Mar 2007

Punta Arenas

Monday 12th March

Arrived about 7pm after 11 or so hours from Ushuaia. First thing to sort out was to get hold of some Chilean Pesos.

Managed to find about 5 ATM's, none of which would give us any cash. Seems as though Mastercard/Maestro/Cirrus and more widely accepted (in ATM's at least) than Visa.

Luckily come across a money changer and use, for the first time in 7 months, one of our travellers cheques.

Armed with some local currency, we're now able to hail a cab and get to our accomodation nearby - Hospedaje Costanero, which we booked through hostelworld.com, which is quite a handy site.

Seemed to take quite a while in the cab, and drive us far from the centre of town, though we're about 15 minutes stroll back in.

The hostel is quite basic, but Theresa the owner is extremely friendly and cracks open a packet of biscuits for us, as well as sorting us from a twin bed room, to matrimonial-style, though our room now backs onto one of the bathrooms and the walls seems to be made from thick cardboard.

After paying the balance (you pay the first 10% when booking with hostelworld.com) our two nights accomodation, we're not left with toomuch cash, so head into town to try and find another ATM, which we do, in a pharmacy. Oh, it's good to hear the machine counting up those notes!

Now armed with more money, we sort ourselves out with some dinner from the supermarket.

We're not in bed too late, and the sleep is good after a day on the bus.

Tuesday 13th March

We seem to be the first up for a while, but have the breakfast table to ourselves for a while. Enjoyed a chat with some other travellers.

After, we wrapped up for a walk into town, and to look for gloves, hats and socks.

Took a walk up through the back of town to a lookout, which shows the whole town. Just behind the mirador (lookout) is a small cafe, where we stop for a bit.

After a bit of catching up on the sloooow internet we walked around the main square and the surrounding colonial-style building.

Chris had an expensive, and not as good as Ushuaia, hot chocolate.

A few minutes out of town is a cemetery, with its mixture of colossal mausoleums and small, but well kept, plots. It's nice that the graves are usually accompanied by flowers (sometimes plastic ones) and photos/small personal effects of the deceased.

Spent some more time on a faster internet connection, getting ourselves organised for our next stop for the Torres del Paine National Park, which will be in a couple of days time. Feels good to get a bit organised.

Had a healthy-ish salad for dinner, though both of us conscious that we're eating too much bread/cheese/pies - unfortunately the choice isn't too wide, and Paul is getting sick of meat. If only there was a good Indian around here....

Chatted with American John, who had his day-bag snatched at the bus station in Buenos Aires. He's been 'stuck' here, waiting on a package from New York. I'd be lost without my Ipod charger!

Wednesday 14th March

Puerto Natales

Our short stay in Punta Arenas over and we have an 8.30am bus, heading north to Puerto Natales - our gateway to Torres del Paine. Paul is delighted that we have seats at the front, and legroom that puts a smile on his long face. Well, it is early, and cold, and damp etc etc.

The journey is not particularly exciting, and the highlight is a packet of actually-quite-tasty biscuits, with a cream filling - like a round shape Bourbon.

The bus drops us off by the town square, just after midday and we get to Niko's II hostel just around the corner with no fuss. This was another booking via hostelworld.com - the reviews looked good, especially that someone had said the information for the Park was excellent here.

Friendly Paula checks us in, and the room is nice, especially the Cable TV.

We sit down with Paula to go through our options for the park, and have a think about how many days we'll be trekking - gulp, we're signing up for 70kms over three days, maybe 4. And, the weather is known to be very changeable in the hills!

We've booked to stay in 2 of the 'Refugios' in the park - not cheap at USD33 per person, and we already know that the facilities are basic - however, this seems a more comfortable, though maybe less adventurous than camping. Sod that, if you have to carry your stuff around whilst trekking!

Anyway, back in Puerto Natales, we leave the hostel for a wander around town, and to the shoreline of Seno Ultima Esperanza (Last Hope Sound) - also managing to find the chocolate factory on the way. Well, not quite a factory, but they sell lots of 'homemade' chocolate, and other cakes and chocolate-y drinks.

Took it easy in the afternoon and evening, enjoying the relative luxury of our room with TV. And, probably some chocolate.

Thursday 15th March

Great sleep, woke up late, but just in time for breakfast. Well pleased to get more than the usual bread and jam - this time, with ham, cheese and even a yoghurt.

Got our laundry done here for about GBP2.50 a kilo.

Also got our bookings in for the transport and accomodation for the National Park - Torres del Paine. Saved a few pounds by paying for the accomodation in US Dollars, otherwise we would have to pay 19% tax.

Slightly kicking ourselves that we didn't start our trek today as the weather is gorgeous, but anyway, too late for regrets.

Took lunch at the first veggie restaurant we've come across for a while - El Living, run by an English couple. It's not cheap, but affordable - Chris has a huge piece of veggie lasagne, and Paul, a walnut veggieburger. Enjoyed their piles of magazines, despite some being a few years old.

Sat by the water in the afternoon, though Chris struck by an urgent need for the loo - uh-oh, hope it's not what Paul had...

After the emergency dash, we head to the small town area to get some food supplies to keep us running for the next 3/4 days in the park - plenty pasta/sauce/cookies/nuts/dried fruit. We had been told to get our food in Punta Arenas, where it is cheaper, though we're not sure if it makes all that much difference.

Not looking forward to carrying all the food, as well as clothes and other stuff on the walks. Perhaps we should eat it ALL on the morning of day one!

Get to bed early, and enjoy watching The Terminator. You can guess what 'Yo Regreso' might mean if spoken with a Austrian/cyborg accent.

A little nervous of what we've let ourselves in for with the hike.....

Friday 16th March

Our walk in the Torres del Paine starts with an early drive from Puerto Natales into the park, with all the other hikers.

Up at 6.30 for breakfast and meet friendly Melody and Marcus from Australia. The bus takes us away from the comfort of a warm hostel at 7.30am. The bus costs us 10,000 Pesos (1000 to the Pound) and entry to the park a further 15,000 Pesos.

Nice ride over to the park,which was created in 1959 and appointed a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1978 - it covers an area of 242,242 (roughly) hectares.

We had planned to do the popular 'W' walk, rather than the entire 'Circuito'. Our walk would be around 70+ kilometres over 3 or 4 days. We walked from right to left - partly because good weather was forecast for the first day, and we were keen to get a good view of the 3 Torres (Towers).

Not a great start as it started to spit with rain as we pulled up in to the starting point for the walk.

The valley walk up towards our first overnight stop point was mainly 'up', though not too steep, but quite tiring, with having to carry 15kilo packs. We soon got quite hot, desite the chilly wind.

The upward walk wasn't too long, 90 minutes, and we got to the more level walk on to the 'Refugio' along the valley. Paul's boots, despite being fairly worn in, had decided to cause blisters on both heels - annoying, though not too painful......yet.

Pleased to arrive at the 'middle of nowhere' hostel (Refugio Chileno - not cheap at USD33 each a night!), which is in a pretty spot by the busy river.

Got ourselves checked in and had some lunch before getting ready for the further 2 hour walk up to the viewpoint for the 3 Towers. Met up with Melody and Marcus for the walk along.

The path starts alongside the river and makes its way along until you reach a small 'enchanted' forest. Then, the vertical bit! - not quite vertical, but it seems to be a clamber-up, rather than a walk up. It takes us about 2 hours or so to complete the walk/climb to the top, but the views as we ascend are great across the valley below, but the real treat is of course at the top, for the Towers themselves.

Firstly there's a beautiful green lagoon at the foot of the towers, with numerous small waterfalls feeding into it - water from the snow and ice above.

The towers look amazing from here, even with a little cloud obscuring a full view of all three towers.

Thankfully not too windy at this viewpoint, but quite cold, especially where we're a little sweaty from the climb up. Sat on the rocks and admired the view for 30 minutes - really magic. Melody and Marcus left a short while before us as they are camping right back at the beginning of the trail - hopefully we'll bump into them again along the way.

It started to spit with rain as we started the walk back down, and got a little harder as we reached the flatter ground - gave us a chance to wear our ponchos, which we bought back in Puerto Natales. paul decides that XL would have been a better fit.

Caught sight of a male/female pair of woodpeckers as we re-entered the 'enchanted' forest bit - a Black Headed Magellanic Woodpecker (female) and a Red Headed Woodpecker (male - striking colours). Both very busy chipping away at some fallen trunks.

Got back after several hours walking at 5pm. Annoyingly we weren't allowed to use the kitchen facilities as they will soon be used by the hostel to prepare dinner that you can buy - also quite expensive, but actually looks very good.

Finally got into the kitchen at 8.45pm!!, but the pasta took just a few minutes and we were eating by 9pm and in bed not long after. Despite the basic facilities at the Refugio, the beds are really comfy, and you get pillows (you need to use your sleeping bag). Not sure about sleeping in the top deck of a three level bunk - that looks high up there...

Both slept well - very warm and cosy.

Saturday 17th March

Woke to the sound of rain - not what we wanted to hear, though also warmed that we didn't stay in a tent.

Today's leg will be on to the next Refugio - Cuernos, some 4-5 hours away, though again we're carrying our packs.

Thankfully the rain eased off, though Paul's blisters giving a bit of trouble.

We're on the trail by 10.30am - it's dry, and the wind's not too bad.

The opening hour or so of the walk gives great views of the lakes in the valley, and is also quite flat and easy to navigate (all the pats in the park are said to be well signposted). There's also fantastic views of the peaks to our right, where the wind is blowing snow from the top into big clouds.

Reached Nordenskjord Lake and watched the strong winds further up the lake take big misty plumes of surface water across to the other side - gave great rainbows.

As we rounded the far corner of the lake the winds got up, to the extent that we had to hold on, or be blown over - in fact, Chris lost her footing at one point and took a tumble. No injuries, though Paul was told off for walking ahead. "What if I'd been blown into the lake....etc etc".

The walk along the lake took around 3 hours and we had a couple of nice pitstops to catch our breath, and arrived at Refugio Cuernos (another USD33 a night each) at 2.30pm - 4 hours walk, slightly ahead of the suggested 5 hours.

The hostel is in a nice isolated spot, overlooking the lake and surrounded by high mountains.

Very pleased to be sitting down, drinking a cold Coke, and listening to the strong winds blast against the face of the hostel. Not sure if the creaking is supposed to be so louad, and so much movement in the walls. Apparently, we very safe...

The Refugio is very similar to Chileno, though we found the guys running it a little less friendly.

Met up with Mike (Norwegian) and Susanne (German) who are travelling together for a few weeks. Chatted most of the afternoon with them and another German girl, Jenny.

No problems with cooking here, with a small stove being available at any time, though kitchen access somewhat restricted. Thankfully we're carrying some cooking utensils, thanks to Paula at the hostel we stayed at in Puerto Natales (Niko's II).

In bed fairly early, and another comfortable night's sleep.

Sunday 18th March.

Oops, lots of rain and string winds overnight, and today is due to be a big walking day over to Camp Italiano, for the French Valley Walk. Walking on will then take us a further couple of hours to the 3rd and final hostel - all in all, about 9 hours walking today. And it's not looking like stopping raining.

Planned to be on the trail (with packs, though the weight slowly going down as we use up our food supply) by 8am, but hang around until just after 9.

