowing now and its certainly cold enough.
But now its all over, and we are getting on a plane in a couple of hours. I think when the time comes to go home, you are often ready for it because you´ve told yourself thats the way it is. I cant say im fully ready to come home but i am looking forward to eating food with spice in it again (a serious lack of flavour in most Sth American countries and so the first thing we will probably devour at home is a thai green curry with extra chilli. Ooohh so Ausrtalian!). It will also be unsual to not have to carry toilet paper around with you, and to be able to throw it down the bowl instead of a bin next to the toilet (SA plumbing cant handle paper). I will be happy not to have hours travellin on buses or planes for awhile, and it will be cool not to see statues of Jesus on the dashboard of a bus, and also cool to see a bus or garbage truck without flashing decorative lights or pansy music blasting from it. I will however miss the continuous food sellers who get on anywhere and sell you drinks, hot food, chips, anything! It will be a pain to have to wait for a bus at a bus stop instead of just hailing one from anywhere along the road. There are lots of thing i will miss, and we will certainly be back to this land of diversity and culture, friendly people and good times. But for now, we must say adios and head to the airport. Really, i have to go right now, like 10 minutes ago...

Bogota - Columbia

Topping off our Columbian adventures, we spent 4 nights in the capital city, Bogota. Once considered an dangerous place and somewhere to avoid, Bogota has cleaned up its act in recent times, and with police presence everywhere, it feels safe, clean and a cool place to be. Its a big modern metropolis with efficient transport, business and historic districts, and really intersting musuems.

We stayed in the old town area called La Candelaria which used to be the centre of Bogota. The area around the Plaza de Bolivar contains graceful architecture of the National Congress, the Presidents House, mayors office, judicial and goverment buildings, neoclassical cathedrals and charming restuarnts serving traditional dishes such as ajiaco which is a delicious chicken stew with corn, capers and 3 types of potato. Another typical Columbian dish is hot chocolate served with a wedge of cheese which i struggle to understand. The idea is that the cheese offsets the sweetness in the chocolate but i´ll take my cheese and chocolate seperately gracias!

As mentioned, Bogota has some world class musuems and we visited the Museo del Oro (Gold Musuem) which features more than 34000 pieces of goldworks from Hispanic cultures in Columbia. Delicate, intricate, and restored with dazzling shine, this was a unique and impressive musuem. Equally unique and impressive, yet for entirely different reasons, was the Museo Historico Policia which details the Columbian police force through the years, including a sizable section on the life and possessions of drug cartel boss and policitican Pablo Esacabar. This musuem is filled with guns, uniforms and police artifacts, and we were guided around by a young ancillary member of the force who explained to us that military service is compulsary for 1 year for Columbian men, and that opportunities are good for those who wish to continue on. This helped to explain the huge police presence of young kids with batons and guns and braces on their teeths, in various policing roles such as musuem guide, traffic police, etc.

We also visited the Botero Musuem, and again enjoyed the works of this prolific Columbian artist who paints, draws and scuplts fat people, fruits and flowers. The musuem is also home to lots of Columbian modern art, plus works by Salvador Dali, Picassio, Renoir and Monet. But of course it wasnt all high culture for us in this happening city! We checked out some reggae, jazz, and live latino bars and resturants, and spent a few nights seeing the sunrise at the hostel and missing breakfast/lunch the next day. We were thankful to roll out of bed one day to find a huge Columbian food exhibition taking place in the plaza, with tonnes of stalls selling things like BBQ meats (cooked on hot stones, directly on the plaza ground), weird juices, sweets, fruits, breads and meats, and with schoool students and music groups in traditional costumes dancing and singing all day, we were suitably entertained and well feed.

We also visited Columbias number 1 tourist attraction - the salt cathedral at Zipaquira, which is about 2 hours outside Bogota. This is a huge labyrinth of underground chapels and tunnels built within the old section of the salt mines. They still mine there today, although in a different area. As you descend into the depleted area, the salt walls are mostly smoothed over and contain carved out crosses everywhere with marble blocks for pray and reference to the stations of the cross. The finale is the cathedral which is massive and eeringly beautiful. The tour was in Spanish so my understanding of the history is a little limited and im unsure if they actually hold mass in there now, or if its just a tourist attraction. Nonetheless, is was a visually fasinating sight.

