We're Home

We made it home safely, surviving one final farmer's strike in the Cusco area, although it meant getting up at 5:30 am for an airport taxi ride (6 hours prior to our flight) before the roads were blocked to traffic. Since arriving home I have had 2 sleeps of 14 and 12 hours which has been a blessing.

Here are some things that happened while we were gone for 4 months:

- Canada won the gold medal count at the Vancouver Winter Olympics

- Alberta won the Brier (again) but this time it was Kevin Koe rather than Martin or Ferbey

- Jeff graduated from the University of Lethbridge

- we put our house up for sale, with plans to move into our Okotoks villa

- Rachel passed her PhD qualifying exam

- we missed a lot of bad weather in Calgary (a wet and cool spring)

- the golf season started 2 months ago

- the FIFA World Cup started with the 5 South American teams yet to lose a game.

And these are some of things that we experienced in S.A.:

- Civic demonstrations in most of the countries we visited leading to strikes and blockades that didn't have a significant impact on us but did add hours or detours to some of our trips

- some petty crime incidents (Rhonda's backpack), my pickpocket episode in Buenos Aries, a purse snatch that I witnessed and the drug bust that happened on one of our overnight buses

- Hostel life turned out to be enjoyable, and we will repeat it on future trips

- Rhonda experienced altitude sickness once we started to get near the 4000 metre level which could impact future travel destinations

- Mike developed a bad case of sciatica which will have to be dealt with now that we are home.

We had many highlights along the way, but the top ones were:

- Galapogos - the interaction with the wildlife was incredible

- Colca Canyon - an incredible 3 day hike with a great guide and staying overnight with a local family at the bottom of the canyon

- Mendoza - cheap and very good wine in a beautiful walking city

- Iguazzu Falls - witnesed at 8x the normal volume, from both the Brazil and Argetinian side

- Pantanal - the varied wildlife (including tour friends) that we saw during our 4 days of safari's

- Machu Picchu - the condition of the preserved ruins, and meeting our trekking daughters at the entrance.

Here are some other random thoughts about our trip:

- we had some wild bus rides, with a few minor accidents, but overall they were pleasurable and our timing was incredible when catching connected buses

- with very few reservations made ahead of time, our flexibility worked to our advantage in almost every situation

- our border crossings (about 10) were seemless

- the beef in Argentina and Brazil did not impress us, but the ladies became enamoured with Pisco Sours (Peru and Chile), and Caiparinas made with a liquor called Cachaca (Brazil)

- Caity's energy level (hang-gliding, mountain biking and late night bar hopping) injected some extra energy into us 2 months into our trip

- the stark reality of the Potosi mine tour

- the many Inca ruins and treasures that we saw throughout the Andes mountain chain

- the numerous Parades and costumes that we observed in many cities

- the Adventure Brew hostel in La Paz which had nightly activities and free micro-brewed beer for their guests

- the fun we had traveling with our daughters and Javier

On the downside, our Spanish didn't develop as quickly as we thought it might, Lin wasn't able to join us due to health issues, and my sciatica prevented us from completing the 4 day hike to Machu Picchu with our girls.



Overall, it was a tremendous trip and exceeded our expectations in most areas. One of the best lessons we learned was how appreciative we should be to live in our great country with all of the natural diversity we have and the standard of living that we have become accustomed to. Many of the locals we saw live in tin roof shacks with minimal electricity or heat yet seem happy with their lot in life. The poor silver and zinc miners of Potosi work in horrible conditions that shorten their life span to an average of 48 years, and the Colca Canyon villagers who have to hike 10 km's up a steep mountain trail to get any provisions they cannot self-provide. We really have no reason to complain about anything.



That is all until our next adventure (currently unplanned) but in the meantime we look forward to having the opportunity to visit with and share more of our experiences with all of our family and friends. Adios

Machu Picchu

What a wonderful way to finish off our 4 month adventure. We took a scenic bus and train ride from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes along the base of the Sacred Valley and still fast rushing Urubamba River............earlier year rains had caused a 10 metre rise in the river inflicting much damage to the towns and railway along the way, leading to the closure of Machu Picchu for 6 weeks in February and March. Aguas Calientes itself was still undergoing extensive repairs to the roads and buildings throughout this hillside village which was built at the bottom of the valley below Machu Picchu. The next morning we got up early and caught a bus up the mountain, arriving at Machu Picchu just before the 4 day trekkers came through the Sun Gate on the Inca Trail to meet us at the entrance. Caity, Rachel and Javier were all in good spirits and relieved to have successfully navigated the 45 km trail (and cool nights in a tent). Their guide, Richard, then gave us a wonderful 3 hour tour of Machu Picchu. He has done this over a hundred times but he spoke passionately about this New 7th Wonder of the World and we appreciated his insights. Despite being over 500 years old, and only discovered 99 years ago, the buildings are in terrific shape due to the fact that the Spaniards never found them and plundered them like they did with the rest of the Inca ruins. It was a special place used by the Inca nobility and from the design, great detail was given to the positioning of their sacred places, and it was clear that their smartest minds were involved in the creation of this small city which was home to less than a thousand people (a small fraction of the 15 million Inca population). It was a spiritual feeling to just sit and fall into a trance in this mountain-top treasure. Richard then left us for a couple of hours to do more exploring on our own before meeting us for a late lunch back in Aguas Calientes.