The rain has eased, but it's still coming down. We prepare as best as we can to keep dry.

10 minutes in and our legs are soaked from all the moisture on the knee-high bushes that line the trail. Of course, this same moisture eventually makes it's way into our boots from the top down.

45 minutes into a full days walking and we're already getting uncomfortable - lots of parts of the trail are like running streams - we even give up bothering to try and find the drier edges of the small pools that have formedand walk straight through. We can't get much wetter after all.

The trail is interesting, though the low cloud and mist cover up any interesting views - we're also spending most of the time looking down to see where we're treading - last think we want to do is slip over and cake ourselves in mud. It feels mildly miserable, for these fair-weather walkers.

Both of us already thinking the the walk up the French Valley, which is supposed to be gorgeous, will not happen today. Not when we can save 5 hours of miserable walking (and teh views also not so good in these conditions), and begin the drying process in just 2 short hours.

We don't even stop to consider our options when we get to Camp Italiano, though, again, we are pleased to not be camping on this hike - it looks horrible. We continue the trail towards the last refugio on our trek, Paine Grande, which we hear has a cafeteria.

So, after 4 hours walking, we arrive at the lodge pretty wet and cold - very pleased to be in the warm and to see a friendly face, American John (who we met in Punta Arenas).

The lodge is a lot bigger than the previous 2 - more like a hotel. And, it's a couple of dollars more than the others too, but facilities are very good and there's plenty of hot water.

Once we're dry, we sit by the wood-burning heater, with our boots in front of us - can't even contemplate walking in wet boots tomorrow!

Had a pleasant afternoon chatting with Mike, Susanne, Jenny - playing Scrabble with John etc etc. The line of boots around the fire growing is about 7 deep by dinner time.

Cooked up the last of our pasta in the grotty outdoor kitchen (crammed full of campers, and really not kept that clean), and got back into the cosy lounge within 20 minutes. M&M's are on offer - 2 (small) bags for 800 Pesos. That'll be 4 bags then, please.

John had been camping, but ended up breaking a tent pole. I reckon he did it on purpose to get a nice warm indoor room.

Mike and Susanne very sweet to us - they paid for dinner at the refugio and kindly brought out their desserts for us. Yum, and thanks guys!

Spent the rest of the daylight hours enjoying the view of the windswept lake (Pehoe) from the lounge, met a few other folks. Nice friendly atmosphere.

Go to bed, pleased to be in the dry, but sorry to have cut the route short.

Monday 19th March

Again, not a huge walk planned today, so not up till 9am. First thing we check is how the sky looks - not great,but it's dry...for now.

Also, can't see that the conditions are any better over at the French Valley - of course, we do have the option to revisit the area.

However, today we'll walk to Grey Glacier, another highlight of the 'W' walk.

On the trail just after 11am (a little late) and the wind is up, and of course, we're having to walk into it, rather than it blow us along. The beginning is quite hard going (uphill), and the winds pushing you back don't help. At least it's quite clear in the sky today, with a little bit of sun poking through.

Bumped into Jenny, who was already on her way back from seeing the glacier - she's catching the midday boat.

We're pushing quite hard to get trhough the trail, as Paul wants to be back in time to get the 6 o'clock boat out of here.

Bump into quite a few folks who have decided against going all the way to the glacier face, due to the wind, but we persevere for the time being...

After an hour or so, we get our first view of the glacier - quite exciting, but we want to be at the face NOW!

Pleased that the winds have died down and there's also some more sun, though Chris has a dodgy stomach today.

Got all the way to to closest lookout for the glacier after 3 hours, about 30 minutes ahead of time, giving us plenty time to hang around and take in the view. Also, perhaps a good thing that we left quite late, as a lot of other walkers have made the return journey, leaving the glacier all to us.

The colour of the glacier was amazing, especially with the sun dipping in and out of the clouds. Awesome!

Sat around for about 20 minutes and got some energy for the return trip from some M&M's.

Chris not happy that Paul has walked ahead, again. Paul's blisters are stinging, and also his toes are crushed in his left boot, so he wants to get it over with asap, which is a shame with the amazing views around us.

The return trip took a further 3 hours, so 6 hours walked today - pretty good against the 7 hours that is suggested.

Had considered staying in the park another night, and seeing if we could do the French Valley walk tomorrow, but Paul's feet are in pieces, and we get on the boat at 6pm for the journey back to Puerto Natales. Great views from the ferry, and the bus as we head back to town - nice clear night, and lots of stars out for us.

Back to PN by 10pm - annoyingly had to go into a dorm (same price as a double, but they're full up), but our roommates are great, and don't disturb us from our sleep.

Shattered, and with Paul's feet swollen and blistered, we get to bed, pleased that we completed the walk, though it was a 'U' shape walk, rather than a 'W'!.

Tuesday 20th March

Moved into a twin room, with Cable TV - Paul happy to lay up with his feet resting.

Chris kindly went out for someemergency supplies - Coke, Chocolate Milk, cookies, Pringles, then we both collapsed for most of the rest of the day, until we met up with Mike and Susanne for dinner.

Went to a Parilla (BBQ restaurant), though managed to get a spread of food to suit us all - Chris has some mashed potato with her Omelette.. Enjoyed a Pisco Sour, followed by wine, and had a good chat with the guys.

Wednesday 21st March

Chris's cold coming through now and she's not feeling so good. Managed a wander around the small town and along the seashore.

Met up with Mike and Susanne again, this time going back to the only veggie restaurant in town, El Living. Yummy, had soup, and a spicy coconut dish, though didn't stay out too late as Chris not up to it.

Sorry to say goodbye to Susanne (we're on different buses tomorrow), but will be travelling with Mike.

to be continued on next thread....

Ushuaia

Wednesday 7th March

Paul still, er, loose, but not feeling too bad.

Didn't get going until quite late in the morning, and had a walk around the small town - strangely has a Christmas feel about it, though there's no decorations. Perhaps Paul is now seeing things...

Yes, it is a little cold, but we're wrapped up, and the sun is shining, here in the most southern city in the world (though we think that Puerto Williams in Chile takes that honour, but is smaller).

Got our hopes up with making enquiries about a 10 day Antarctica trip. We had hoped to arrive here and get onto a boat at the least minute and save a few quid. All was looking good, we filled out the forms, and the boat was due to leave on Friday. For the record, the price they were offering (USD3000 each) is something of a steal - we were put in touch with a local/reputable agent for Antarctica trips, Alicia Petiet.

Whilst we were 'nearly' booked on, we still had to wait for our forms to get faxed through to Chile, and we'd be contacted later. Unfortunately in the meantime, we hear that the trip has been cancelled for mechanical reasons. Bugger! This is confirmed the next day.

However... - read on, for our second hope.

Chris was depressed in the meantime - it really is a golden opportunity to go somewhere so remote - will we ever be down this way again???

Didn't really do much else today, Paul was flagging, and Chris was down in the dumps...

Thursday 8th March

Paul wakes up with no change to his sewage system, so he stays in bed for the rest of the morning, Chris goes off to make further enquiries about Antarctica trips.

Also, we're only booked at this hostel one more night, so dreading having to move on. (They're full)

Well, we've got an excursion for later in the day, a boat trip up the Beagle Channel, which will take in some waterside Estancias (ranches), as well as a Penguin colony, and a Seal colony. We booked with Canoero Catamarones, and paid Pesos150 each - the boat etc, was fine, though there's always more folk onboard than you'd like, but not too much of a crush.

The weather was kind to us, though the wind as we ploughed through the water was rather breathtaking. The boat trip was about 5 hours in total, taking us a far up as the Haberton Estancia (built by the Anglican missionary Thomas Bridges in 1886), about 90kms away. On the way we passed the wreck of the Sarmiento, from 1912.

Arriving at the highlight, Martillo Island, home to the Magellanic and Gentoo Penguins (the former are bigger than the latter). Whilst the bulk had already emigrated north, there was still plenty to see and enjoy. Not quite sure what they make of the boat pulling right up to the beach, though I don't think we hit any...

Fantastic being so close, though lots of folk on the boat wanting to get to the front to see. It's good to be 6' 1" sometimes.

Some of the penguins are changing the feathery coats and we understand that they don't go out into the sea at this time.

As well as the penguins, there's flying birds too, including Black and White Albatross and Southern Skuas. The latter sit amongst the penguins, all happy-like.

On the return journey we stop off at the South American Seal colony, and also a small rocky island inhabited by Cormorants.

The water is nice and flat on the way back, and the setting sun reflects off it beautifully, with the Andes in the background.

Paul's stomach remains explosive.

Friday 9th March

OOps, Chris drops her engagement ring and it smashes into 3 pieces. Not sure if that's a sign, though thankfully she has a spare one to wear in the meantime.

Bumped into the Irish couple who first mentioned the 'cheap' Antarctic trip - they tell of another that is going on Sunday, and there's some last minute berths going.....

In town we go into one of the chocolate cafes, Chris enjoys a Submarino - a mug of hot milk, in which you drop in a bar of chocolate.

We then face the prospect of lugging our gear down the road to the Yakush Hostel. We fork out for the two of us the take over a 4 bed dorm whilst Paul is still suffering. We've booked in for 3 nights, but the bookings they already have means we have to change rooms each day. Not ideal, but the place is nice (we do prefer Antarctica), and the folks are friendly and helpful.

We visit Alicia again to find out the deal with the other boat trip - yes, she thinks there is availablility, but we would be separated and in same-sex dorms. Not what we want to do - it's a lot of money, and we'd not want to be split up and/or run the risk of sharing a room with some undesirable. Not quite the spirit, but really not what we want to do, and maybe not the best idea if Paul's stomach doesn't improve. Chris is depressed again.

Well, we need to make the most of the area, and take a short hike - the Cerro del Media trail, 4.6kms (mostly up!). Walked through the residential area behind town - some of the houses are like flimsy shacks - don't know how these people keep warm!

The walk is a little more difficult that we expected, but it was nice to get past the treeline and enjoy the view of Ushuaia below, and stretching out over the Beagle Channel etc. Sadly, no wildlife to see, except a few small birds. Had a brief snowball fight at the top.

Got back after about 3 hours, which isn't bad when the literature suggests 3 hours each way. Felt shattered and Paul got grumpy as we trailed up the main street a couple of times trying to decide on which food we should have. The diary I'm copying from reads that Paul was 'out of order' being grumpy. Whatever....

Had a mediocre meal at the Irish bar in town, then fairly early to bed.

Saturday 10th March

Both slept well, though Paul's condition remains the same, despite having starved for 20+ hours over the last 2 days.

Bit of a hassle in the morning whilst we wait in the hostel between checking out of our current room and checking into the new one, though please to be back into a double room.

Caught up on a little bit of the blog, whilst Chris tracked down the bus tickets out of here and visited the Museo del Fin del Mundo (Museum at the end of the World). Really interesting, and plenty info in English.

Ushuaia sits within a region called Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fires) - so called because of the campfires spotted by passing ships. The indigenous Yamanas people kept permanently lit fires in sealion skulls.

In the 1500's, the Europeans weren't interested in the land and so sailed through, and didn't settle until the 1800's.

The first mission in Ushuaia was opened in 1869, and Thomas Bridges (one of the first missionaries) even compiled a 32,000 word dictionary, which is now of great significance as the language of the Yamanas people has died out.