Jeb tells me i have been typing away for ages, so thats enough out of me for now except to say that we arrived safely in Chile despite some airport hiccups involving customs and seeds inside an Ecuadorian musical instrument. At 4am in the morning, we were lucky enough to escape a $800 US fine, and reminded ourself that we are now travelling in the world of planes and not buses, and searches exist and are thorough. Anyways, more on Chile later.

Taganga - Columbia

So now we are really on holidays! After months of hiking up mountains, down canyons, day long bike rides, and moving places every 2-3 days, we have arrived at the beach town of Taganga, where the hardest decisions we face are what unknown fruits we will combine in our juices. The sun beams down everyday, the water is torquise and the alcohol is flowing. Further to the several juices everyday, we have been enjoying small cups of tinto (sweetened black coffee) in the afternoons served directly to you on the beach, plus many cold showers (there is only one tap in the shower anyway, and is more just like a pipe sticking out of the wall than a shower head - this is the norm in northern columbia, and also unfortunately in other parts of Sth America where it is not so sweltering hot and not so well received). We have also been lazying about on a yellow lilo, floating about in the water and getting a nice tan too. Oh and of course, eating the freshest of fish straight from the ocean, and its delicious.

Today we stepped out of this lazy lifestyle that we are getting rather used to, and went snorkelling and scuba diving. Neither Jeb or i have dived before so we did what they call a mini course which consists of 2 dives at a maximum depth of 12m. Once we became adjusted to the apparatus and the concept of breathing underwater, we had a fantastic time checking out the stunning coral reefs, superbly coloured fish, octopus, and marine life. It astounding to think that so much of this planet is underwater and unexplored. It really is an amzing world of its own down there.

Tommorrow we are heading back to Santa Marta (which is also a beachside town, 20 mins away with more faciltities and people but little to do) and from there, we will take a bus and jeep into the national park of Tayrona where we will probably do much of the same above, with the added bonus of sleeping in hammocks for a couple of days. Ahhhh....

Cartagena - Columbia

Colonial balconies spilling with colourful bouganvillas and sunny arctitecture, Cartagena is what they describe as the jewel of the Carribean. As rightly so, as it is a beautiful city which has retained true authenticity and style, not sold out by tourism. Well not yet, or at least not in some areas such as the old town where we are staying. I like that its still quite rough around the edges, which can contrast with the restored feel of the centre and especially so with the modern, fancy area with its huge designer beachfront apartments and restaurants which are increasingly springing up here. Having only seen this from the bus, we are more than happy mixing it up with the mostly black locals and making new street friends such as Jebs favourite, Mario Brother, who loves a chat on the corner at any time of the day.

Its really stinking hot and humid here as you may expect, and reminds me of a cross of places like Fiji and Vietnam, with the smells of fruit and sweat, and the oppressive heat and open local life. Speaking of fruit, we are in produce heaven here, and we buy fruit and drinks from vendors all day, every day. Fresh lime drinks, sweet strawberries and mangoes, huge avocadoes and things we dont even know. Also small sweet coffee known as tinto to give us that morning kick.

The city was very important to the Spanish as its a port town and cruically located, and therefore was prone to invasion back in the 15th century and onwards. The Spanish built a huge fort on the city edge, and walled the city with cannons which are all still in place. It has character and history and some say a sense of historical romance.

Today we had one of the most unique experiences i have ever had. We went to an active volcano and bathed in the mud inside. Its quite small, only about 35m high to climb inside, and then down a ladder into the thickest mud you can imagine. You can hardly move yourself and have to get pulled and pushed through the den by locals who massage you whilst you reap the rewards of the 51 minerals contained in the mud. There is no ground, and a bizzare feeling of weightless. Every inch of our body was covered and my skin now feels exfoliated and soft like no product could ever do. Climbing out is a challenge not to slip and you then get washed by ladies in the river (everything for tips of course). Next up, a swim and lunch on the beach, freshly caught fish, fried plaintains, coconut rice. The ocean water here is warm and only refreshing to a degree. We have taken to cooling down by drinking lots of rum which is the common carribean drink.