Once there we had a wonderful meal topped off by a nice surprise when he told us that our accommodation for the night (3 rooms for the 5 of us) was included in our package.........this is still a mystery to us since he had booked us into a wonderful hostel that was much more expensive than the place we had made our own reservations for (and this was not supposed to be part of our package). We felt so guilty staying in this palace for 'free' that despite still feeling full from lunch, we felt obligated to have the $9, 3 course dinner which the hospitable manager was offering. I had the Peruvian version of surf and turf...... a spicy, trout appetizer followed by guinea pig, a national specialty down here (which we had all avoided until now). It was likely made more palatable by our pre-dinner outing down the street where we discovered four-for-one happy hour and played several card games during our six rounds of drinks. We all slept well last night, especially the trekkers who were pleased to be back in a bed for the first time in 5 nights.

Today we are having a lazy final day in Aguas Calinetes before taking an evening train and bus back to Cusco where the four of us will have a final sleep before beginning our journey home while Caity goes solo for her final 3 weeks and travels to places along the coast of Peru which we had previously enjoyed, prior to her arrival.

We will post some trip highlights (there were many) when we get home on Friday.

Cheers................mike & rhonda

World Cup Fever

The 2010 FIFA World Cup has just started in South Africa but it has already taken over South America. During our travels the locals have told us that everything would come to a stop when their country was playing..........no one would go to work, and with the 6-7 hour time difference, most games would be on TV during the morning so it would be unlikely that anyone would go to work in the afternoon after the games. Yesterday, we went to a pub in Cusco to cheer on Mexico (for Javier) against South Africa (it ended in a 1-1 draw), and the place was crowded with noisy Mexican fans, some of them wearing Mexican wrestling masks, and the pints were plentiful at 10 am in the morning. TV cameras came into the pub near the end of the game to capture the festivities. Hopefully we will be able to catch another game, with Peru playing while we are still here.

During the week there have been two day trips into the Sacred Valley to see Inca ruins which seem to be everywhere. Most were damaged during the Spanish conquest but it is still easy to visualize the cities that they built. It will make the preserved city of Machu Picchu (not found by the Spaniards) seem even more special when we arrive there in a few days.

We experienced another massive parade while we were in Cusco, this time celebrating the feast of Corpus Christi. Large statues from surrounding area churches (temporarily relocated to have their religious powers rejuvenated) were brought out of the main Cathedral by groups of 20-40 men and carried around the main square, with rest stops along the way using a separate platform carried by young boys trying to emulate their dads. There were well over 20,000 people in the square celebrating the event and we were fortunate to secure balcony seats at a restaurant just before the start of the parade where we were able to view the festivities for 4-5 hours. The parade was repeated the next day, expanding the route to other parts of the city.

We are now in Ollantaytambo, which is the starting point for the Machu Picchu treks. There is a lot of reconstruction going on in this town of 2000 people which is slowly recovering from the damaging rains and mudslides earlier this year. In fact, the train route has been shortened and buses, sometimes running along the damaged track path, are temporarily in use with major road detours snarling traffic........but the show must go on. This morning Caity, Rachel and Javier started their 4 day trek while we remained behind wishing we were healthy enough to be on the trek with them (Mike's sciatica and Rhonda's problems with altitude over 3500 metres have sidelined us.) We have some local exploring to do in the meantime and we will be taking an early morning train on Tuesday so that we can catch up with them just before reaching the gates into Machu Picchu. At least we will all be together when we see the ancient city for the first time and get to experience it together.

We'll publish one more post after this final adventure for this trip.

The End is Near

We only have 10 days to go.........4 months has gone by quickly and we have been having a fabulous time but it will be nice to get back home to see our friends and family.
Rachel, and her boyfriend Javier, joined us in La Paz and we are now a travelling group of 5 gringos although Javier with his Mexican background looks the part and speaks Spanish which has shortened our conversations with the locals. Unfortunately, our good friend Lin from Brantford, Ontario is having some health pr0blems and has had to cancel her plans to join us for the Machu Picchu adventure........we wish her well.
From La Paz we headed west to Copacabana and Lake Titicaca, a huge lake (250 km´s long and up to 100 km´s wide) situated at 3500 metres above sea level with surrounding mountains making it very picturesque. The young ones spent an extra day there touring Isla del Sol (Sun Island) while we continued on to Cusco, Peru so that I could get my sciatica problem looked after by a doctor........she gve me some shots and set me up for some daily physio (electro therapy), and I am starting to feel a little better but the 4 day trek to Machu Picchu is approaching faster and is now at risk for me. I am still hopeful but every step is painful right now so reality is starting to set in for me.
We celebrated Caity´s 25th birthday last night in Cusco at a pub close to our hostal. She outlasted us all, hooking up with some California travelers at the pub and returning in the wee hours. Today, the rest of our group is off on a day trip to Pisac to see some Inca ruins and a market, and our next stop will be the Sacred Valley (an hour away) which will be the starting point for the 4 day trek (45 m´s) along the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. We are still on the altiplano 3-4 km´s above sea level so the nights are getting very chilly (down to freezing or below) and we are wearing multiple layers.......the hostels all have several thick blankets and electric heaters in the rooms (no central heating systems) so all of the extra clothes we have been carrying around for 3.5 months are coming in handy.
Cheers.