The Yamanas were essentially 'canoe indians', living off raw sea food and sea lions. Before the missionaries came, they essentially wore no clothing. Studies from the mid 20th century show that the Yamanas ' body warmth was 2 grades higher than that of most humans - they also had more body fat, probably due to their diet. Also, they would smother themselves in seal fat to keep warm.

Sadly, and God only knows why, 4 Yamanas (2 adults, a boy and a girl) were taken to London in 1830. Their names - Boat Memory, Fuegia Basket, Jemmy Button and York Minster. Boat Memory died in London, though the 3 others returned.

Ushuaia was officially founded in 1884.

Not a lot else done today - grabbed some food from the supermarket etc etc.

Sunday 11th March

Chris took herself off to the Museo Maritime, and joined the English language tour - very interesting, though quite pricey to go into the museum, 30 Pesos/GBP5.

Up to 600 inmates were held in the building, in 380 small cells. It reminds Chris of Alcatraz.

Wing 1 has been kept mostly original - very cold and gloomy. A huge amount of information is available in English.

The jail was built between 1902 and 1920, all the construction work carried out by the convicts, though the it was closed in 1947 for humanitarian reasons.

One of the best known inmates was Santos Godino, aka 'Big Eared Man'. Criminologists performed surgery on his ears whilst in prison - they believed his violent behaviour was due to his big ears!

Chris back to the hostel in time to move rooms for the last time - Paul stayed in bed in the morning.

Had hoped for a trip into the National Park in the afternoon, though Paul not up for it. Instead, we walk along the pretty shoreline, and enjoy the amazing reflections around us.

Christine had her 'best ever' hot chocolate in town, but was then depressed to see the Antarctica boat leave the harbour.

Bought some sweets and crisps from the supermarket. Early night...

Monday 12th March

Travelling day today, and we're off on an 11 hour bus ride to Punta Arenas. Paul is pleased that things 'down there' have pulled themselves together.

Bit of a misunderstanding on the bus with the seats, and we miss a chance for Paul to have two seats to himself. It's all Chris's fault, and the legroom is pretty poor. Paul forgives Chris, but Chris doesn't forgive Paul for being nasty to her.

The scenery as we drive along is pretty and mountainous, with lots of reflections in the still lakes below, though this soon changes to flat and barren lands. Thank goodness for the wonder of the Ipod Video, and the makers of Family Guy.

Whilst the landscpae not that interesting, we spot a few Rhea (flightless ostrich-thing) and Guanaco, a member of the camel family and related to the Alpaca and Llama.

Getting across the border to Chile is really quick, even though we're a coachload, and the hours drift by as we watch the vast open spaces around us.

We have a short ferry crossing with the coach (crossing the Strait of Magellan) - Paul stayed on the coach but Chris had a look overboard and was rewarded with some Black and White Dolphins swimming nearby, also a Magellanic Penguin popped its head up out of the water.

Arrived in Punta Arenas, Chile around 7pm-ish...

continued on next thread...

Buenos Aires

Monday 26th February

Aaah, pleased to be waking up in Buenos Aires again, we REALLY like it here. We feel especially comfortable after leaving Rio, happily unscathed.

Yep, despite the storm, we have slept well, and appreciate the peace and quiet at the Garden House - glad we're staying here

Enquired about flights out of BA, down to Ushuaia - just need to decide when...

So, arrived at the Obelisk to meet David at noon - still no show, could be a number of things. Give it twenty minutes, then head off to an internet shop to get the photos finally onto DVD. Not much luck, the memory card reader (or Lector de Memoria, as we find out) seems broken. More AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Whilst waiting for this, we see that we've had an email from David, and eventually track him down and meet up at near the Museo de Jamon (Ham Museum(!)), which is actually a reastaurant. Not sure what they do there...

At last, we meet up, and it's good to see a friendly face and catch up with this'n'that. Not sure that David should be wearing shorts with those lard-white legs. Or even wear shorts, full stop.

After some lunch and banter (I remain the funny one (Paul)), we split up for a bit, and we try and find a new card reader. Success, eventually.

Late afternoon and we meet up again at the Obelisk, and agree to accompany David over to Palermo (nice part of town), where he's signing up for an apartment rental. Spent AGES whilst the paperwork was being done, then lent him as much as we could withdraw for his deposit. There was a promise of a ice cream for our patience, but this didn't show....today.

Joined David and the letting agent to the apartment - nice place, a studio, on the top floor of a 3 storey block. Not a bad way to shell out for accomodation in BA if you're staying for a week or more. The guys at BA Apartments seem a good bunch, and of course nice and easy with speaking English.

Palermo is a nice area to socialise, and there's a bunch of bars and restaurants nearby, including Dashi, (a sushi place) where we head for dinner.

Paul and Chris nearly wet themselves when David walks into the plate-glass front door as we exit the building, leaving a very clear forehead-sweat mark at the 6-foot level. This remains funny (to us) for most of the rest of the evening. Sorry DB.

The restaurant is a little fancy, so we feel underdressed, but no problem, and we sort a table in no time.

This was Chris and I's first sushi experience, and, too be honest, it could have been worse, though neither of us is into raw fish. Along with the 'traditional' sushi rolls, we had a couple of extra dishes to share - tofu, fried veggies, rice, japanese steak - all of the dish names are long forgotten. All washed down with a tasty bottle of Pinot Noir.

Excellent meal, and worked out about GBP40 for 3, with wine.

Splashed out on a GBP2 taxi to the other side of town.

Tuesday 27th February

Before we head out, Manuel at Garden House sorts out our tickets to the Boca Juniors/San Lorenzo game next Sunday afternoon. It's a tour, rather than just the tickets, so return transport and a snack included. Not sure if it covers insurance for getting done-over whilst at the match...

Next job, we finally manage to get our photos onto DVD, though it still took a couple of hours. Wish we had been able to travel easily and safely with a laptop so we could do our own. Lots of wi-fi spots on our travels over the last few months.

Learn today that a friend at home who has been suffering cancer is very poorly. Our thoughts with Louis and Chris.

After our internet session, and having caught up with David, we head into Cafe Tortoni, one of the most famous cafe's in Buenos Aires, for a drink and nibble. It's not long before David is reminded about last night's incident with the front door.

After, we jump in a taxi (SOoooo cheap here!) and head over to Recoleta Cemetary (we've been there before) and take a walk around, including a stop to see Eva Peron's tomb.

Same as our last time at the cemetary, we follow with a trip to the Freddo icecream shop nearby. Pleased to have a quick chat with Mr Cole-Johnson in Vegas, though sorry that Clarky didn't answer his phone. Neither of them are probably reading this, so, whatever!

Apres icecream we split up again, Chris and I head back to San Telmo to get changed before returning to Palermo, for wine at DB's apartment, then Caiprinha's at a nearby bar, where it's currently 2 for 1. Chris not really enjoying her drink, so Paul gets 3.5 for 1. Paul leaves bar with hot cheeks.

David and Chris find it HILARIOUS when Paul gets a small tree branch attached to his earring. Funny, yes, but not as funny as the door incident.

For din-dins, we track down steak-favourite restaurant Rio Alba, on the south side of Palermo. Food great, though Chris stuck with an 'okay' omelete. In fact, it's described in the diary as 'mediocre'.

Taxi home, and, again, to bed with a full stomach.

More stormy-ness overnight, but we sleep well anyway.

Wednesday 28th February

Realising that he's thoroughly out of shape, David has employed a personal trainer whilst in BA. He's also on the lookout for a cheap manicure. Anyway, he has no session (with the 'chunky Central-American') today, so we meet at 11am and make our way on the subway to Retiro station, where we'll get an overland train for the hour-or-so ride out to Tigre.

Ridiculous, it costs about 30p each return for the ride, and the train is fine. That is, until we stop for about 20 minutes before we've reached the third station on the line. We also realise that this second station is just a stonesthrow from where David stays. Of course, had we planned to meet up on the train, there's little chance it would have worked out.

Arrive in Tigre just after lunch and stop for a naughty McDonalds before we catch a boat out into the network of waterways - Tigre is situated on a large delta.

David not impressed with his 'chicken in a bun' - I didn't realise he was pointing at the next picture when he said 'one of those'.

Onto our water-taxi and we chug through the delta area (Delta del Parana) for about 45 minutes, then we take our first stop, which looked like it was someone's back garden. The narrow path along the waters edge took us along to one of the many bars/restaurants that are dotted around the area.

Unfortunately we don't have much time to sit down, before we need to be back on the pier for the next boat that will take us further into the delta.

On the pier we bump into an American guy, the sort of character that ends up in blogs like this. Cue, Avi Baum. More of him later.

Tigre, and it's waterways, are very odd - beautiful, but odd. Lots of houses (lots on stilts) sit by the water, though not many people around. We think a lot of these houses are holiday homes/weekend retreats. The water level seems quite high, as our wake laps into people gardens.

The mozzies here seem to be on steroids, they're huge - and we jump off the boat at the main tourist spot, taking a walk around the streets of water, until we hit a deadend. Notice as we walk back that the water level is a bit higher, and our path quite waterlogged.

Back at the pier, we stop for a beer whilst we wait for our boat, bumping into Avi Baum, a Jewish New Yorker, who seems to be one of those folks who has travelled for years and years without returing home. He also has occasional vocal outbursts, a little like a controlled Tourette's! It's at this point in our short relationship that he tells us that he was vegan for most of his life until he found that he had a low sperm count/'low ejaculatory volume' (his exact words), and was now a reborn carnivore.

We also learn that he is a Doctor, though has yet to actually practice (he's well into his 40's we reckon). He also doesn't elaborate, on further questioning, as to what area of medicine or whatever he is in.

Whilst we feel quite safe, none of us would be surprised to find a severed head in his bag, or at least some relics of his time in 'Nam, when he would have been about 10.

Back on dry land, we say farewell to Avi, and make our way to the train station for the return to Buenos Aires.

Uneventful retrun trip, and David jumps off at his stop, and us back to Retiro, then the subway to San Juan.

To keep things easy, we meet up again at the Obelisk, and make our way for dinner at Italian restaurant 'Broccolini'. We arrive to see that it is Gnocchi (Noquis) Night - there's some strange tradition about having Gnocchi on the last night of the month.

The food is good, especially the bread basket, though Chris was hoping for a spicier sauce. Also, the Tiramisu was disappointing. On a positive note, the wine was great.

Walked on to Confiteria Ideal, a Cafe during the day, then a Tango Club (Milonga) in the evening. Not quite a nightclub, but a place for those interested in Tango to meet, drink, dance, fall over. We don't see any of the latter, and all is very civilised and entertaining.

Had a great time watching the dancers, of different abilities, though all 'well-into' what they were doing.

The etiquette to dancing at a Milonga is for a man to nod to the woman, who will then discreetly accept, or not and join him on the dancefloor. Any conversation seems to be parkeduntil the dance is over. Often, the dancers will close their eyes whilst dancing (possibly sheer concentration, as it's a difficult dance, to do well).

Unfortunately David only stayed a short while - thankfully we stayed on and were treated to a dance by 2 professional couples who are in town for the Tango Festival.

Both were excellent, though performed different types of Tango's. the first couple performed in a traditional dress,using handkerchiefs, whereas the second couple danced what we thought to be 'true' Tango. Wow, seemingly efortless, though absolutely energetic.