There is a dog fight outside right now which is rare as dogs in Sth america are everywhere but mostly quite placid and ignore you. Kinda scary sounding. Tommorrow we are travelling another 4 hours along the coast and this really will be the furthest north we will go for a week of lazing about on the beach.

Quito and Otavalo - Ecuador. Popayan - Columbia

I left you last in Quito and it seems im falling behind in my writing as we have now crossed another border and are in Columbia...but more on that later. I want to give Ecuador the space it deserves, for it really was a beauiful country and we wish we could have stayed longer. Apparently you cant do everything, but i am still in denial of this.

Ecuador seems to be doing quite well economically in South American terms. The country is more developed and has better instrascture than Bolivia and Peru in particular. The roads are finished, and there is less litter and rubble on highways indicating a level of education and government expendition in such areas. Ecuadorians are proud of their ecological diversity and fertile landscapes which produce some of the juicest fruits and healty foods that we have eaten so far. In fact, we have given the title of ´Best Food´to Ecuador, with particular mention to their fantastic cheap breakfasts. We have also given the title of ´Fastest Drivers´ to the bus drivers as we have risked our lives around many speedy bends and turns in this country.

Of note in Ecuador, was the amount of Americans travelling here as a result of obvious political ties with the States. There was lots of students studying in the excellent Spanish schools, and retirees looking to buy property. Ecuador changed its national currency to the US dollar in about 2000, apparently with a lot of local resistence. Nonetheless, it went ahead and it is a likely reason for the American travellers. Another Americanism, was the streets and hostels and shop wordings in English. Not often, but certain words such as ´happy´and ´fast food´and general store...which we have not seen anywhere else.

So a quick rundown on our recent happenings....we spent 3 days in the capital Quito which is a nice city, entirely sprawling with buildings which we took in from the city´s cable car called TeleferiQo. Unfortunately, when we got to the top (4100m) , we were above the cloud line and it was a white out. So we got back inside the cable car and took in the urban junglle landscape on the way back down. We checked out a snake musuem which was filled with snakes mostly native to Ecuador, and we also walked around the entire Old Town section which narrow streets and a preseverd antiquated feel. Like most South American cities, the city sites and planning revolves around churches which are usually stunning exmaples of architecture blending Spanish and indigenous styles. The most striking church in Quito is called Voto Nacional and we climbed right ùp the top of this church to the bell towers (and rang the bells, not sure if you´re supposed to but who could resist!) and the basicilas towers which has grafitti and very little fencing and in other coutries would be major puclic liability. Very cool views and quite strange to have such free reign in a church.

The next day, we set off on public transport (they have a really efficient electric bus system called the Trole making it easy to get around Quito) to the Equator. At the hemispheric line (Mitad del Mundo) there is a huge monument marking the designated spot (which is actually incorrect by about 250km since the inception of the GPS system). We took photos and then skipped across to the Museo Solar Inti Nan which is now the actual equator line and a very intersting musuem. We jumped back and forth from the north to the south and were shown fasinating tricks on the line. For example, water has no centrigual force at the Equator and so it flushes straight down rather than in a circular motion. We balanced an egg on a nail head and got a certificate for it, and we also played around with out weight and balance as you apparently weigh 2.2% at the equator and have less resistence to gravity. On the actual line of 0¨00´00, its really difficulty to stop someone pulling your arms and hands apart. Also, walking in a straight line is incredibly difficult with no direct magnetic pull.