Mines, Salt and a grande Parade

While we were still in Potosi, Rhonda and Caity took a tour of an active silver & zinc mine while I rested, suffering from a bout of sciatica which has been getting worse since I had an awkward moment with my large backpack getting on a city bus and trying to navigate the cash turnstile. I wish I could have done the tour with them but they were equally glad to get out alive. Millions of people have died working in the mines since 1585, and many more will continue to perish from the toxic chemicals and poor working conditions. The miners work for $7 / day and live to an average age of 48, but despite the risk they continue working generation after generation to hopefully make a better life for their families. It is quite tragic and any developed country would close the mines, let alone run tours. Caity made it down to the 3rd level (of 6), while Rhonda decided to turn back rather than descend to level 2 down a ladder and already in very tight quarters. While the guide offered to take the remainder of Caity's group all the way down the mine they had seen enough and the tiny shafts, heat, lack of oxygen and dust in the air were too much to overcome. She was not feeling well for the next 24 hours and has promised to never, ever complain about any job again.

From Potosi we headed south to the Salar de Uyuni, home to the world's largest salt flats (over 12,000 square km's) where we signed up for a 3D/2N tour riding in an old Toyota 4x4 with 3 other German lads. The salt flats went on forever and a good pair of sunglasses was necessary to block out the brightness........it was similar to being on a frozen lake covered in snow with no clouds in the sky. Fish Island emerged in the middle of the salt flats and a walking tour around the island allowed everyone to stretch their legs after being in the cramped quarters of the 4x4 for hours. It was near this spot that everyone takes their crazy pictures, and we took our share led by Caity, our choreographer. Our tour extended beyond the salt flats and we were able to observe lagoons (flamingo's), steam geysers (strong sulpher odors), several volcano's and a thermal pool (with an outdoor change room) but the highlight was definitely the Salar. We stayed overnight in very basic rooms, with no heat, electricity or water except for the 2 hours after arrival where they humoured us with some solar powered energy. We played cards and dice games by candlelight. We rented sleeping bags to go along with the 3 heavy blankets they provided and wore several layers to bed to overcome the cold at night.

Arriving back in Uyuni at the end of the tour, we took an overnight bus north to La Paz where we are now, awaiting Rachel's arrival in a few days. On the morning of our arrival we were warned by the bus assistant that the bus would not be able to drop us off at the terminal because of a parade going on that day...........and what a parade! It started shortly after checking into our hostel and we were able to watch the whole thing from the terrace balcony and bar on the top floor (it is also a microbrewery and everyone gets a free beer every night).........well we didn't actually see all of it........since the parade was in honour of Bolivia's 200th anniversary of independence they went all out. The parade started at 8 am but didn't reach the spot in front of our hostel until 9 am. The final group came through at 11 pm (13 hours later) so we managed to do a few things in between although it was difficult to walk anywhere in the city because of the volume of people out to see the parade and the many road closures. The colours were brilliant and the outfits (traditional dress and costumes) were amazing but by the end of the evening we could mimic the beat of their national anthem which was played non-stop by all of the groups coming through. The parade ended at a very large park where more people gathered and continued the party late into the night with fireworks going off all over the city. Caity was out after midnight with a young group from the hostel and upon her return was impressed with all the volunteers out in the wee hours of the morning dismantling all the bleachers and cleaning up the streets. When we awoke and looked out the windows everything was back to normal and you wouldn't have known anything happened the day before. Today there were free concerts and other acitivities happening around the city. They sure are proud of their country and their heritage.

I'm going to take it easy for the next few days, going for daily massage sessions, so that I can recover and get myself in shape for our 4 day trek to Machu Picchu. Unfortunately, that means Caity will have to represent our family on the Death Road bicycle trip (all day, all downhill) which I had been looking forward to doing wih her tomorrow.

All for now...............

More bus adventures

When we arrived at the Cochabamba bus station to catch our pre-booked bus to Oruro (the day before......we wanted good seats at the front for the scenic trip) we were handed our money back. There was a local protest and road blockade on the main highway so all the buses in that direction were cancelled with no indication of when the road would open again. Apparently this happens frequently in Bolivia so the locals seemed unperturbed. Cab drivers showed up and started offering their services for much higher rates, taking backroads around the blockade. While we and some German girls were negotiating a price with a driver, one of the bus companies announced they were going to try the detour and everyone then flocked to their counter. The ticket price was the same as with our first company ($3.50) but instead of a 3 hour ride it was going to take 4 hours and they were using an older bus since it was mostly a secondary, dirt road to get around the blockade. We made it successfully to Oruro with only one unplanned stop when the bus bottomed-out at a low point in the road..........everyone had to depart to lighten the load and then they placed rocks in front of the tires to raise the carriage enabling the bus to carry on with minor damage to the front fender.