After this part of the show, the 'amateurs' then performed a different style of dance, in a row facing each other, with lots of clicking of feet, twirls, and arms aloft.

Glad we stayed around to watch this - would love to take part, though need a few lessons first...

Walked back to the hostel, slept well.

Thursday 1st March

Wow, time is flying, only 4 full months left of this trip. Plenty of time!

Chris and I make our way to Recoleta, where we are to join the free English language tour of the Cemetary. Arrive at Pueyreddon subway station to see water flowing down to meet us, and sheets of water falling from the sky.

We make a dash for the surface, and see that the streets are like rivers. Umm, we'll not be joining the tour today, and get back on the subway to the next stop, Bulnes.

Of course, we're not far up the road and the rain is just as heavy here, the streets just as wet. To avoid the rain we aquaplane across the street and step into the shopping mall here. The rain is so heavy - Chris doesn't want us to go to any of the upper levels after seeing floods of water coming down inside the mall.

We walk around for a bit, then decide to see if there's anything on at the cinema - it doesn't look like the rain is going to stop for a while.

Watched The Last King of Scotland - a powerful movie about Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. Forest Whitaker deserving his Oscar trophy.

After some lunch, we walked on to the Plaza de Mayo, to witness the 'Madres de la Plaza de Mayo' demonstrate (well, probably more of a weekly vigil) in front of the Casa Rosada. Every Thursday since 1977, they have gathered at the square to proclaim the greatest injustice in Argentine history - the 'disappearance' of the children during the Dirty War.

Each mother (now evidently in their 70's and 80's, or more), strolls around the main monument with a large banner, and some carry a photo of their offspring, with details of when they disappeared. The madres also wear a white scarf on their heads, embroidered, in blue, with the words 'Let the disappeared reappear, alive'.

It is said that some 30,000 'disappeared' (imprisoned, tortured, murdered).

One very elderly lady in a wheelchair wore a large black and white photo around her neck - her daughter hisappeared exactly 30 years ago today, 1st March 1977.

The women walked around for 30 minutes, then quietly left the square.

Christine is currently reading 'Bad Times in Buenos Aires' (Miranda France), which explains how, during the Dirty War, men and women were drugged and then thrown out of planes into the Rio (River) Plata. Also, pregnant women were imprisoned during their term, only to be murdered after the birth of their child. The children were then 'adopted' by the torturer/killer of their parent, in turn, 'righteously subverting the wishes of the murdered parents'.

In 1983, the government set up a Natural Bank of Genetic Data, where blood samples from the relatives of disappeared children were stored. the Grandmothers of May Square were investigating 217 reported cases of missing children. 25 children (now teenagers etc) were returned to their biological families, though there were cases where the children did not want to return, having been raised 'by their true parents'. Sadly, these children ended up in care.

This 'Dirty War' came about due to President Jorge Videla creating a basis for eliminating corruption, and his primary target were the Montonero - a Peronist guerilla group, who also acted violently in their own cause - but the dictatorship did not distinguish between those who assisted the guerillas, or simply sympathised, or spoke out against the bruatilty.

At the opposite corner of the Plaza de Mayo (opposite the Casa Rosada) is the Cathedral, which we briefly visited with David (we'd been there before).

After, refreshments (coffee and cake) at Havana. Havana make the tasty cakes/biscuits known as Alfajores. These are a kind of triple-decker Wagon Wheel, but without the spongy stuff, though tasty nonetheless, and in loads of flavours, including the national favourite, Dulce de Leche - a caramel sauce, which seems to be applied to most sweet foodthings.

After, we took off in a cab to Plaza Dorrego in San Telmo, an old, attractive, part of town.

Not looking for a late night tonight, so enjoyed some good food and wine(s) at the Plaza Dorrego Bar - very quaint and atmospheric. Enjoyed the gratis monkey nuts.

Mr Briggs took a cab back to Palermo, leaving us the short walk back to the hostel over the other side of the multilane highway that separates us.

Friday 2nd March

With Tango season in full swing, there's lots of free events going on. First thing in the morning we snagged ourselves some free tickets at the Teatro President Alvear for tonight. Whilst not a tango show, we'll be seeing (or listening to) a group performing/singing tango inspired music.

Spent some time on the internet before meeting David in the afternoon, and walking onto Puerto Madero (the, fancy, port area) for some food at Asia Cuba.

A very nice setting on this sunny day, though the food expensive, and not the best by a long way. Just whiled away the afternoon, overlooking the port channel, and the steady stream of cyclists, runners and walkers going by.

David is off to a wine tasting evening tonight, so we go our separate ways, Chris and I head back to change for a night at the theatre.

The band 'Proyecto Cuided Oculta' are - a pianist, a cello/double bassist, a guitarist and a bandoneon (squeezebox-er). All very talented, and were joined by a different singer (4 in total, 2 guys, 2 girls) for each song they performed. Would have been great to see them accompanied by tango dancers.

A shame our Spanish is not so good - there was a speech and presentation at the beginning of the show, but sadly it was right over our heads. An elderly chap, no doubt connected with the arts, was presented with a plaque and flowers, and warmed by huge applause from the audience.

Very enjoyable evening - even better that is was FREEEEEEEE!

Next plan was to head over on the Metro to Palermo and meet David. Unfortunately, plans didn't work out, so just a short distance from his apartment we get a text to say he's not there, and at a busy restaurant on a table for two...... About turn to the Metro, which is now closed.......... so get a taxi back to Plaza Dorrego and our fave restaurant in the square, for some more nice wine. We still don't know a good wine from bad, but we've certainly had some practice this week!

Whether fate or not, an evening together gives us a chance to talk about what we'll do when (if) we return home in the summer. Ultimately, despite all the options being available (moving somewhere else in the UK, moving overseas, extending our trip, changing careers), we decide that we actually quite like what we've got and look favourably at returning home and seeing how it goes. Of course, in the meantime, our employers may have changed their minds about taking us back.....

Feels good to have made a decision about the near future.......lets see what happens.

Saturday 3rd March

No rush to do anything today, but Paul does need a haircut so we get that sorted nearby. Sadly, we're a bit early for the happy hour at the barbers, which serves Dacquiris, post-trim, from 7pm.

Spent some time walking around Centro and the shops. Stuff here really is cheap - wish we had some space in our packs. Had a snooze in the afternoon, before meeting up at David's in Palermo for some wine, and dinner on him! Drinks at a local bar, then to Sudestada, an asian place. Wow, great to have some spicy food again, and thanks for the treat, David.

Taxi home, and a fairly early night.

Sunday 4th March

Sunday is market day in San Telmo, and around the Plaza Dorrego . Doesn't seem as many stall today, as there was a few weeks ago - probably to do with the weather overnight, lots of rain and wind. Paul also suffered wind last night.

Chris bought a couple of nice tango drawings, though again, there's lots of nice things here, but no space to carry them. Of course, we can post them home, but some of the antiques are bulky and would cost a fortune to ship.

The market continues down Defensa, and past the antique shops.

Paul finds some Mint flavour Alfajores (triple layer choc sandwiches).

Would like to have soaked up some more atmosphere today, but we're heading off to a football match this afternoon, at Boca Juniors.

So, we're finally getting to see Boca Juniors play at home, today, against San Lorenzo. We booked the tickets (well, a package including transport) at the hostel - it cost 120 Pesos, about US$40.

Perhaps not as much of a ripoff as the football package we took up in Rio, but quite a markuip on the face value of the (standing) tickets.

Anyway, for GBP20 we're quite happy and excited about the game, which is said to be a sellout.

Quite a few fans walking around as we approach the stadium in the minibus - we remind ourselves that this isn't the safest of areas, but happy we're in a guided group.

Before we get to the stadium, we stop at a small cafe for a free (well, included in the price) snack. Christine even gets a veggie option. The sausage roll is okay, but the sausages here not as good as home. Note to self - must get mum to do sausage, chips, beans, fried onions when we get home. 4 sausages please, not the chili ones.

The streets get busier as we get closer, so does the police presence. Never sure if that is a good sign or not.

Our tickets our for thet stands at one end of the stadium. The area is already crowded with noisy fans when we arrive, but the atmosphere is a mix of electric and overwhelming. Opposite us we can see numerous banners, and huge flags draped across wide areas of the terrace.

Strangely, whilst the stadium feels big, the pitch looks quite small.

Glad to have picked a spot to stand which isn't overlooked by the terrace above us. Firstly, it'll give us protection if it starts to rain, but more importantly, to shield us from the San Lorenzo supports above us, who, before kick off, are dropping water on the home fans below. Well, we think it is water, though the guide book warns against being hit by a bottle of piss! Sorry mum, I meant urine.

The livliest BJ fans were opposite us - loud repetitive drums, flares, the most banners.

The game was 'okay', though it was a shame the home team lost 3-0 -they beat San Lorenzo by 7 goals at their last meeting. Would have been good to see the home crowd erupt to a home win, or at least a consolation goal or two...

Really enjoyed our afternoon, and pleased to make it in one piece out of La Boca.

For dinner we went to ex-pat haunt, the Gibraltar 'pub'. Nice place, with tones of home. Good to have a proper pint, and teh food was great. They also serve Sushi tonight, and David tells us it was very good - actually, better than the Sushi restaurant we were at a few days ago.

Took ourselves on a short bar crawl, though at the first one, it's mostly soft drinks and cheesecake.

We end up at the Tasso Torquato (Milonga Hall, though this is also where we enjoyed an evening of guitar music a few weeks ago). Tonight was simply where anyone/everyone (except us) enjoys the dance floor to perform their dramatic tango.

The more we listen to the music, we feel a twinge of Parisien atmosphere - perhaps it's the Bandoneon. Also, for the pre-recorded tango music that is playing, it sounds like a bunch of old 78's grinding away on an old music centre - lots of crackles and feedback!

More wine enjoyed here, before another great nights sleep.

Monday 5th March

Wasted most of the morning at the main post office, wanting to send a small parcel home. Queued for ages, only to find out that you need to show your passport in order to send an item overseas. GGGGRRRRRRR.

We're now stuck with carrying the parcel around for the rest of the day. Bugger.

Oh well. David leaves for Mendoza today, so we head over to Palermo for lunch, which was nice.

Said our goodbyes - and we make our way back toward centro. Chris goes back to the hostel to get a passport, Paul cracks on with updating the blog.

Another chore today is to try and sort out the credit card, which has been misused. We're only carrying it as back up, luckily, but it has been such a hassle trying to sort it out.

It does also give me the opportunity to slag off Morgan Stanley, who are absolutely useless. I happened to notice some rogue transactions on the card last week - I emailed all the details through to Morgan Stanley, but they haven't bothered to reply. A chaser email to their Anti Fraud department also got nowhere and transactions (to Vodafone, in New Zealand) continue to go through. By the way, we didn't use our credit card in New Zealand, except as for a guarantee for car hire (with Spaceships), when an imprint of the card was taken. Maybe the two are connected....

Anyway, I went out of my way to phone MS to see what the ·"?¿ was going on an they, without any hint of sarcasm, tell me that they aim to reply to email within 45 days! Really helpful, eh....

Even more helpful that the card needs to be stopped, and they can do nothing to get a replacement card out to me.