Next day we left Quito for the northern highlans and an area called Otavalo which is the largest markets in South America. Its starts to crank up early on Saturday morning and it was really quite overwhelming. The Otavalenos have steadfastly maintained their indigenous roots, and the traders and local folk wear their tradiotional dress all the time. It consists of long dark skirts for the ladies, with trimmings and delicate, frilly blouses, gold chains in the repitive neck fashion of African women, and often a floppy, folded hat. The men wear white baggy trousers with navy ponchos, and together they make a stylish and elegant impression. We had been waiting til now to buy things (well, sort of...we have definitely acquired things along the way!), so we shopped til we dropped and now have an extra bag of things to carry around. Well Jeb does anyway!

I mentioned we are changed our flights and are now spending nearly a month in Columbia, which is where we are now. Yesterday we spent all day on the bus, crossed borders (which again was really simple and we have had no problems at all so far), and ended up in the town of Popayan, Columbia last night. This town is beautiful. All the buildings are white and even inside the church is white. Due to many earthquakes, it has been mostly rebuilt and restored since 1983, making it very clean and tidy and breathable. There are no tight, polluted streets or high rise buildings, the climate is pleasant and the people are really modern. We have already started to see more black people which will continue as we go north and is a result of African slave labour in the caribbean area. We are moving on to the city of Cali this afternoon, so i better go eat some something....ciao

Mancora, Peru and Vilcabamba, Ecuador

Mancora is small beach town set amongst some fairly arid scenery. The desert landscape on the bus trip here was stark and arriving in Mancora was a relief to see that there is actually a beautiful blue water coastline here. The surk break is small but perhaps it was just during our stay. Restuarants and bars line an area of the beach and whilst this is a tourist destination for gringos and Peruvians alike and there is lots of development in the works, it is still a small town with alot of space to yourself. We stayed at a very cool hostel at the far end of the town which had its on private beach and bamboo cabanas right on the sand. You take motorised scooter taxis to get around, in between lazy about at the beach in the perfect sunny weather. Sacrificing the hostel pet for a travellers feast, we enjoyed a pig on the spit, complete with salads, rum punch, good company and special memories. And then we changed countries again.

Taking another overnight bus (although this time, not quite so comfortable and with some unexpected lag time in between), we took off for Ecuador crossing the border after midnight. As we approach the equator, a few things have become noticeable. The promotion of biodiversity in both plants and animals, and green lush humid scenery is now all around us. And then of course, the feeling of getting asconded by mosquitos. Our first point of call in Ecuador is the very chilled out town Vilcabamba. The valley here is renowned for its water source which is really high in magnesium and other minerals and is said to responsible for the longevity of its residents who often live beyond 100 years. We hiked today to find the source called Agua de Hierro, however a big flood in the recent rainy season has washed away the end of the trail and we were not able to access it. But no worries, as we have been staying in a Ecolodge here which comes complete with a jacuzzi with natural herbs, a steam room filled with pine, sauna, swimming pool, and hammocks and needless to say, we are chilling out and increasing our lifespan at the same time! And all for the very reasonable backpacker price of $9 US a night. We have also been enjoying some other thrills here like homemade Snake Juice which is 80% alcohol and distilled in a jar with a venomous snake. You drink it like Tequila with lime and salt...i was hesitant (Jeb obviously was not..."snakes and alcohol together!!!") but it really was ok and we are still alive.
Another good point to Ecuador so far is the existence of brown bread! For our whole trip, we have only been getting white bread filled with air, so im very happy about this. Sometimes, its the small things...

Isla Del Sol - Bolivia. Puno, and Arequipa - Peru

We have been busy since the last time i wrote...changed countries, diets and currencies, hiked canyons and visited floating islands. Here´s an update...

From the coastal town of Copacabana, we took a boat for an hour and half to the tranquil island of Isla Del Sol which sits in the middle of Lake Titicaca on the Bolivian side. It was a beautiful blue sky day and we walked around this big island which has remained fairly unchanged by tourism. Villagers seve coffee in their front yards alongside their llamas, and trails are rocky leading through hills of sheeps and donkeys and plantations of quinoa which is kind of like couscous or rice and is added to soups and mashed like potato. Famous for trout, i enjoyed a change of diet from the regular Bolivian dishs of rice and chicken, and ate trout for 4 days straight. The island was really realxing so we stopped and just sat for a couple of hours on a cliff side in the sun. Being Easter Sunday, or possibly for a wedding celebration or something, there were fireworks over the lake at night before the skies turned and a tremedous storm took place overnight. We left the next day for a 3 hour bus trip across the border to Peru which was a simple process, and this is where we are now.

