Update to previous entries

Have just added David and the Master video clip to Paraty entry.
Have also added video of Ilha Grande Boat trip into google videos. http://video.google.es/videoplay?docid=-8804949910890640255

23rd - 26th April - Pucon

Another 6 hour bus trip where we slept on and off on our way to Pucon. Another small touristy town similar to Bariloche. Lots of upscale accommodation, places to shop and eat. We wandered down to the main street and bought some supplies at the supermarket for our next couple of days here. We are staying at hostal willy where we are staying in a little house next to the main hostel with kitchen facilities, dining room, open fire and a BBQ. We had a BBQ for dinner and a few drinks. The tour operators from the volcano climb came and kitted us out with our gear for the climb. It included boots, pants, jacket, gloves, helmet, backpack, crampons and a neckwarmer/beanie and an ice pick. 24th 7am start today. We headed off for Volcano Villarrica about 10km South of Pucon. In winter this is the snow skiing mountain of Pucon. We drove above the cloud line and got out at the car park. We had a short walk to the chairlift where we had a choice to walk for an hour to the top of the chair lift or catch it for 5000 pesos. Only Jon and Greg decided to walk, the rest of us caught the rickety old double chair. As you can imagine David was freaking out as there were no chains or anything to hold you in and it decided to stop when we were above the highest point from the ground. Luckily it only stopped for a minute if that. Once back on solid ground we hiked up to the glacier where we put our crampons on and were given a demo of how to use the ice pick in case we were to slip.. It was a tough, exhausting ascent to the point of the 1983 lava flow. We took a few rest stops along the way taking in the views and many pictures. Lucky for us it was another sunny day. The further we climbed the more the cloud below evapourated leaving us with spectacular views. We took the crampons off and scaled the lava flow to the top. The smell of sulphur was quite overpowering at times but we managed to stay up there long enough to have a group hug,take more photos and have a bite to eat. The views were incredible, both of the surrounding country side but also into the crater.

It felt like we were on top of the world. Our decent was fun and difficult at times. There had been a snow fall a week ago and we were able to slide down much of the way on our bums like a slippery slide. We had to walk over the lava flow again and then put our crampons back on to get over the glacier. Once we took our crampons off again we half walked half slid down through the cinders and volcanic rock back to the car park. We arrived back at the hostal exhausted but having had one of the best days of the tour so far. We finished off the day with a little party our tour leader put on for us. 25th Another early start, this time horse riding. They asked us what our experience was and matched us up with our horses. We headed out along a dirt road where the horses were just walking while we got used to the them and they got used to us. It was a scenic ride through the country side. We were able to make the horses trot and then canter. We went through a Mapuche (local natives) village and past their farms. We stopped by a river to have a snack. I (cat) didn't quite get my foot out of the stirrup before dismounting and ended up on the ground with my foot still attached. The guide hurried over to help me out and advised me to only have my toe in the stirrup when dismounting. The trip back was along the river where we were given another opportunity to canter along the sand. Then on a winding track over rocks and up and down hills. In the afternoon we headed off to the termas los Pozones, local natural thermal pools by the river, to soak our weary bones. It was another enjoyable day. We finished off with dinner in a restaurant and then to a club called Mummas and Tappas, for a drink. 26th Last day spent updating blog and exploring Pucon.

21st - 22nd April - Puerto Varas

Left beautiful Bariloche (Argentina) where it had started to rain. Had a 6 hour bus trip to Puerto Varas (Chile). Smooth boarder crossing. The road was very scenic and winding traveling through the Andes. Unfortunately this was not good for motion sickness, but I (Cat) managed to hang in there. David and I are still not 100% but the others were not either but theirs was due to a huge night at an Irish pub. We had a little walk around the main streets of Puerto Varas. Looks like a little German town as there were many German migrants after the WWII. We went for dinner at a seafood restaurant at the end of the day. We both had salmon, glad to be able to have something other than beef after our time in Argentina.
22nd We took a tour with some of the group to Chile's 2nd largest Island Chiloe. Our tour van boarded the ferry which was rather daunting as it was so small. We were able to go up to the top deck for the journey. We saw sea lions, pelicans and seaguls on the journey. Our first stop off was to a little village with the oldest Church in Chile. We then set off on a gravel road past many small family run, subsistence farms. Everything there is done manually, from milking to ploughing the fields. We stopped off to see some black neck swans and to sample some oysters with white wine, tough life but someone has to do it. There were men out on the shore drying seawead to sell, to make agar agar. We then stopped off at the islands biggest town where we went to the produce and handy craft markets. They have an interesting way of selling muscles, threaded on a string and dried out! We then headed to the penguin beach (no penguins as it was not the right time of year) where we had lunch at a little restaurant with a million dollar view and very cheap prices as they catch the fish locally. David and I had sea bass with potatoes for around $6 each! Last stop off was San Antonio Fort which managed to survive the 1960 Earthquake and tsunami. Another fantastic day.