Whatever, we've completed some declaration form and faxed it back - still not sure if anyone is bothering to deal with us.

The post office is open till 8pm, so we go back towards the end of the day, and our spirits are lifted by a kind man you gives us a queue number that is 30 places before the one we took from the dispenser.

Our package will take a couple of months on the high seas...

Nothing fancy in the evening, and we feel the need to detox after the late nights and rich food.

Tuesday 6th March

Oh goody, a travelling day today, flying down to Ushuaia, where it'll be cold and cloudy. Well, at least cold.

That's enough to get the day going badly, however, Paul's mind is taken off that with an explosive bout of diarroea (or however it is spelt - an internet search reveales several messy options), which beats him to the bathroom. I leave the fine detail with your imagination.

Whilst we have a few hours until we need to get to the airport, Paul is happy to stay in the vicinity, but it gives us a chance to catch up on a few things, including calls home, one of which brings tragic news. Our love and thoughts with Chris, and we feel desperately sad to be so far away.
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Later that afternoon, things fairly straightforward at the domestic airport in BA, though we're soon hit with news of a delay, though we're not fairing too badly compared with David who left us yesterday, but his flight was delayed considerably longer, about 12 hours. Never fun when the flight itself is only a couple of hours!

With our flight being delayed, we are sorry to miss the mountain views as we head towards Ushuaia in the far south. On landing, we're reminded that we are close to the Antarctic, and decide that our exposed legs and arms need covering, quickly. Out comes the fleece for the first time since mid-December. And thankfully, Paul has no repeat of this morning...

In the taxi going to the hostel (Antarctica - very good, recommended) we can see the moonlight on the snowy mountains surrounding the town - very pretty sight. Apparently it snowed yesterday, so a bit of a treat for us.

Yep, our room at the Antarctica Hostel very nice - especially the underfloor heating.

Slept okay, but Paul's stomach still not right....

to be continued on next thread...

16th February

Catete - Rio de Janeiro

So, our room is sorted and our Rio experience begins.

Last group meal at a nearby restaurant, the Catete Grill. Food good here, buffet style, though you pay for your meal by weight. The meat is very good. Nice for everyone to be here together, though maybe the atmosphere is a little split - Kim's upset about some of the feedback that has been given, and maybe the group has splintered a bit over the last few days, especially where folks have stayed in different accomodation here and there.

Before the first big night out, the 100+ group get a briefing session from Exodus, including some do's and dont's around Rio. We're a little apprehensive about being here, you read so much about the robberies/muggings - of course, Sarah on our group braved coming back to Rio after getting robbed at knifepoint just a couple of months ago. So, we do our best to look like scummy tourists who have nothing. Quite easy, then.

We head into Lapa in a couple of taxi's - there's a small street parade due to happen, and it's quite a busy nightlife area too.

Lots of food and drink stalls around - plenty of noise and the atmosphere is exciting. Of course, wouldn't be right without a Caiprinha in hand, so get a large one. Chris remains on the beers in the meantime.

Generally hung around by the viaduct, soaking up what's going on around us. Unfortunately, also continually reminded about needing to be safe, and all of us sticking together.

Met some friendly guys from another overland truck. The Dutch, what a friendly bunch.

Not too late to bed, around 1ish, probably when most folks are heading out.

Saturday 17th February

Busy day today - we've signed up for both the City Tour (part of the extension package) as well as the football down at the Macarana Stadium later this afternoon. There's a chance that we'll need to jump off the tour and get a taxi to the stadium if time gets tight.

First stop on the tour is the Cathedral - an unusual concrete 'cone' - huge stained glass windows. In some ways it's an eyesore, but it's still an impressive building, especially inside - it's huge. Unfortunately, only 10 minutes here - I guess this tour will be rather whistlestop.

Next, we stop at the Macarana Stadium, though only the view at the gates, so really no view at all. The stadium once held over 200,000 fans, though now maxes out at around 100,000 since it was converted to allseater in the 90's. Also, it's the home stadium for local teams Flamengo, Botafogo, Fluminense and Vasco da Gama. We're seeing the latter two later on. More about that later...

Back on the coach and we're heading towards the Corcovado Mountain, in the National Park, via Santa Theresa.

On the hill, the neighbourhood of Santa Theresa is a mix of rich and poor. On one side of the road is a favela, on the other sits a mansion! Apparently the rich folks avoid trouble (robberies etc) by turning a blind eye to the crime/drugs in the area.

So, the Corcavado, (Portuguese for Hunchback and at 710 metres (2,330 ft)), the granite peak is located in the Tijuca Forest. Corcovado mountain lies just west of the city center but is wholly within the city limits and visible from great distances - it's amazing how close the National Park is to the city.

It is best known for the 38-metre (125 ft) statue of Jesus that graces its peak, entitled 'Cristo Redentor' or 'Christ the Redeemer'.

The views from here are amazing - there can't be many cities that boast these views, spreading across the whole city, but also taking in the neighbouring islands, Sugarloaf Mountain, as well as the beaches, including Ipanema and Copacabana. Which look packed from up here!

Quite lucky with the weather today, the skies are clear blue - yesterday, the top of the mountain was covered in cloud.

Bit of a nightmare getting back down to the coach in the minibus, the narrow road is gridlocked!

Soon on our way though, and now for a lunch at a grill restaurant near Copacabana. Similar to the Catete Grill - each as much as you like/can - mountains of meat! One oddity, the rubber band I found at the bottom of my beer, just as I was finishing it. Oh well, no harm done, and a free beer in hand.

A lot of these typs of restaurants also have sushi, where of course you'll find that tasty green 'paste', Wasabi. Chris and I don't really do sushi, though Chris really likes Guacamole, which looks very similar.

There are several differences, though in this situation the main one is how hot Wasabi can be, especially if you try and eat a spoonful of it!! Cue a shocked looking face and the clearest sinuses in town!

After lunch we're off to Sugarloaf (Pao de Azucar), where we board two cable cars that take us to the top.

Paul a little unsure - these cable cars are high, and travel between peaks (with a big drop in the middle), rather than hugging the side of the mountain and going up, pylon-by-pylon.

Anyway, we all get on (the cars take up to 70 people at a time) and it's actually a nice ride, especially when we go through some low patches of cloud.

The first stop is at 215 metres, then the main peak at 396 metres. Great views of the city and surrounding coastline from here, again lucky with the weather conditions.

Thankfully not too rushed and we have plenty of time to enjoy the scenery.

Met up again at 3.15 for the ride back (looks like we'll be back in time to catch the coach from the hotel to the footie) via Copacabana.

So, on another coach we head towards the Maracana Stadium, to see Fluminense play Vasco de Gama - two of Rio's main teams. The 'package' was booked though the hotel and cost R90, about GBP23.

No huge crowds as we arrive, though we about 90 minutes away from kickoff. Most folks notice that the ticket price has been cunningly hidden - well, nearly hidden - we can see the ticket price R15, just over GBP3! Bit of a rip off that we've essentially paid R75 for a short coach ride there and back.

More annoying is that we all jumped to put our names down for tickets as we're told it'll be sold out, a huge match etc etc. Well, when we get in the stadium, it's less than a quarter full, though there's still an hour to go. 55 minutes later, we about a third full - whole blocks remain empty, though there's still quite a bit of noise.

Atmosphere therefore not great, though the match is pretty good, with 4 goals on each side.

Dire traffic on the way back, especially through Lapa - wish we had just got off here, place was buzzing.

By the time we got back to the hotel, about 10pm, most folks went to bed, including Chris who wasn't feeling great. Paul went out with Graham, Julia and Andy, just local, though not for too long.

Sunday 18th February

Met folks at breakfast and a few of us took the metro (nice and clean, cheap - felt safe) to Copacabana Beach, the station just a few minutes away.

It's roasting hot when we get here, just before midday, and it looks like the whole world got here just before us.

The beach is amazing, 4kms long, and the sand is beautiful. Of course, we did expect it to be busy, but we've never seen so many people on a beach before. Must be 100 metres deep with people, right up to where the surf is crashing in - yes, and it's really crashing in, but lots of fun.

We set up our sarongs and towels on the street side of the crowds, and feel like the only white tourists here.

Paul disappointed with some of the sights on the beach - not what we see in the postcards, and lots of big girls, and boys, barely fitting into their gstrings. Please, less flesh.

Didn't spend too long in the sun before needing to get into the water - quite a bit colder than anticipated, but very refreshing from the heat. Graham lost his hat and glasses after failing to see a freak wave coming in, though found them luckily.

Simply too many people here - you wouldn't be able to walk along the front without climbing over people.

The heat gets us after just a couple of hours and most of us head off in various directions - Chris, Julia, Andy and I walk along the front to see the interesting sand sculptures, then towards the nearest icecream shop, where Chris finds her best ever Coffee icecream.

Got a little lost walking back to the station - took ages, but found it in the end.

Tonight we're off to the Sambadrome for one of the main processions, and to prepare ourselves for a nightlong party, we head out for dinner and an all you can eat Pizza, which serves pizza with chocolate and icecream toppings. Tastes a lot better than it sounds, but we've all overdone it with too many slices.

Back to the hotel via the supermarket and we stock up on some vodka (GBP2 a litre! - paintstripper probably) and some Red Bull (substitute) to take the taste of the cheap vodka away.

Bit pushed for time so we mix our vodka/red bull in the hotel lobby as we collect our tickets for the Sambadrome.

Armed with mixed drinks and 'crazy' wigs we get on the coach for the ride across town.

Traffic heavy as we're dropped off by our entrance into the Sambadrome - the group makes it's way through the entrance and we get into our block. Great tickets (sector 11), great view. These tickets are also part of our extension tour with Exodus - surely would have been a nightmare to source them ourselves...

The Sambadrome is a purpose built 'runway' for the competing Samba schools to take their procession through. It's half a kilometre long and a bit like a grandstand section of a grandprix track, with seats high up on each side.

Each school will have around 4000 dancers, and they get 1hr 20 minutes to get through their run - penalties apply if they take too long!

The atmosphere is amazing, and that's before the floats start to make their way through! When they come, it's a real mix of sound, colour and action - never had this experience before. The processions generally follow a theme, or mix of themes, so each procession is very different in itself. Whilst the accompanying samba music is full of energy, the songs do get repetitive - one song in 100 minutes!

The 'show' continues through the night, and we leave at the end, around 5.30. As a fairly big group, we are happy to make our way to the nearest metro station, rather than wait for a taxi, with the thousands of other folks going home.

Whilst lots of people around, the journey back is surprisingly easy and quick - we're back at the hotel just in time for breakfast, though bed is desperately calling.

What a fantastic night! - everyone has a great time, and no injuries.

Monday 19th February

Bearing in mind we didn't get to bed until 7am, we're not going to be doing too much today.

Paul got fidgety and went out to try and get some photos put onto DVD - another wasted 2 hours, discs don't work!

Chris had stayed in bed a little longer, did some laundry and then enjoyed the pool for a bit.

Met up in the lobby to see what everyone else was up to that evening - in the end we went out with Graham to a bar in Copacabana, to find it populated by hookers, and dirty old men. That said, we stayed for a couple of drinks! Only.

Left Graham at the bar at about 1ish, and on the metro we wondered whether we should go down to the Sambadrome and enjoy the atmosphere down there (the second half of the league was performing tonight). Decided against it as just the two of us - would have felt safer in numbers.