As soon as we arrived in Oruro we booked into our hostel close to the train station and then went there to book tickets for the next day on the scenic train to the salt flats in Uyuni. The train only runs a couple of times a week and fills up fast. However, we soon learned that there was another protest and blockade happening in the south end of the country preventing the train from going there. Since our only reason for going to Oruro was to take the train, we quickly went back to the hostel to get our bags (the hostel manager was cool with us not staying the night) and being the flexible travellers that we are, we changed our course to visit Sucre and Potosi before Uyuni (which we were going to do after), hoping the protest would be over in a week so that we could catch the train on it's return trip to Oruro. Before taking our overnight bus to Sucre we had a fabulous dinner at one of the best restaurants in Oruro, Nayjama, which was highly recommended by the Lonely Planet and run by a celebrity chef with whom we had a good conversation while we were there........his English was good and he had been to Vancouver and Alaska checking out our seafood. We had chicken soup, kingfish and lamb (2 meals)........it was fabulous but the three of us still couldn't eat it all so we took our leftovers to leave with someone less fortunate before catching our overnight bus.

We had a good one day visit in Sucre, walking around the town, spending time at the market (note the clever use of an umbrella to prevent pidgeon-poop from contaminating the unrefridgerated meat), and visiting a Museum with indiginous artifacts.........their weaving skills were awesome but time consuming, taking up to 3 months to complete the more complex design items. This morning we took a 4 hour bus ride to Potosi. We had to pay a departure tax at the bus terminal which has been common in the poorer countries. It was only .40 cents but it's amazing to see how many locals flag down the bus one block from the terminal to avoid paying the tax.........we have seen this many times. I have tried to point out to the ladies that we could save 15-18% of our bus travel expenses by doing the same thing but they think that my financial thinking became permanently impaired after spending a couple of years as a Controller at Xerox.

The bus ride through the mountains and along the altiplano (plateau) was wonderful, passing many small villages where the locals lived in small, 100 year old stone homes, and the women did the family laundry in creeks and rivers. We are now in Potosi and have found a lovely hostel (the first hot water shower in a few days) so we are going to stay here for 3-4 days and explore the area. It is supposed to be the highest city in the world at just over 4,000 metres. Even though it is late fall here the daytime temperatures are still in the low-20's C but in the evening it drops to the 5C range, reminding us a little of life at home.

Buenos noches.... familia Hevey

Welcome to Bolivia

After travelling through 6 counties, with each one escalting in price we were sad to leave such a beautiful country, but financially happy to leave Brazil where the costs of food, lodging, travel and entertainment had reached the point of being half the cost of what we pay in Canada.......an almost ridiculous level, relatively speaking :)
Fortunately, we are now in Bolivia where fellow travellers had told us it was a real bargain. After successfully crosssing the border using local transportation (blessed with our usual good fortune), we had some 2 hours to burn before taking an overnight bus to Santa Cruz so we decided to find a place to have dinner since we had been travelling all day. We found a spot close to the bus station where they had good looking food on a bbq in front of the restaurant. Each of us ordered the meat shish-kabob which consisted of a chorizo sausage, a small piece of steak and larger portions of pork and chicken. It was accompanied by a half plate of rice, a tomato salad and half a potato. We were hungry so we didn't bother checking the cost but found out at the end of the meal that the price was $1.50 per person! They didn't serve alcohol but they pointed out a place across the street where I purchased 3 cans of beer for .40 cents each.......I think we are going to like this country.
Our 12 hour bus ride to Santa Cruz cost us $11 each including movies. The only downside was that the bus was packed including a chicken on board in a crate (carry on luggage I suppose). The locals also purchased one seat for themselves and a child, some of them being up to 6 years old, so they brought their luggage on board and put in the aisle for the child to sit /sleep on. The aisle became a minefield in the darkness of the night.....it was quite the experience.

We then took one more 12 hour bus ride to the city of Cochabamba where we are now. Upon arriving last night at 9 pm we found a hostel close to the bus station and went to bed and slept soundly. Today we walked around the city, through a large market and then took a tram up a small mountain which overlooked the city and had a very large statue of Christ protecting the people (as we have found in most South American cities). During the day we had breakfast, market snacks, dinner (3 large meals and 2 one litre bottles of beer), took the tram, bought 2 bottles of wine and a bottle of rum (for our hostel room and travel), and bought 9 music CD´s and 18 movie DVD´s (mostly pirated)..............all together it cost the 3 of us $50.......and the nice hostel we are staying in, which has 4 beds in two rooms plus a bathroom is costing us $9 each. Sure glad we have another 2 weeks to spend in Bolivia!

Al the best..............mike, rhonda and caity

Back from the Wilderness

Since our last post from Isla Grande, a large no-vehicle paradise that had lots to offer including a 10 km hike on our last day to the other side of the island (a beautiful 2 km long secluded surfer beach), we have been without internet access at our last couple of stops. The first of these was at Trindade, a small village on the east coast, south of Ilha Grande. We stayed at a lovely hostel run by a Montreal lady and her Brazilian husband who spend 6 months a year in each country (he barely survived one of our winters and doesn't plan to try it again but was very much looking forward to returning to Quebec for a summer stay at the end of the month). Their hostel was on the edge of the rainforest and only 2 blocks from a gorgeous beach. Unfortunately, it rained steadily while we there so we had to forego the waterfall and rainforest hikes, along with more beach time. We had good visits with the owners and other travellers in between card games where Caity has been a dominating force.