18th - 20th April - San Carlos de Bariloche

Arrived at 11.30am in pretty good shape after such a long bus journey. We checked into our new accomodation which is a log cabin style youth hostel. As has been the case so far we have a private room and do not have to share a bathroom with 8 others like the other guys.
We headed off to look around the pretty, small town. Very touristy, like Jindabyne with lots of restaurants and shops selling outdoor gear. After a quick hamberger, Jon, Greg, Gui, Vicky and Cat and David took a bus about 5km out of town to a gondala. We took the gondola to the top of Cerro Otto. About half way up we entered the clouds, so there was limited visibility at the top. We set off outside and it was blowing a gale. Luckily the trail was protected and we had a good walk back down the hill and into town. Once we were out of the clouds we had a magnificent view of the town, lake and mountains. We went out to dinner with Zaida and a few of the others to the best steak restaurant in Argentina. The chef showed us the different cuts of meat and as the portions were so large we shared a half serve. The meat was exceptional.
19th We were booked on a private tour through the hostel to take us to Mt Tronador, the highest mountain in Argentina. We passed some amazing scenery, Lakes like a mirror and Huge mountains with many colours due to the leaves on the trees changing. Our first stop was a 1 hourkçhike uphill to the top of a 70m waterfall. Again fantastic views of the valley and surrounding mountains. Next stop was lunch at Pampa Linda for a lunch of caserole and mashed potato. The drove on to have a walk to another waterfall. We walked through a native bamboo forest. The next trek we did was to the base of Mt Tronador and we hiked to the end of one of the 4 glaciers on the Argentine side. More amazing scenery, Sonya (the local guide) was fantastic giving us real insite into the Park and the flora and fauna. Finished the day shopping where we found gluten free pizza bases and biscuits. So we went bak to the hostel to make Pizza. Zaida read the instructions for us and we found we needed fresh yeast so back out to the shops where we were lucky enough to find a packet exactly the size we needed. Excellent way to end the day, Pizza, Chocolate and red wine.

17th April - 21hr night bus to San Carlos de Bariloche

Did some last minute shopping for pack covers, a couple of shirts and a pair of 3 length zip off pants for Cat. David also bought an Argentine futbol shirt. Boarded the bus at 2.30pm for a 21 hour bus trip.

Lucky for us it proved to be the best bus so far, wide seats, large windows and they played a couple of videos, Dirty, Failure to Launch and some movie in Japanese with Spanish subtitles. We were served Afternoon lunch, Dinner and breakfast. (Most of it was bread or sandwiches so I (Cat) couldn´t eat it.)

15th - 16th April - Buenos Aires

Paul took the whole group on a walking tour of Buenos Aires for the day. We started off taking a trip on the underground to Plaza Italia, from there we walked down a small colourful street, similar to Newtown. We stopped at a cafe for breakfast/coffee and a look around the shops in the area. We saw a few dog walkers with about 10 dogs on leads that were very well behaved. We then walked through the botanical gardens, where there were many stray cats. We also walked past the zoo and through other parks, full of ponds, rose gardens gravel walkways and sculptures. We ended up walking to Recoleta Cemetary which is full of crypts where we could see the coffins and stairs down to the lower levels. An amazing experience. We also found Eva Perons grave which was rather low key compared to many of the others.We finished the day by going to a Tango lesson, 3 course dinner and tango show. It was excellent! We even liked the piano accordian.
16th We went out to lunch with Paul and half the group, in San Telmo. The restaurant was supposed to serve the 2nd best steak in Argentina. It was very good. David and I shared as the meals are so huge. After lunch we caught taxis to La Bocca, which is a part of town with very colourful buildings and the areas surrounding it are poor and dodgey so you have to catch a cab there. It was very touristy and there was a Diego Maradona lookalike who was charging to have a photo taken with him. He had a photo of himself with the real Maradona and it was hard to pick who was who. In the afternoon we walked the main shopping Mall called Florida avenue, it was about a kilometer long. Towards the end of the day it was getting very smokey due to fires surrounding the city and the lack of wind to take it away. We had our first meeting with our new tour leader Zaida and 3 new people on the trip, Sarah, Thomas and Linda. Then went out for our final dinner with Paul at a very ritzy restaurant. David and I shared a meal again, Kid on a spit!