Tuesday 20th February

After breakfast, Chris went to the Botanical Gardens with Gill, Neil, Tom, May and Andy - a lovely venue of very tall palms and lots of nice flowers - highlight was seeing a hummingbird, and watching it nibbling the nectar.

Didn't realise how small they are!

Had lunch at the Gardens and got back about 3.30ish, then she went out with Gill, May and Andy to pick up a few bits for tonights Gay Ball! Paul had already sorted his 'outfit'.

Paul had spent most of the day either sleeping, or trying, again, to get the pictures onto DVD. This time it was simply taking too long and probably would have taken another 3 hours on top of the two I had already wasted. AAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH. At least he managed to relax in the pool for a bit.

More importantly, we're now getting ready for the Gay Ball, at the Scala. Glad that most folks on our trip are coming, and everyone is expected to be in some kind of outfit.

Paul's is nice and easy, a below-the-knee, Brazil-flag dress. The material is a little flimsy, so won't be going commando tonight. Of course, there's a sprinkling of glitter to add some emphasis to the shoulders.

Chris is going something like Daisy Duke - we managed to cut her jeans into some hotpants, and she has a mesh-like scarf loosely secured around the top bits. There's two little bits of discreet duct-tape in there too. Actually, I don't remember seeing Daisy Duke's boobs like that before.

Feel a little nervous as we head down to the lobby, where about 50 of us are meeting.

Everyone looks great in their outfits (or lack of, thanks Celia) and should be a great night.

"Taxi, for a bunch of freaks.............."

Off we go to Leblon, for the Scala, and there crowds of people outside, just along to see who is going inside the club. Quite strange - camera crews, red carpet, bright lights. Thankfully, we were totally upstaged by the drag queens, so no big fuss over us.

Inside, it's already busy (just before midnight) and there's a frantic samba band onstage, banging it out. Not literally, you understand.

The atmosphere is good and most folks dancing around in one way or another.

We had been warned to expect some absolutely outrageous behaviour, but other than the way people were dressed, there was nothing saucy going on, that we could see....

Once we got to 1ish, the party was in top gear, so were some of the ladyboys. Lots of seminaked men with boobs that girls would die for, though not so many women letting it hang out.

Chris was distraught to see one drag queen fall slightly outside of his thong.

Carried on through the night getting merry on G&T's and Caiprinha's.

Paul got his picture taken with a 6ft stunner - surely not a chap....surely...

As the night wore on, we noticed that quite a lot of our group had left by 2.30 - strange, the party was getting better and better. The samba band stopped playing about 3.30, to make way for some hardcore techno.

Loved it, had a great time, and we left just after 5am, with Paul's long dress now a narrow gathering of green material around the waist. Well, you gotta live once at least.

Asleep by dawn.

Wednesday 21st February

Won't be much happening today.

Didn't plan to, but ended up catching the buffet breakfast before it finished.

Quite a few folks leaving today, sadly.

Went back to bed, only to miss saying goodbye to Mike, Tom and May.

Spent some time in the afternoon pondering which way to travel back down to Buenos Aires. Had thought about the cheap option of the bus, though were incorrect in thinking it was 30 hours - it's 42 hours from Rio to BA.

Not a whole lot cheaper either, at GBP100 - so, happy to pay the extra 75 quid each and fly back down in 3 or so hours. Gives us an extra couple of days to play with too, so we'll be staying in Rio until Sunday.

Decide also to live it up a bit and stay in the hotel, even though it's about 40 quid a night, but it is nice.

Late afternoon, say goodbye to nice Gill and Neil, then have dinner with Julia at Catete Grill.

Julia is away by 7.30, leaving us to eat some chocolate in front of the TV. That's the television, not someone we brought back from the Gay Ball.

Thursday 22nd February

Up for breakfast, then relaxed around the pool with Graham and Steve (Steve was from the other Exodus truck that travelled up from BA with us).

Afternoon, we head over to Ipanema for a walk around. Other than the beach, not a lot happening, though there's a few Volleyball classes going on along the front.

Quite odd, the strip of buildings along the front are mostly residential or offices - no restaurants or bars.

One block behind the main strip is where the shops are, also a small city garden, where we find another hummingbird.

Copacabana and Ipanema beaches kind of join each other, so we walk back to Copacabana and along its whole 4.5km to the other end. A little quieter, now the Carnaval is over. but still very busy, even at the end of the afternoon.

Grab ourselves a corn on the cob and watch a group of guys playing soccer on the beach.

Nice views of Sugarloaf Mountain and the surrounding islands.

Decide that our bodies are telling us to take a break from the partying, so grab an early night. More chocolate and TV.

Friday 23rd February

Had breakfast with the last 2 Exodus people in town - now just us in this supposedly dangerous place. Well, not just us of course, but we do feel a bit lost without the group we've been with for the last 3 weeks.

After some chores, we head to Centro to do a walking tour - a couple of ornate churches, including the main cathedral. One of the smaller churches had an odd 'theatre' look to it, with what looked like Royal boxes up high - also, seemed to be playing modern pop music for some strange reason!

Had a bite to eat and continued our wander around town for the afternoon, going back via Lapa and thankfully not getting lost.

Sat in the gardens of the Old Palace, then grabbed a bite to eat, before sitting down to get some of the blog updated....

Saturday 24th February

Our last full day here in Rio.

Decided against a boat trip out to a neighbouring island, sorry, Paul's fault. Instead, relaxed around the pool before having a last lunch meal at the Catete Grill. Whilst Paul was at the pool, Chris went to the Museo de Republica - the restored 19th century Palacia de Catete, which also served as Brazil's Presidential Palace until 1954. Fabulous interior, very ornate - chandeliers, gold, stained glass windows. The bedroom of Getulio Vargas is exactly how it was when he killed himself, and end to his 20 year dominion over the country.

After, walked to the 'local' beach (Flamengo Beach), just 5 minutes from the hotel. Busy today, being the weekend, and we walked all the way along the beach and around to the Botafogo area. Great views of Sugarloaf Mountain today, no clouds.

Chjris was pleased that we went into the shopping centre in Botafogo - found an Italia Icecream shop. The Coffee Icecream really is heaven, apparently.

We thought we'd be able to walk from here to Copacabana beach, but found ourselves getting into quieter and quieter streets, so, despite the daylight, we turned back. To our right was a favella on the hillside with what looked like a tram-track of sorts. Lots of brightly coloured homes.

Walked back to the hotel, took us a little longer that planned.

Shame that the beach at Botafogo is not used, due to pollution in the bay, from the yacht club. Of course, with Copacabana and Ipanema beaches nearby, you can understand why they would choose to be picky.

Again, a little lame in the evening and stayed in with the television. Found a local channel that was doing a live broadcast from the Sambadrome - seems as though procession number 4 from the night we went to watch have won, though not quite sure. Number 4 were the Samba school who, amongst other things, had a curious mix of Roulette wheels, Star Wars and Chess pieces(!).

Sunday 25th February

Flying down to Buenos Aires today, so up quite early to pack and get ourselves set.

Probably rushed a little more than we needed to, and found ourselves checking out an hour too early - the clocks had changed overnight! Back to the room for an hour...

The taxi ride to the international airport not that long, so arrive in plenty of time to get checked in early.

Not much need for that, as we were delayed for about an hour, though we still managed to arrive in Buenos Aires on time. Seems that flight durations given by the airlines allow for quite a delay.

Pleased to be back in Buenos Aires, and looking forward to meeting my old boss/chum (in that order!!), David. Not sure what his plans are, but it looks like he'll be in town for at least a few days. We'll probably be around for a week, or two if we decide to take on a Spanish course.

Pleased to see that someone was waiting for us at the airport, and we're soon on our way into town, though the traffic is busy on this Sunday afternoon.

Arrived at the Garden House hostel (in San Telmo, conveniently near to San Juan subway station) at about 9ish and are soon checked in, bags dropped off, and on our way to meet David at the Obelisk in Avenida 9 de Julio - a mental 15+ lane road.

Due to meet David at 10, but still no show at 10.25 - damn, should have brought my mobile out, I thought plans were going to smoothly! After a bite to eat, we hung around till 11, just in case watches were an hour out, but still nothing, so we wander back to the hostel.

Chris not happy that she gets a face full of foam, as we walk through a street party on the way back ;( - right in the eye!

Back in the room, have received a 'where r u?' text! Oh well, we're off to bed now, so reply with instructions to meet at midday tomorrow....

Pleasantly cool in the room, and we sleep thru till morning, though there's a storm overnight and the wind is blowing the shutters. Half asleep, Paul thinks that some naughty boys are playing football outside our room.

continues on next thread...

4th February - Day 5

Brazil!

So here we are, in Brazil, over the other side of Iguazu Falls.

In desperate need of some cash, so glad to see an ATM here at the falls, though not so glad that my R60 withdrawal is issued in R2 notes. Glad I didn't need R500!

Similarly great views of the falls from this side, though less ground to cover, so we finish by early afternoon. In fact, kick ourselves that we left so early as the Bird Park is quite expensive (R22 each - over a fiver!)and we choose not to bother going in anyway.

Because the camp site we are staying at is so poor, and in fact we were supposed to have rooms rather than camping, Duncan scores us a hotel in town. Manage a quick game of pingpong before we head off - a narrow victory by Chris.

The hotel in town is fine - A/C, own bathroom etc etc. All had planed to meet around the pool for an early start to Mike's birthday celebrations, but the rain comes and Chris and I snooze instead.

Meet up for dinner at 7.30, though takes a while to get everyone to agree to where we are going. Bloody rain has continued, so we arrive at the restaurant, damp. Good food, better cocktails.

Back in the room to watch the final quarter of the Superbowl. Have no idea what is going on on the field, but the Indianapolis Colts hammer The Chicago Bears, 29-17. Like here in town, it's soggy in Miami.

5th February - Day 6

Left early, 7.55 after buffet breakfast. Yes, cakes for breakfast.

Drove all day, 14 hours. Grateful for Ipod, and Uno cards.

Scenery becoming more hilly, well, more than Argentina, also more tropical.

Wow, what a long day, sitting on our backsides.

Cross a timezone today, so arrive at a grotty hotel at 10pm, rather than 11pm.

Did I mention that the hotel was grotty?

6th February - Day 7

On the flipside, grateful for the long drive yesterday, as it means we get into Bonito nice and early, and the pick of the best camping spots. Again, we are at another campsite, that doesn't really cater for campers - it's just a small patch of dusty land within the hostel compound. I suppose we're quite lucky - the other guys on the other Exodus truck will be setting up their tents on gravel spots, next to where the trucks are parked.

Played volleyball in the pool, beat the Dragoman guys, though that was only because they were worse than us, rather than us being in any way skillful.

Lots of activities to do out of Bonito, though disappointed that the quad bike trip is off.

We sign up for the toobin' (tubing), later this afternoon.

Great fun down at the river, though never seen, or been bitten by, so many mossies before.

The water is crystal clear, though not flowing a quickly as we would like, to turn the toobin' into something a little more reckless. Anyway, things are interesting as the group navigate the first waterfall - most of us go under, then struggle to get back into the saddle.

Of course, this sort of excursion wouldn't be the same without many attempts at dunking. Then, some more waterfalls and rapids. Then some more dunking.