Arriving in Puno we could see the change in lifestyle quickly. Peru is more accustomed to tourism and people are a little more forward and friendly with travellers. Roads are more likely to be paved, toilets come equip with toilet paper (although not always), and things are just a little more organised. The food so far has been fantastic (alpaca meals have been suberb, and just new menu and market choices...woohoo), and we are throughly enjoying pisco sours which is a alcholic beverage made of pisco (white grape brandy), egg white, sugar syrup and...? Delicious.

We stayed in Puno and visted the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca, which is the floating islands of Uros. Super touristy, but something to be seen regardless. People live and make a living on approx 80 reed islands on the lake. Its quite fascinating to get off the boat and be on a island made entirely of reeds which is soft underfoot. People fish for trout and make crafts and build reed boats as part of a very old culture and lifestyle which has been monopolised by tourism, but is still really special and intersting.

Off to Arequipa next which is where we are now. Arequipa is really quite stunning. It is the nicest city we have been in so far, however more Spanish than indigenous Sth American. Surrounded by huge snow capped volcanoes and mountain ranges, the city centre is remininscent of somwhere in Europe. The plaza is super clean with palm trees and gorgeous churches, the people and restuarants are trendy and the climate is warm.

About 6 hours from Arequipa, lies the worlds second deepest canyon called Canon Del Colca. We have just completed a 2 day/1 nights trek into this canyon (15km all up). It begins at an elevation of 3280m and plummets to the river at 2160m. So the first day is a steep drop of over 1000m, crossing the canyon and walking through local villages which are really quite remote. There are no roads here, so everything is transported by foot or mules or produced locally. We stayed overnight at the bottom in a lodging with a pool but with no electricity, and then of course...what goes down, must come up (the reverse of this saying still works here!) The trek up is said to take about 3 hours and we completed it in about 2 hours, 15 mins which is damn good going if i must say myslef, however my calves are definitely feeling it today! At the end, we visted the hot springs which, at a toasty 39 degrees, was good for the muscles. Another very cool part of this trip was a stop off at the Cruz Del Condor where condors glide through the valley and make spectacular viewing. Their wing span grows to up to 3 metres long and they come really close to the viewing point. We saw several cruise by, very impressive.

Tommorrow night, we are taking a bus to Cusco where we will spend 3 nights before beginning the Inca trail to Machu Picchu.

Sucre, Bolivia

One of the best parts of travelling is when you accidently find yourself in the middle of some national or provincial celebration. This has happened to us nearly every day for the past week and the challenge has been to work out exactly what is going on when everything is in Spanish.

Sucre is the judicial capital of Bolivia and nice city of white archways and colonial, well kept housing and churches. This week marks the bicennetary of independence, and we have found ourselves in the middles of parades of school bands, city marches and potlicial speeches from the balcony of the goverenment building in the plaza. Add to this, dynamite explosions (positive, we think) and chants and signs and general proudness of this citys liberal accomplishments. And then a similar parade about tubercululosis the next day? Alas, we know little about the detail but it´s fun to be part of it!

In Sucre we have chilled out and slowed the pace down a bit. We visisted the highly regarded Musuem of Indigenous Art yesterday which details the weaving and clothing of Bolivian and Andean people, and the stories of the designs and labour-intensive hand woven, methods of the unique clothing here. Really intersting place, and we have a increased respect for the weaving culture now and are off to buy a piece for our wall back home. Also checked out the Casa de la Libertad (House of Liberty) which is a beuatiful colonial house where the declaration of independence was signed and historical and political artifacts are on display. We aslo visited a Dinosaur park where hundreds of dinosaur tracks measuring up to 80cm in diameter were found in the quest for mining. Quite amazing to see (even if not up very close), and hopefully something they can presevere long term.