With rain forecast for another day or two, and tired of losing card games to Caity we decided to head inland, taking several buses to reach the centre of the continent, and one of the world's largest wetlands, the Pantanal. We stayed at a lodge / farm deep into the reserve at a spot recommended by another backpacker couple, and it was a good decision. Our package included 4 days of safari's (walking, truck, horseback, boat, nocturnal drive) along with piranha fishing (nibbles only) and tubing down the same river! While tubing (floating with the current) we were observed by caiman (small aligators) along the banks who seemed more interested in working on their suntans than us (until one agressive creature approached us just as we finished our float). Our most impressive sights during our stay were a giant anteater (rare for it's size), a tapir (endangered species), an ocelot (small jaguar), brown howler monkeys (to the delight of Caity who took over as tour guide at that point), and many colourful species of birds including macaws, toucans, jabiru storks and flamingos. We met some great people while we were there (Netherlands, Ireland, U.S. family with 4 young children) and enjoyed the great meals and nightly campfires with them. With no towns anywere close to where we were, the night sky was brilliant with the Milky Way clearly visible to the naked eye every night and shooting stars crossing the sky if you paid enough attention. Our final night was filled with caipirinha drinks and was very entertaining into the wee hours of the morning..........Mike was the only one drinking cervezas that evening and the next day!

From the Pantanal we took a bus several hours south to Bonito where we rediscovered the internet. Yesterday we took a full day tour to a reserve at Rio da Prata where we hiked and then snorkelled for almost 2 km's down a crystal clear natural springs river that was filled with colourful fish that we are only used to observing in the oceans. It felt like we were swimming in an aquarium. Some of the tiny fish would actually peck at you, which was initially disturbing since we had recently been in a piranha river, but they were too small to do any damage and we became more comfortable as we continued down the river where the current carried you at a modest pace. Today we wandered around the small town of Bonito and enjoyed a caiman lunch. Last night, Caity was out with our Pantanal tour guide (enjoying a few days off) and he introduced her to piranha soup.

Tomorrow we will be leaving Brazil, taking several buses to get into Bolivia where we will spend the next couple of weeks, and join up with Rachel in La Paz at the end of the month.

Only one month to go!

Rio has turned us into beach bums

Rio de Janeiro has turned out to be everything we expected and more. We stayed in the Ipanema Beach area for 3 full days and spent every afternoon on the beach which was packed on the week-end (as were all of their other fabulous beaches......Copacabana, Botafoga, Flamingo, etc). We had cloudless skies and 30C temperatures all the time. There were many vendors selling food and drinks (caipirinha's for the ladies, beer for me) so you hardly had to move from your beach chair and umbrella. Volleyball games were plentiful along the backside of the beach including volley futbol which has similar rules except that instead of using your hands and arms, you can only use your feet, legs, chest and head. These players have amazing skills and we watched many games with long rallies even when they were playing two a side. If this game ever makes it to the Summer Olympics then Canada is in big trouble for years to come.

We tried to get our excercise in during the mornings (while Caity slept, recovering from a 5:30 am bar party return with some Calgary friends she hooked up with down here). One morning we walked around Rodrigo Lagoon (8 km) which has a walking / running / cycling path all the way around and was popular with the locals who in general seem to be in better shape than other parts of South America that we have been in.........I suppose constant time in your bathing suit provides some sort of incentive. We were unable to climb / ride to the famous Christ the Redeemer statue which overlooks the city because the April heavy rains had forced them to close the paths and use scaffolds to surround and support the structure so that it would not tumble down the mountain into the city (over 200 people had died in mudslides from the same mountain a few weeks before we arrived). On our last evening we took the cable cars to the top of Sugar Loaf mountain for a great view of the city at night.

Having enjoyed our beach time but ready for a few less speedos and thongs we then took a bus 150 km's south and then a boat to Ilha Grande where we are now...........more nice beaches and a lot fewer people since it is mid-week and the fall season (alhough the weather is still sunny and 30C). Today we took a boat tour of the island stopping several times to snorkel and at a couple of secluded beaches. We decided today to ride the weather wave and stay here for an extra day (4 nights in total) since we have a wonderful and cheap 3 bed room at our hostel. Tomorrow we plan to do some hiking on this island which is very large and hilly (along wih some more beach time). Sorry to hear about the weather back home!

Iguazu Falls

We have just completed 3 spectacular days in Iguazu Falls and we were fortunate to see it at it's best. Upon initially arriving on the Argentinian side of the falls we were disappointed to find out that we could not get all the way to the final trail at Devil's Throat because of the recent rainstorms in the surrounding countries (Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay). As we soon discovered, the closure was justified and extremely necessary. The volume of water entering the falls had increased by 800% and was actually passing over many of the tourist walkways including a couple of spots that were still open to us. There were many places where the spray was so intense that we got totally soaked even when we put on our golf rainsuits. We were glad that we had not signed up for a tour because the noise from the falls was so loud that you could not hear anyone talking very well. The pictures posted only cover a small portion of the many different waterfalls we saw and were able to walk over.......they cover several kilometres. It really made Niagara Falls seem very small to us.