Sorry that the trip is over within the hour, before we're back on land and at the mercy of the mosquitos. Christine thinks that there are at least a million mosquitos, or more, here.

Paul's group have their turn at cooking tonight, so Gerry, Andy and I get cracking at 5. Celia nowhere to be seen, though we understand that she is 'cooking' elsewhere, with one of the guys from the other Exodus truck....

Dinner took a while to finish, so not off onto town until 9pm. Walked down the main street, but not much going on - maybe we're a little early - so, head back to the small bar opposite the campsite, where there's a bit more action going on. Enjoyed a few beers, before a hot night in the tent. Sorry, that's a hot, uncomfortable, night trying to sleep in the tent. It's too hot for 'that'.

7th February - Day 8

During the night, Paul had a big strop after Christine had earlier suggested that we remove the fly-sheet from the tent. A good idea on the one hand, though it meant that we then couldn't have the side doors open for some breeze to come through, also, the thatched roof over the tents has lights underneath, so we were lit up like a Christmas tree. Dazzled, and dripping with sweat, we managed a couple of hours uncomfortable sleep. As I transfer the details of this from paper diary to online one, I read that I was 'out of order'.

As well as the discomfort side of things, we also had a big thunderstorm to contend with. The rain wasn't a problem, as we had the thatched roof above us (though that could have ignited from the lightning!), but the thunder was deafening. And little Chris was scared.

Oh, and sorry Tom, for mentioning it, but you were snoring like a trooper tonight.

In the morning, after a pretty good breakfast at the hostel/campsite, we walked down the main street, though it's not particularly nice, nothing much to see.

Splashed around in the pool a bit, had a snooze (Chris) and caught up with the diary (Chris again).

BBQ at the hostel tonight, very nice, though just enough to go around. Poor Veggie Sonja arrived just in time for only meat left.

Across the road at the little local bar a group of us settled down for some drinks, including our new favourite, Caiprinha, though they do seem to give Paul a red face. Sarah and I chatted by the pool for a while, leaving Chris and Emily to the Caiprinhas. A little while later Sarah and I returned to find Chris a little more gobby than before, though Emily seemed to be in one piece.

In bed (or a hot tent) by 4.30am. Slept like a baby after a gallon of Caiprinha.

8th February - Day 9

Last night not the best night to have a late one, as we're up early for a drive out to the river where we'll be snorkelling.

The bumpy road to Rio de Prata not agreeing with anyone in particular, though Emily the only one to physically respond to the bumps. Out of the back window, though remarkably, completely clear of the side of the truck.

Annoyed that we arrived so early to find that our groups wouldn't be going off for 3 or more hours. Yep, the lunch was nice, but it was sooo hot, and desite the lure of hammocks, the fact that they were in direct midday sunlight put most off.

The 'trip' starts with getting your wetsuit on - uncomfortably hot and tight. We 're then driven a short way to the jungle for a 30 minute walk - again, not great in a skintight wetsuit, though good to be mostly covered from the billion (roughly) mosquitos around us.

Couldn't wait to get into the water - it's perfectly clear, and the sunlight illuminates the underwater scene perfectly. Lots of (big) fish around, and we're excited/mildy petrified that we might see Caymans or Anacondas. Unfortunately neither of the latter show, but the underwater views as we're carried down the river are fantastic. One spot where the springs come out of the ground, stirring up the sand like lava.

Chris took charge of the underwater digital camera that we hored from the hostel - got some great shots of our group and the scenery, above and below the water.

Enjoyed the sunset views from the front of the truck as we drove back. Saw a pair of Toucan's flying around.

Had nice, but relatively expensive, dinner with Sarah and Emily in town.

Sorry to hear when we get back that Tom has been to hospital and on a drip. Maybe someone could swap his beer cans for water. Grown-ups, eh - when will they ever learn.

At least Tom is getting a good sleep - he can probably be heard snoring in Rio. That's not over in Rio de Janeiro, but the fancy nightclub in the north of England.

9th February - Day 10

Head out of Bonito, and drove towards the Pantanal.

Long and bumpy road - we had to take a longwinded detour as the part of the usual route had been washed away.

Lucky folks at the front of the truck get to see an Anaconda, though most of the rest of us see a Capybara (biggest rodent, size of a big dog), and some Cayman snoozing by the edge of the water.

Plagued by mosquitos whenever we stopped, but was too hot to close the windows. Got overtaken by a tourist group on the back of an open truck - lots of laughs as they speed past us. 10 km's up the road, we trundle past them as the driver looks under the hood to see what's broken. Oh well, keeps the mosquitos off us for a bit.

Whilst most of the small wooden bridges along the way are quite safe, we come across one that's looking somewhat dangerous and has two huge holes (and lots of little ones), so off we all get and our stunt driver gets the truck across safely. Of course, there is a high risk that some of us have contracted Dengue Fever whilst waiting and being preyed upon.

Due to the high waters in this area, we need to be collected by boat for our final part of the journey to the 'Lodge'. Took us about an hour to get there, but was a nice ride on the way. Paul and Sarah administered Wet Willies to Graham and Emily sitting in front of us.

Arrived at the lodge at about 5.30, and met by Chica, the pet Howler Monkey at the Lodge. Friendly little monkey, seems to like human contact, though makes some strange noises!

Rooms lovely, though it's a bit naughty that the single girls have to share a room for 5, where everyone else is in rooms for 2 or 3 at the most. Cue a few long faces, but I guess I wouldn't be happy with that either.

Thought we'd get out of the heat (temperature, not the mood) by jumping in the pool, only to find it's like a bath. Still nice all the same and we play some mock-volleyball - Andy & Gerry, Andy, Chris and I.

Nice food and good chat around the bar area. Thumped Duncan at Backgammon.

10th February - Day 11

There's a few excursions planned for us here, and we're split into a few groups.

Up at 6.30am for a nice breakfast, then Chris goes off on a hike, a short boat trip, then back on foot for a trail. A little disappointed with the lack of birdlife, though the group came across a Jaguar footprint by the water. Other wildlife seen - a Coati, a deer and Cayman (is the plural Caymen?).

Whilst Chris was on this trip, Paul went off to do some Piranha fishing. We stopped at several sites, and cast our line-on-the-end-of-a-bamboo from the boat. Gerry was the first to catch a Piranha at the second site.

Most folks caught something, though not every one a Piranha. They're smaller than I thought, though the teeth look menacing. Never found out the truth to the myth that a group of Piranhas can strip a cow in 3 minutes.

After lunch we relaxed around the lodge, then Chris went off horseriding. The ride was for 90 minutes and the group managed a couple of gallops towards the end. Had a great time, and Chris pleased with the condition of the horses, though they did have ticks (the insects rather than facial twitching).

At the same time, Paul went out on the same walk that the other group did earlier. Probably due in some part to the number of people walking through the jungle (about 20), I guess we managed to scare away any wildlife, though we see a deer, Caymen and various birds. Thankfully it stayed dry after the earlier rains. Saved a small bird that we saw floundering in the water, and put it on the bank. Sadly it's likely to simply be death by starvation (or being eaten by something else) than drowning.

After dinner we have a short slide show and talk through the Pantanal area. We haven't even scratched the surface of the 89,000 sq miles that the park covers.

11th February - Day 12

Due to popular demand, the guys arrange a further chance to do some Piranha fishing, though it's off the bank this time as the boats are being used to ferry the other Exodus group back to their truck.

Paul gets some welcome extra sleep - unfortunately the guys catch 'nada', except a few more mozzie bites.

Before lunch we had one last dip in the pool, then onto the boats for our journey back. Clouds looking threatening, but in the event, some folks get a little sunburn.

From the boat we saw a few Hawks, Caymen and huge Storks. Shame we spent so little time in the Pantanal - we though we'd get three full days, however, we get about half that. Was nice though, and glad to have a comfortable room and good food.

Lots of ground to cover this afternoon, and we drive up and through Campo Grande until 10pm. We grab some food on arrival, then off to bed for an early start the next day.

12th February - Day 13

Not a lot to report on today - on the road by 7.30 am, and cruised until it was dark again. Arrived in Itatiba after driving around the area for at least an hour trying to find somewhere to stay. No luck at the Comfort Inn, and further good luck when we hit a speed bump and something sounds like it has broken. Oh well, we're still moving, so we won't ask any questions.

Finally find somewhere to take us in, but it's past 1am.

Apparently, we have a broken anti-rollbar mounting. No big deal...

13th February - Day 14

Supposed to be away by 8.30am and make some ground on all the other trucks making a beeline for the coastal town of Paraty.

However, last night's damage is a little bit worse than expected and we need some welding. Could have been worse, and we're away by late morning.

Once we're on the road, the scenery perks up as we make our way over the hills and towards the coast. Went through some beautiful rainforest - again, fantastic coastal views, totally unexpected.

Arrived at the campsite in Paraty about 5ish, though our group is a little smaller now, with some folks opting for more comfortable accomodation nearer to town. Splitters.

Oh well, the rest of us are happy and get on with dinner for 12 instead of 20.

Paul stayed up for a few drinks (what?, I thought the bottles of wine were truck stores and needed to be used up.... - sorry Kim, hope you found a replacement bottle of Argie Red at the back of the truck), but Chris gets her head down to try and get rid of the headache.

Thankfully, the drummers practising for Carnaval stopped at midnight-ish.

14th February - Day 15

Not a St Valentine's reminder in sight.

With the group now smaller, and the idea of cook groups now out of the window, most of the rest of us club together to get breakfast done.

Spent part of the morning on the beach, just, literally, across the road from the campsite.

Nice and peaceful, and very green surroundings - reminds us of some of the island beaches in Thailand. Water remains shallow for hundreds of metres out from the shore. Quite murky.

Afternoon, and we're wandering around the pretty, 'old' town. It's nicely decorated ahead of Carnaval time, with lots of street bunting and masks hanging down at all the crossroads between the buildings.

Found a self-service icecream shop, where you pay by weight. Lots of flavours, toppings, sauces etc. Will be coming back here!

Whilst exploring the cobbled streets we bump into Kim, Julia and Celia - we're reminded that we need food for the next couple of group meals, so Chris and Julia head for the supermarket, Paul heads back to do some 'chores', which ended up being a snooze in the shade by the water.

Whilst we'now got lots of food to cook, tonight was prearanged for a Thai meal in town. Most of the group re-form, including Tom and May who had spent more time at the hospital, getting Tom's nasty-looking leg sorted out.

Food nice, though we share a dish cos it's a bit pricey. Good to have something spicy for a change.

Drinks in a local bar afterwards, though we don't hang around too long to avoid the covercharge for the band about to play. Cheapskates, again.

Walked back to 20 minutes to the campsite, and listened to some loud music playing nearby. Didn't go on too late, thankfully. Still finding it hot sleeping in the tent, though determinded not to cave in and get a room elsewhere. Only a few days to go until we get to Rio, though we're panicking a bit because we hadn't sorted out paying a supplement for a double room for our 'Rio extension trip' - never heard of such a thing before, yes a single supplement, but never a double supplement. As well as being split up into single-sex rooms, it now sounds like we could be in different hotels. Not looking good, and Exodus don't seem to be able to sort anything out for us now - tough shit, apparently....