Have been eating lots of local food including saltenas - a folded pastry dish with chicken or meat, spice, potato, and date which is excellent. Have been adventourous with local food (within a fairly safe hygiene level still) and have not had any unwellness yet which is great. There are no real supermarkets in Bolivia and all foods are purchased from markets which are a fantastic array of colours, and smells and any goods you can want. The very exposed displays of meat and chicken and innards make me a little squeamish, but the fruit and veg area is fanastic.

Tonight we are going to watch a movie called The Devils Miner which is a Bolivian film about the mines in Potosi and the life of a 14 year child who worked in them. Tommorrow we are going to a indigeous village where there have great cultural markets, before taking a overnight bus to La Paz which is technically the capital of La Paz after taking the trophy from Sucre in the recent past. But dont tell Sucre that.

Cafayate, Salta, Tilcara - Argentina

This afternoon we arrived in a small town called Tilcara which is just a few hours south of the Bolivian border. Tilcara could be straight out of a gaucho film set. Its dusty and dry, and surrounded by huge mountains. The Andean culture is apparent now as we head further north. The locals have darker skin and artisean offerings are of colourful ponchos and hats made of llama wools for warmth. Its very pretty here and we are staying in a great hostel perched higher above the town. Tommorrow we head to Bolivia which will be a whole new world, and one that we are really excited about.

Before we reached Tilcara, we spent 2 nights in Cafayate and did a tour through the Quebrada de Cafayate. The quebradas are a spectacular mountainous range of of distinctive formations and colours, mostly red but with sulphur green linings through parts. Wind erosion shapes the quebradas and some very cool strcutures have formed which you can climb on and around.

The next day in Cafayate, we went for a hike to the Cascadas waterfall which should be a 1 hour hike from the base of the mountain. Jeb, Arendt (our Ducth friend) and myself set off and said no to a guide as he only spoke Spanish. Bad idea. We hiked through some seriously intense mountains and creeks for over 3 hours before nearly giving up. Having a breather, we saw some people! til now it had only been insects and a herd of goats!. We crossed the creek again (shoes off, sketchy jumping etc for about the 8th time already). The local guide laughed at how long we had been walking and showed us the way to the falls. Which was only 10 minutes so very glad we didnt turn back, and stoked to have only 1 hour back. Freezing so i didnt swim but nice to have made it and appreciate the hidden water source. Despite the length, it was a very cool hike and we felt sore and satisfied afterwards.

We then spent 2 nights in Salta but didnt do much. Took the gondola up the mountain for views of the city and walked down (1070 steps). Like we needed more exercise! Salta is a nice town with an open city plaza area, but really really busy at night when everyone in town seemed to be out. Also students seem to overwhelm the place, but we think there was a teacher strike or something that day.

We are now going to eat our very last Argentinian parrilla before we head to Bolivia tommorrow.

Iguazu Falls, Tafi Del Valle, and Cafayte - Argentina

Spectaular. Iguazu Falls truly is a wonder of nature.

Firstly though, we survived the bus there which was no hard feat when you are sitting in the upstairs front seats of a double decker bus and have a panoramic view of the landscape along the way. The further north we travelled, the more lush the scenery was. Plantations of sugarcane, bananas, orchids and just trees and grass and greenery everywhere, with rich red brown soils that bleed everywhere onto the highways.

Arriving in the middle of the day, we were grateful the hostel we stayed in had a pool as the humidity was intense. But perfect blue sky summer weather and we headed to Iguazu early the next day on the local bus. Its about 30 mins from the town centre of Puerto Iguazu. The entry fee is about $30 aus to enter Parque Iguazu on the Argentinian side and walking through the gates almost felt like a amusement park. But you quickly disperse from the entry and the shops, and lose any crowds around you. There are 3 trails you can walk which meander through the park before you see the falls. And when you do, its breathtaking and so beuatiful, and really loud with such an immense amount of water. We took the lower trail first upon advice and you can so close to the falls that you get wet (not so much on the Brailzian side which we didnt go to). Footbridges take you around every vantage point possible and needless to say, we took hundreds of photos as its just so picturesque and lush. You can take a free boat across a section of the falls and then hike up a mountain in the centre for amazing close views. And then, you can swim! How cool to swim in Iguazu Falls! There is a train which takes you to the Garganta del Diablo (Devils Throat) which is the main semi-circular section of the falls where the world literally seems to drop away. Its awe inspiring and we were either lost for words, or could simply mutter basics like ´wow´.