The following day we went over to the Brazilian side which provided more outstanding views (and another soaking), including a walk to the top edge of Devil's Throat which was not possible from the Argentinian side.....where we could see the walkway partially submerged in the rushing waters. If anyone has a chance to visit Iguazu Falls we strongly recommend seeing it from both sides.....the overall view from the Brazilian side is a little better but there are more trails to the upper and lower falls on the Argentinian side so you get a completely different perspective.

We also stayed at a wonderful hostel in Puerto Iguazu (Hostel Inn) which had a large pool to relax around (and dry out) at the end of the day, and active evening happenings with huge buffets and bbq's ($7-10 pp) attended by most of the backpackers (60-70 young people) with great music, entertainment, and atmosphere. We shared our 6 person dorm with a nice couple from Ireland and spent our evenings with them drinking lots of Argentinian wine and caipirinhas (Brazil's answer to the pisco sour or marguaritas).

To top off our trip to Iguazu Falls, there was a drug bust on our overnight bus trip back to Curtiba. We found it a little odd that they not only tagged our large backpacks stored underneath the bus (normal procedure for claiming at the other end) but also our daypacks which we carried with us onto the bus. A couple of hours into the trip (at midnight) our bus was suddenly pulled over to the side of the road with approximately 20 federal police officers standing by. No other traffic was stopped leading us to believe this was a targetted search resulting from a likely tip. Most of us were sleeping at the time and awakened by the officers checking our passports, bus tickets, and on-board luggage while other officers checked the stored bags. With everyone now awake and watching what was going on outside, we noticed a duffle bag being opened filled with suspicious looking book-shaped packages (probably cocaine). Several were taken away to a nearby building for inspection and shortly after the officers came back on board and checked everyone's tickets to see who was sitting in seat #24. Fortunately it wasn't one of us (several rows ahead of us), and a gentleman (probably a 'mule') with grey hair was led off the bus and didn't return.........we were on our way shortly after.

We spent the next day taking a bus tour of Curitiba, with several interesting stops along the way: Botanical Gardens and Oscar Niemeyer Museum (the architect of the above eye-shaped structure) and a walk through a park which was supposed to lead us to the next bus stop but instead turned into a 5 kilometre adventure (up and down hills) which found us back at our starting point an hour and a half later! We took another overnight bus from Curtiba to Rio where we are now and will stay for several days relaxing on Ipanema Beach.

Ciao (that still seems to work in Portuguese).

Lost in Translation

Our overnight bus from Uruguay took us to Porto Alegre, Brazil, where we immediately caught another bus further north along the coast to Florianopolis and the highly touted beach paradise of Ilha de Santa Catarina where two more local buses took us to the south end of the island and a hostel that was just 50 metres from the sandy ocean. It was run by some artists (painters) who were very hospitable and enjoying life in a very relaxed state. The only problem was that it was raining steadily, and continued for two days......our first stretch of bad weather during our two month journey. We played cards waiting for the sun to emerge and when it was still raining on day 2 we decided to take the local buses around the island, and 4 buses later we had toured the island and realized what a fun place it would be when umbrellas weren't required.

With rain predicted for another day, and full into our bus addiction, we travelled 4 hours by bus to Curitiba where we were able to catch an overnight bus to Iguazu Falls where we are right now. We passed on an afternoon trip to the falls, saving that excitement for tomorrow so that our sun deprived bodies (especially Caity's since she arrived) could enjoy some leisure time around the magnificent pool and patio at our hostel in Puerto Iguazu on the Argentinian side of the falls.

Prior to coming here we had 5 hours to burn in Curitiba before catching the overnight bus so we walked around until we had enough of the rain and then had a leisurely dinner at a brewpub. It was a good choice.....the beer was good and plentiful (as you can see from our 2.5L starting vessel), and it is a necessary substitute for wine in Brazil were the vinho is terrible (we actually poured our first bottle down the sink at our island hostel......the second brand was barely drinkable and a lesson learned not to purchase any more). The best / worst moment of the night (depending on your point of view) came when dinner arrived. In Brazil the native language is Portuguese and while we were starting to understand almost 75% of what was said to us in Spanish........although that still got us into trouble in Tigre where we thought they said "go to another dock to catch the return boat" instead of "go to ANY dock to catch the return boat" which led us on an adventure previously posted......we were now starting all over trying to communicate with the locals. Since we had not had a meal all day and everyone was starving we all ordered separate meals (we usually share) and Rhonda was ready for a beef feast so she ordered Carne de Onca. What she didn't realize, and you should have seen the look of horror on her face when her meal arrived, was that she had unknowingly asked for steak tartare......uncooked meat which she despises! Caity and I graciously shared our meals (they serve very large portions in South America), and I consumed most of Rhonda's meal which in spite of her bias was very tasty (and I'm still fine today).

Meanwhile we are giving the locals lots of laughs with our mixture of Spanish, Portuguese and English often thrown into the same sentence, but we are getting by and fortunately "cerveza" works everywhere.

Stay tuned for some great (hopefully) pictures from Iguazu Falls.