13th - 14th April Colonia

A 1.5 hour bus trip took us to Colonia. We settled into our hotel and we set off to explore the town. Very quaint old town settled in the 1700´s. We visited the oldest church in Uraguay and the city gates and what is left of the wall that would have surrounded the city. It was a very cold and windy day. We ended up going to the shops and buying some beer and a bottle of Dunbar whiskey. That night we drank and played cards in the common room of the hotel.
14th Lovely sunny day we wandered around the town and took a few photos in the sunlight. We had a BBQ for lunch at the hotel for Gui´s 33rd birthday and spent the rest of the day on the rooftop terrace playing Canasta with Dawn. Left at 6pm for the ferry to Buenos Aires. Was a rather smooth trip over the brown murky waterway. We went out on deck for a little while and it was interesting to see all the channel markers in such a huge expanse of water. It must have been a narrow channel as there were huge ships passing very close by.

11th - 12th April Montevideo

Left Salto at around 12pm for our 6 hour bus trip to Montevideo. We had a fairly smooth journey through the countryside of mainly farming land and through a few small towns. Very interesting to see the different types of architecture. Most of the houses are very small brick and cement. Arrived in Montevideo at 7.30pm and headed out for dinner. 12th Spent the day walking through the old part of town. There were markets on in a park in the centre of the old town selling antiques, arts and crafts. You could buy muskets, pistols, old telephones with the stick and the other bit you put to your ear attached by a cord (don´t know the name of them but I am sure Sheldon or Gregg will be able to help there). We went out to lunch with the group and shared a main, it was still huge! I can´t believe how big the servings are here. We didn´t end up having dinner as David was still stuffed from lunch.

10th April Salto Uruguay

The bus dropped us off on the side of the road where we were met by a couple of taxis. 4 to a taxi including our luggage is a very tight fit. The taxis took us through the boarder crossing into Uraguay and on to our hotel in Salto. We were going to spend the day at the waterpark but it was closed so we spent the day by the river drinking beer (shandys for Cat). David hurt his shoulder and back throwing a vortex around. He seems to think he is still 20 like the rest of them. Sandy who is 10 years older than me also had the same problem as David and has asked Paul to tell her next time she is too old to play all day. :-) We went out to dinner with the group to a resteraunt about 10 blocks from the hotel. Nice to be able to walk back after the big meal.