So we had a greta day, did all the trails, and saw lots of wildlife including spiders, and millions of colourful butterflies that land on you as they please, and birds with blue crests, and these animals (cant remember what they called, but they have short legs, a long tail which sticks up and a long pointy nose and are about the size of a wombat maybe). They are really quite tame and cruise about the rainforest. We came across about 20 of them and they could smell something sweet in jebs bag so they were right into and we had to really fight to get the bag back. Very cool.

We had wanted to go from Iguazu to Salta but the bus was full so we took a bus to Tucuman instead (still 22 hours). Have to tell you about the bus food for this trip...for dinner there was 3 different types of sandwichs all with ham and cheese! And, we had already had the same thing for lunch! And they cut the crusts off bread here. Gotta laugh...

Tucuman is just another city, so we deicided to get on another bus for 2 hours north and go to a small town called Tafi Del Valle with a population of 4000, and and an elevation of 2000. The bus ride was amazing as you drive through an amazing rainforest valley which looked like it was out of a fairytale. The lushest place i think ive ever seen, there was no sense of where one tree finsihed and the next began. Everywhere was just green and mossy with a big creek running through the middle of it. So glad we didnt go straight to Salta, because to arrive in Tafi was a blessing. There are mountains surrounding this valley and we hiked one for views of the area with a Dutch doctor we met. It rained all night which was unfortunate, so we left the next afternoon and came to Cafayte which is where we are now. The bus ride again was scenic but this time the vegetation changed to arid landscapes with huge cactus marking the hills everwhere you looked.

Cafayate is a wine producing region and is also surrounded by big mountains. We did a small wine tour yesterday. The best grape in Argentina is called the malbec. Wine here tends to be very dry and my favourite tasting was of the rose which is unsual for me. Last night, the hostel we are staying in put on a huge bbq feast, local wines and tunes. Ahh life is hard...gotta go now as we are taking a trip through the canyon area.

Rosario, Argentina

Rosario in the province of Santa Fe, and is considered the third biggest city in Argentina. It lies on the Western shore of the Panama River so there is a fishing industry here and to give myslef a break from meat, we went for dinner last night on the river and ate fish. It kinda tasted like roast chicken though. Not that im complaining! It was really tasty and good and fresh water fish tastes different anyway, but yeah, it kinda tasted like chicken. We have been eating very well here (albeit with little greens) and not always the regular backpacker diet as you may expect from Jeb and i. At least you can do it fairly cheaply here. But you also realise what you miss about home and food is one of them. In particular, we are missing brocooli and good salads, and spicy foods and thai. The fruit it pretty good, but vegies not so. Its all meat, potato and cheese, so a breakway fish meal was great last night even if it did taste like chicken.

Rosario is the birth town of the revotionary leader Che Guevara, and we stopped by his house yesterday. Its just a signpost on the street now, and there is also a mural monument, but he really was born here and Rosario can wave their hands high about that title. We also checked out the Flag Moument which is a massive structure and overlooks the river. The city is a little cleaner and nicer than Buenoes Aires and apparetnly has a cranking night scene, but we have mostly chilled here for 2 days as the hostel we are staying in is new and has almost no-one here so the peace and space has been appreciated.

Our bus to Iguazu Falls leaves at 7pm tonight, and we arrive at 1.30pm the next day. The seats fully recline and we get feed and attended to so should be a pleasant road trip even if it is 18 hours.

Mercado del Puerto, Montevideo, Uruguay

Mercado del Puerto is a market of parrillas (steakhouses). This is Montevideo, capital of Uruguay.