15th February - Day 16

Out on a boat trip today, so after breakfast we make our way to the pier. Emily and Sarah doing their own thing today.

There's quite a lot of us crammed on the boat, but we're probably just about on the safe side. Luckily we're on quite quickly and snag a couple of spots to stretch out on - there's also big canopy covering the sitting/lying areas, so not aggro from the sun today, unless we want it.

Off cruising, the scenery is great, the water calm and smooth sailing (well, under diesel power).

We pass lots of smaller islands, including some which are now 'exclusive' resorts.

An hour or so into the trip we pull up, unfortunately all the boats seem to have a similar route, and have a snorkel. Not a lot to see, even though the water is clear. Most folks doing some sort of acrobatics off the side - lots of belly flops.

After a bit more luxury cruising (it's really relaxing under the shade), we stop at a beach, where we jump off the side to swim to shore. Took a short walk up the length of the beach, again, scenery gorgeous around us.

Next stop, lunch, and we pull up next to one of the islands - this one belongs to one of the bigshots who runs Fiat here in Brasil, apparently. They must be selling more Punto's than I thought - this place looks amazing. Good food, thankfully served one by one, so no mad rush, and no running out of buffet food.

The next gorgeous bay awaits, though this time Paul is content to snooze whilst most others get into the beautiful green water.

Really nice, relaxing, day.

Couldn't have been polished off better than by our second visit to the pay-by-weight icecream emporium.

On the way back we stop and have a look at the crafts stall - we need new temporary engagement rings - the current ones have lost their colour and are now a plain pale tan, though you can still make out the octopus shapes on Paul's. Really went to town on the new ones, at 5 Reais EACH! That'll be about GBP2.50! Much better fit this time, and they're metallic shiny black.

After dinner (perhaps the best truck dinner yet(?) - sausages!), we make our way into town for some drinks - Pina Colada's and Caiprinha's, from the little stall by the pretty square.

Soon got rained under cover - luckily the nearby basketball court had been covered by a huge marquee. Chatted with Graham, Mike, Gerry and Andy whilst watching Brazillian martial arts. 'Capoeira' came about because the Africans who were enslaved by the European colonists weren't allowed to practice their fighting arts for obvious reasons. So they disguised their art as a ritualistic dance. Thus Capoeira has a very distinguishable rythym and is still often practiced to music, as it was here tonight. It is believed that modern break-dancing is a decendant of this art.

Good to see the group simply performing to be social, rather than a tourist show.

Managed to make it back to the campsite in-between burst of rain. Music still loud nearby, still 250 degrees in the tent. Manage some sleep....in the end.

16th February - Day 17

Always a pain to be moving on, though we'll be arriving in Rio in just a few short hours...

Up early to get on with breakfast, most folk chip in to help get things ready. Then we're all on truck cleaning duty - everything needs cleaning, all the cooking gear, all inside the truck etc etc.

Didn't go too bad, and we're done within an hour or so. Kim gives us a clean bill of health.

On the road by 9.30am - we're the first Exodus truck to leave, which gives Chris and me a little more hope that there'll be something we can sort out room-wise when we arrive in town.

The scenery is breathtaking along the high coast road and we enjoy at least the first couple of hours, until we move more inland and nearer to the city.

Bit of a crush as we arrive outside the Imperial Hotel in Catete - everyone trying to pack and/or get their mountain of gear off the truck. Chris jumps off to speak with the man who can hopefully help us with our room. We've decided to go the pleasant route, rather than kicking and screaming...

5 minutes later, Paul gets into reception with the bags and Chris seems to be making little progress with securing our own rooms. Whether it was the right thing to do or not, Paul steps in with his size 11's (US size 12) and tries the kicking and screaming route, well, not quite literally.

Big relief as we are offered the chance to upgrade, for the same price as we could/should have paid for a double supplement when we booked. We seem to have scored a suite too, so we're up on the deal, especially as we were offered a suite upgrade a few days ago for US$190 each. Still disappointed that Exodus choose to arrange the Rio accomodation so that you need to pay a supplement for a double room - no-one when we booked ever mentioned that we'd be split up if we didn't upgrade, and it's not a cheap part of the trip at the outset - about GBP500 for this 5 day 'extension'. Oh, and since we booked, many months ago, the price went up on both the Buenos Aires to Rio trip, and the Rio Carnaval extension. Annoying!

Anyway, enough moaning, we're relieved and happy. The room is great, and a few steps from the small, but perfectly formed, pool.

Rio experience continues on next thread.....

30th January, Day 1 - Buenos Aires

Sorry to leave our nice accomodation in Palermo, thanks to the lovely folks at Caseron Porteno. We had tried to book a room for our return to BA at the end of February, but no luck, as there is some kind of Tango Mondial happening. Boo hoo!

Taxi'd it to the Majestic Hotel where we will spend at least the first night of our overland trip and checked in.

Despite this being the first day of our trip, there's no activities planned and we have the day to ourselves. Again, it's annoying that this is considered part of the trip. To raise a smile we get out of the early afternoon heat and head to the cinema and watch A Night in the Museum/Ben Stiller. Not bad.

After, and with pre-planning in mind, we head over to the San Telmo area to check out the Garden House hostel. Yep, all is good and we book up for our return on 25th February. It's 63 Pesos a night for a double, breakfast included. Not the best area, but we're happy with it, and it's close to the subway. With taxi's being so cheap too, it's not a problem.

Good news - the itinerary for our trip has been tweaked, so we get out of town a little earlier, tomorrow lunchtime. Thanks Kim!

Met up with Sarah back at the hotel and the three of us went for some food, before making our way back to Cafe Tortoni for a Tango show.

Disappointing venue, and our seats are at the back, which wouldn't have been a problem if it weren't for the waiters continuing to serve during the show. Also, the stage is not that high off the ground, so you don't really get to see the leg-action. It's all about the feet! Shame, because the performers are good, the band too.

31st January - Day 2

A few things to do before we leave, including getting our memory cards onto DVD, then some food before we head off in the truck.

Strangely, we get down to reception for the agreed departure time, to find no-one else around. Soon realise we are an hour early, though very mystified as to why the watch has changed by an hour and 15 minutes. Spooky.

So, at the proper time, we return to the truck and the group get their things packed into the under-seat lockers. With 18 on board we've not got as much room as the last trip, where we had 2 lockers each. We soon get things wedged in okay.

All done by 2pm and we hot the road, RN14 to be precise. The scenery out of town not great and the land around us very flat.

Got to our first campsite at the end of the afternoon and cracked out the dome tents, which will hopefully go up quicker over the next few days.

Our leaders, Kim and Duncan, get dinner started and most folks muck-in to get the food ready. Ate, and chatted, with our group. Also spoke in our basic Spanish to a group of Scouts who were on a camping trip. Communicated surprisingly well.

By the way, so we don't forget names in years to come, our group are; Sarah H, Emily, Neil and Jill, Tom and May, Andy and Gerry, Mike, Graham, Andy, Celia, Sarah K, Richard and Natasha and Julia. All a good bunch, from 19 to 67. It's good to be somewhere in the middle.

Didn't sleep too well on our first camp night - a little hot.

1st February - Day 3

Up at 7ish, glad for a shower, though the facilities pretty grotty, and I hate it when there's no locks on the toilet doors, especially if they are 'squat' toilets.

After brekky we hit the road at 9am - scenery not really changing, and not too interesting at this point. Grateful though, for the breeze whistling through the truck.

Arrived at Santo Tome (the river is teh boundary between Argentina and Brazil. The water is murky, though nice to swim in. We are warned not to pee in it, otherwise there's little critters that will swim in your peepee hole, and they don't come out easily.

Nice setting for a camp here, right next to the river.

After dinner most of us strolled into town, where earlier we saw them setting up for a 'mini' Carnaval - great timing, arriving today.

Cost us a few Reais to get into the main street to take our bar-seats for the procession. The youngsters go off first - lots of floats and skimpy outfits, even for the toddlers! Not quite bordering on bad taste though.

Quite funny to see the guys sprinting along the road to plug in their floats to electricity. Also, feel sorry for the participants, who are being towed at a snails pace behind some kind of vehicle that is coughing up its last horrendous, black, fumes.

The adults follow soon after, and this is when we start to see some backsides hanging out of cheesecutter undies. Mike soon runs out of blank discs to record onto. I think his camera zoon has also jammed.

Some folks at the side of the road selling aerosols of foam spray - of course, would be rude not to join in. Most of us get a coating, though we seem to be picked on by the local kids. At least we don't resort to using the empty cans as weapons.

Great night out, and in bed past 2pm, though the procession continues. Nearly get attacked by dogs on the way back.

2nd February - Day 3

Up early again, and on the road. Mostly driving today, though we stopped at San Ignacio Mini Jesuit ruins. Pretty impressive, though pretty hot under the sun today.

Seems odd, we're parked up on what seems like the village green, and we're sitting down with all our lunch stuff spread around. Unlike Asia, we don't seem to attract too much attention - we miss that!

In the ruins, there's a large area where the houses and shops would have been,, with a large square and church. The Jesuits arrived in 1610, and although the aim of the priests of The Jesus Company was to evangelise the Indians, they did desperately try to protect them from the Spaniards, who were using them as slaves. The Jesuit mission was subsequently destroyed by the Paraguans in 1817.

After our village-green lunch we moved on, arriving at our campsite, on the Argentine side of the Iguazu Falls, at Puerto Iguazu. Popular, and busy, campsite - has two pools, though both quite busy. Opt for the one with less kids. Water a bit murky, and a little too warm.

After dinner, just hung around and 'shot the shit' as Duncan would put it.

3rd February - Day 4

Arrived at the Falls for 9.30 ish.

Got ourselvs the 'green card', which covers most of the excursions within the Falls park. Our first sector is a ride through a rainforest area. Little information given, and not a great deal to see.

At the end of the track, a speedboat awaits to take us 6km down towards the falls. Did some skimming over the wake of the speedboat ahead of us - a few tight turns here and there, but nothing to cause a sweat.

At the falls themselves, we get 'quite' close - enough to get soe spray. Falls look huge from the bottom, and they are very much spread over a wide drop area. Everyone gets a soaking.

The boat drops us off at the start of the upper trail and most of the rest of the day is spent walking around the various view points. It's very well done, though full of tourists. Devils Throat particularly impressive - moreso, we think, than what we remember of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. Nice when the breeze blows the spray in our direction, as we swelter under the buring sun.

As well as the falls themselves, we get to see some wildlife around - a cayman, lots of butterflies (some of which land on us to suck up some salty sweat) - also, some large black and white lizards and Howler monkeys. Spent some time amongst a family of Coatis (cute critters from the racoon family).

All of us meet up at 6pm for our minibus back to the campsite - from there we make the short trip to the Argentine/Brazil border. Took a while to get through, not arriving at the next campsite until 10pm, though we're told that dinner will be waiting for us. Turned out to be very nice, especially the chocolate sponge pudding.

The campsite (perhaps not quite the right term) is packed, lots of overland trucks in town. In turn, it's noisy and the facilities are not so good. Get our first experience of Brazilian showers, which have electric heating elements in the shower heads. Also, lots of dangerous looking wires with water flowing over them. Do I dare slide the button over to HOT from COLD????

4th February - Day 5

Brazil continues on next thread......