Uruguay gets a WOW

We have been enjoying our time in Uruguay. It seems to be the most developed country that we have seen so far although that is based on only 3 places that we have stayed overnight in (Colonia, Montevideo, Punta del Este) and it is a smaller country (4M people). There is lots of agriculture going on along the coastal areas, and tree planting, even though the soil seems very sandy. They have beautiful beaches and the cities are well taken care of, and seem safe. It is also a little more expensive but still at half the price of what it would cost in Canada so no complaints (other than the wine which is not nearly as good as we have become accustomed to in Argentina and Chile).
Colonia (del Sacramento), where we started, was developed in 1680 by the Portuguese who used it to smuggle goods into Buenos Aires which was controlled by the Spanish. The old bastion walls still exist and it is a wonderful place to wander around in.
Montevideo, on the other hand, is home to almost half the country's population and has all kinds of great architectural treasures including one palace that used to be the tallest building in South America. During our walkabout we came across several garbage recyclers (on cart with horse) who would check out anything interesting that had been put out for disposal.
Anxious for some beach time we moved along to Punta del Este, a world class resort town for both Uruguayans and Argentinian's from Buenos Aires. The beaches were extensive, immaculate and empty.......it is the start of their winter season and with temperatures in the 17-20C range it was too cold and most of the Cancun-like setting was deserted. Punta del Este is situated on a peninsula so we were able to walk around the town of 8,000 people, that swells to over 100,000 in the summer time, along the coastline walkways. The fishermen were still around and the sea lions were coming out of the water to beg them for their fish remains after the filleting was done. We could have stayed longer but with the temperatures being 6-7C warmer further north along the coast, we decided to book an overnight bus into Brazil and head in that direction.
Buenos tardes.

A Day in the Life

Yesterday, Monday, April 19th, was a day that deserves its' own blog.

We checked out of our Buenos Aires apartment early with an active day planned but with no advance reservations so we weren't exactly sure how it was going to work out. Weighed down with our heavy backpacks we took a local bus to get to a small train staion and then caught the commuter train to Tigre, a small town 45 minutes up the river from B.A. Tigre is a lovely place built on a delta and there seemed to be as many river roads as there were paved ones. For many B.A. residents it is their version of Muskoka, and when you consider that you can get there by bus and train in about an hour for less than one dollar it is no wonder that this secluded spot is so popular. Upon arriving mid-morning in Tigre our first priority was to purchase tickets for the boat to Carmelo, Uruguay on the final departure of the day at 4:30 pm in order to guarantee that we had a seat. Then we found out that they could not pre-check or store our backpacks (for 6 hours while we toured Tigre) so we found the nearest hostel (2 blocks away) and went there to see if we could temporarily store our bags there. The owner was an older Argentinian lady, who spoke some English, and she was not only happy to look after our packs but refused to accept any money from us for doing so, and gave us some good advice on taking a local boat around Tigre rather than the bigger catamarans for the tourists.

Our trip on the public boat, which started shortly after, took us further inland about an hour to a small neighbourhood called Lama Negro (another recommendation). It was a splendid trip on a warm sunny day, along several different rivers and channels with frequent stops to pick up and drop off locals who hopped on and off the boat during the brief (less than 5 seconds) dock stop. When the driver advised us that it was our stop (no signs anywhere along the river since it was all homes and private docks) we departed with one other passenger (a local) and decided to follow her as she walked along the shore on stepping stones (just like we do with our McKenzie Lake neighbours). However, we stopped to take a few pictures and our 'guide' disappeared. We did not come across any small parks or restaurants that we had seen at other places along the main river so we kept following the path which suddenly turned inland beside a smaller channel. After travelling about a kilometre, and admiring the scenery along the way, we were ready to turn back but then came across a small convenience store attached to a home. When communication with the old and frail, but smiling, owner failed us, we ordered a cerveza and sat down to laugh about our fate. In the middle of nowhere, we had no idea what we were doing or where to go next. Shortly after, our 'guide' reappeared with a friend at the store, and between her broken English and our broken Spanish, we determined that we should head back to our boat drop-off point and then walk a little further in the opposite direction to the way we had gone, in order to catch the public boat returning to Tigre. When we got back to our starting point we walked in the opposite direcion as instructed but before long the stepping stone walkway disappeared and we found ourselves walking thru backyards. This is the beginning of winter (think late October for us) so in spite of the 20+C temperatures (and it was a Monday), most of the properties were empty so we weren't disturbing anyone. Then we came across some home owners who via some more translation advised us that the public boat would stop at any dock as long as you flagged it down, and that the next one should be by in about 30 minutes. Noticing that the dock next door had nice benches and no one was around, we pointed it out and got the thumbs-up. We proceeded there and had the picnic lunch that we had brought with us along with a bottle of wine from our pack. It worked out perfectly as the river taxi came along as advertised and we hailed it down.

We arrived back in Tigre with just enough time to purchase a bakery item gift for the hostel owner and then retrieve our backpacks for the 3 hour boat ride to Carmelo, Uruguay. Prior to boarding we cleared Argentinian customs and successfully got our gear passed by a beautiful golden retriever 'sniffer' dog who checked every bag. Before departing we noticed the guards hide a treat in some spread out, folded up chairs, and when directed, the retriever had no trouble finding his reward.

After clearing Uruguayan customs in Carmelo, we had a short walk to the main plaza where several bus companies had services to Colonia, our final destination of the day (1.5 hour bus ride). One of the companies had a bus departing in 5 minutes, so once again the sun was shining on us (even though it was almost 8 pm and dark outside). Once there we followed our Lonely Planet travel bible to a nearby hostel, that had an available dorm room with no one else in it so we settled in for the night.