Buenos Aires

Argentinians just love cheese. Quilmes is the beer.
Cafe Tortoni. Nightly tango shows take place in this old but beutifully restored cafe.

Palacio del Congreso

Colonia and Montevideo, Uruguay + Tigre, Argentina

On Monday we left Buenos Aires and took the ferry to Uruguay, arriving in the town of Colonia Del Sacromento. The jouney took 3 hours although you can take a more expensive fery and get there in 1 hour. But we wanted to enjoy being on the water on a beautiful day and we are grateful for the extra time as we befriended this lovely Argentinian couple Marte and Michael. They are in their 50s, speak English and own a resturant called Captain Cook funnily enough (they offered Jeb a job!). We discussed Argentinian politics, trade and industry, culture, history etc and left ferry after 3 hours feeling so much wiser. I tried my first mate which is a national drink like tea and is everywhere in Argentina and Uruguay. The leaf is called yerba and it is kinda like a green tea but much stronger and you drink it with a metal or wooden straw. The mate cup is traditionally made out of pumpkin, but modern varities are made other materials too. People walk aound eveywhere carrying their thermos under their arm to refill their mate.

So we arrived in Colonia and explored this picturesque port town which was founded by the Portguese in 1680 to smuggle goods across the Rio de la Plata river to Buenos Aires. There are cobblestone streets and old world charm. Its beautifully restored and as a result, quite touristy but not in a bad way. Definitely worth checking out and our timing couldnt have been better as it was the annual Carnavale in Colonia on this Monday night. In South America, eveything starts kicking off really late so even for a Monday in this small town, the festivities beagn about 10.30pm. A parade rolled though the main streets with latino dancing and an afro rhythm beat supplied by a drumming procession of about 20 guys. Leading the procession were dancers of all ages, young girls, beautiful women and old grannies mostly wearing very little and showing their finest backside assets. The parade finished in a street where their was more dancing and bands and beer stalls and meat bbq stalls. Great entertainment for a Monday night, and a chance to experience some authencti street culture.

But not much else to do in Colonia so we took the bus the next day to the capital city Montevideo and spent 2 nights there. Travelling with a expat Brit Aussie guy and a Brit lady, we wandered down to the Mercado del Puetro which is basically a big market of parillas (steakhouses) where you can enjoy the hugest steaks and red wine. So we indulged again.

Whilst in Montevideo we went to the beach for a swim. The water is brown- looking due to the rocks and silt so not quite the beautiful blue waters of Sydeny but lovely soft sand and the water was warmer than Sydney has been of late so very refreshing in this summer heat. Checked out a few bars with people but Montevideo is not a huge city so 2 nights was enough and we headed back to Argentina.

Generally speaking though, i found Uruguay to be really pleasant, very green with lots of pastures and trees, and well kept building of European architecture and clean streets. The people we met were also really friendly and we enjoyed our stay.

Left Montevideo by bus to a sleepy town called Carmelo to get a different ferry back to Argentina and a city called Tigre which is about an hour north of BA. Tigre is on the Rio Del Plata and the lifestyle is centred around the river with rowing and boating. Tigre has money and is weekend getaway destination for portenos (people of Agentina), but its beautiful and leafy and relaxing. I had got the flu a little so it was a nice place to recover. Asking for flu medication in Spanish was a challenge i had to face but it was successful and im feeling much better now! Went to the mate musuem whilst we were there and had a guide who spoke no english but we got the gist of things and have now bought ouselves a mate cup and some yerba!

We went to Tigre because the Argentinian couple we met on the fery to Uruguay have their restuarnt there, so we went for lunch (was a mission and we got lost as not really somewhere western tourists go!) The restarant was on the marina and it was awesome. Marte likes Asian cooking and had told us about her Thai influenced dishes, so we enjoyed one of the best Thai green curies ever, plus an adaption of san choy boy. Was awesome food and we got a special tour of the marina and the very expensive boats moared there. Our new friends would not let us pay, so we were very lucky and left totally satisified to catch the train back to Buenos Aiers.

Which is where we are now. And its Jebs birthday today so we are going to head out tonight i think. Will keep you posted....