It turned out to be a fabulous day..........4 different places, 5 transportation legs, and almost no waiting time anywhere. There were a few anxious moments along the way but everything seemed to break our way and we had a lot of laughs along the way. And the locals laughed with us.....or perhaps at us :) We are obviously still in the 'consciously incompetent' stage with our Spanish!

15 million people.......and us

In spite of the size of Buenos Aires we have been enjoying our time here for the past week in this beautiful city. There is some incredible architecture (and constant renovation work going on) along with many new condominiums going up around the waterfront. It feels safe to walk around and there is a very vibrant evening life in the city which is not always the case in North America. Their subway system is extensive, cheap (.30 cents) and easy to use so it has come in handy when our legs are weary of walking or it is getting late in the day.

Caity arrived here on Monday and we are pleased to have her company. She has quickly picked up the tango as you can see in the picture! Since we are staying in Buenos Aires for 9 days we decided to rent an apartment rather than stay in a hostel. It is a little more expensive ($50 a night) but we have a lovely place with a sunny terrace balcony in one of the nicer neighbourhoods (Palermo) with easy access to most places of interest. So far we have done walking tours of Centro (main downtown area, massive architecture), Recoleta (plush, Parisian style neighbourhood, Cemetary with marble tombs......and Evita Peron), Puerto Madero (abandoned port which has been renovated with great walking paths), La Boca (older colourful, Italian district, home of Maradona and the soccer stadium) along with Palermo Hollywood and Soho. Our only disappointment occurred this morning on a very busy subway ride where a pickpocket (and his accomplices) managed to discreetly remove $60 (250 pesos) from my pocket. I was aware of the risk but while keeping a close eye on my backpack during the shoving to get into the subway car it happened quickly and I didn't even notice it until we got off the train. I'm more mad at myself than them for letting it happen since I normally have less $ in my pocket and the rest zipped up somewhere else. I guess I got a little complacent after a week in the city and enjoying everything it has to offer. Lesson learned.

Tomorrow we plan to rent bikes and tour the Costanera Sur, an ecological reserve by the waterfront. On Sunday we will take Caity to San Telmo which we went to last week-end before she arrived. They have a wonderful handicrafts market on Sundays, great antiques shops (good thing we don't have any room left in our backpacks) and tango dancing in the streets. On Monday we will take a short train ride to Tigre (1 hour, .50 cents) and take a boat tour of the delta area before heading into Uruguay.

Ciao.

Wine Country

We are currently enjoying a 5 day stay in Mendoza which is the heart of Argentina's wine country. They are the 5th largest wine producer in the world and 70% of their wines come from Mendoza (similar to Napa) so it is a wonderful place to spend some time. They had a major earthquake here in 1861 and as a precaution they rebuilt the city with many parks (as evacuation points) and wide roads (for the rubble to fall into) lined with 100 ft trees, so it is a beautiful place to walk around which we have been doing for several days (in between bottles of wine).
On our first full day we covered more than half of the city (15 km's walking, although Rhonda believes it was closer to 20 km), starting at General San Martin Park on the west side of the city which is home to a university, Glory Hill that overlooks the city (and a steep climb to a 100 year old spectacular monument), a small lake (used for rowing competitions), a soccer stadium (used during the 1986 World Cup), a golf course (the first we have found in South America) and many other attractions.....900 acres in all and we covered most of it.

We have since discovered the rest of the city, visiting the the historical sights (museum, other parks, aquarium) while also finding time to take a wine tour to Maipu (outside the city) and a tasting room within the city (Vines of Mendoza recommended by good friends Neal & Linda). We are returning there tonight for Winemaker's Night which is very popular. Today we also enjoyed lunch along a pedestrian mall sitting with the locals having their one and half hour lunch breaks, often with family members. Last night we enjoyed an Asado feast at our hostel.........a bbq with non-stop meat coming at you until you beg them to stop offering (steak and chorizo sausage) along with empanados (pastry filled with ham and cheese), a terrific tomato salad and 3 bottles of wine (for the 5 of us)......all for $9 pp. Tomorrow we are taking a local bus to a nearby town with hot springs.........and there are still so many wineries to explore with only 2 days to go. It is certainly a place that we could spend a lot more time.

Prior to Mendoza we spent 2 days in Santiago, the capital of Chile. It was a very large city, with a nice mix of old and new architecture. We attended Good Friday mass there and it ended with a stations of the cross march thru the city with a young man carrying the cross and being followed by a mass of people........over 90% of S.A. people are Roman Catholic so they know how to celebrate and participate in their special days.

When we left Santiago we took an amazing 7 hour bus ride into Mendoza. The route goes through the Andes mountains with many switchback roads and tremendous views. If you ever take this trip make sure you sit on the right side of the bus (like we did based on internet research) which had outstanding views of the canyon and river (and the sunny side) along the way. People on the other side of the bus were constantly coming over to our side to take pictures. The bus attendant also collected "tips" (spare change) before we got to the Chile / Argentina border and it resulted in a quick border crossing with minimal baggage checking.....perhaps they should try that in Canada!

Our next posting will come from Buenos Aires where we will greet Caity and the start of her adventure.

Buenos tardes...............miguel & pocahantas