7th - 9th April Iguacu Falls

Spent last night travelling on the night bus from Sao Paulo to Iguassu. It was not as bad as we had expected. More comfortable than an airoplane as the seats reclined much further. We arrived at the bus depot at 10am and were taken to the hotel by taxi. We had to wait in the lobby until around 12pm so David decided to get his little football (Rugby League) out and throw it around. Paul let us use his PC to pay off our credit card. We are reluctant to use the public PCs as Cat´s internet banking logon had been canceled as someone had tried to use it. Once we checked in and had a shower we set off for the Brazilian side of Foz du Iguacu. We walked along the path with the views of the falls gradually getting better and better. We took many photos from the different vantage points along the path. Along the way we also saw many colourful butterflies, lizards, a coati mundi which was an furry animal the size of a large cat with a big fury tail striped like a racoon´s and a pointed face. We also saw a toucan in the trees above us.The falls were quite spectacular even though the volume of water is much lower than at other times. At least we didn´t get wet! We took a walkway right over near the top of Devils throat (The largest part of the falls). For dinner we went to a traditional Brazillian BBQ resteraunt where they have a salad buffet and the waiters walk around with meat on large skewers and cut it off at your table.8th. Today we were to go to the Argentine side of the falls, however on our way there the driver recieved a call to say that there was a protest on the Argentine side of the boarder blocking the way into the falls. We ended up having today as our free day so we walked through the town, posted a couple of postcards and bought a top each. David bought a number 10, Ronaldinhio Brazillian soccer jersey. We then spent the afternoon by the pool reading and relaxing.9th. We had an early start today as we needed to get the falls in before catching a night bus to Salto in Uruguay. We headed off for Argentina and said goodbye to Brazil. After passing through we encountered the protest. They had a couple of large baners in the Argentine flag colours, blocking the highway. We were stopped there for about 30 minutes before they decided to let some traffic through. We spent the day on the many boardwalks and taking many more photos of the spectacular falls. Everyone else in the group went on a boat that goes right up to the falls, they ended up soaked. The falls were absolutely amazing and it was good to have been able to see it from both sides. We didn´t make it to the devils throat on the Argentine side as we were worried we would not make it back to the bus depot in time due to the protest. We spent about an hour in traffic again waiting to cross the picket line. When we arrived at the bus depot we found our bus was stuck on the other side of the protest so we had to catch a shuttle to our bus and transfer our luggage on the side of the road, and also wait another hour in traffic. The bus was a double decker bus where we were served dinner much better than we have had on an airline, and it was only the standard class bus. I can´t wait for the superior class bus.

4th - 5th April Paraty

Took a 1 1/2 hour local ferry then a 2 hour local bus ride to reach Paraty. Not a good trip to take when you don´t feel well, thank goodness for Maxalon. Arrived in Paraty around 3pm and found a place to have lunch. We then walked around the old town for the rest of the afternoon. Paraty is a historical village founded in the 1700´s. We walked up and down the cobble stone streets and took photos of the colourful buildings, churches and boats. Had dinner at a very nice thai restaurant. Went on a tour of the area to some waterfalls where some of the people from the tour had a slide down the rocks into the pool at the bottom. We also visited an alambique distillery where they did some tasting. I (Cat) am giving my body a break from alcohol for a couple of days. We stopped at a restaurant and had Fejuada for lunch. It is a traditional Brazilian dish made from beans, sausage and pork off cuts. We then visited a 17th century farm which also included a distillery. We finished the day watching a capoira display. They called up a few of our group to join in at the end and David did so well they put him up against the Master.

1st - 3rd April Ilha Grande

Left Rio around 10.30am with 15 of us in a mini bus. David and Paul had to stand, or share a seat with one bum cheek on the 2 hour journey to the Port where we caught a schooner over to the island. We had a relaxing 1 1/2 hour trip in very calm waters. there were cussions on the deck for us to lie on and enjoy the view. We arrived at our lovely tropical accommodation that remineded us of where we stayed in Luang Prabang. Went for a walk in the local rainforest in the afternoon where we viewed an old aquaduct and some ruins. We also went to a natural pool which was lovely, and other views of the island. We had a BBQ and caphirinas for dinner at the hotel. A great start to our holiday with the group.
Next day we decided to walk up to Parrots Peak it was supposed to be a 6 hour return walk, but we managed to get up in 2 1/2 hours . It was very steep in some places walking over many tree roots and large boulders in some places. Walking through the rainforest was very hot and muggy and we drank heaps of water along the journey. Fantastic views of both sides of Ilha Grande. We arrived back at the hotel hot and tired. We had a nap and a shower before going out to have a look around, then back for drinks around the pool before dinner at a restaurant on the beach. Very nice.
Woke early and David took a yoga lesson by the pool before breakfast. Eight of us went on a cruise around the island. We stopped to snorkel, play soccer on the beach and have a bbq lunch. We also drank many capirhinas and ended up dancing on the boat and having lots of laughs . I (Catriona) drank way too many and ended up quite ill.

30th - 31st March Rio

30th I (Catriona) woke early this morning with diarrhea. Must have eaten something dodgey yesterday! Went downstairs for breakfast of bread rolls, ham, cheese, pineapple, coffee and juice. I decided to give it a go, David had the bread rolls though. Headed back to the room and did not leave there for quite some time. We ended up watching the Pink Panther, the modern one with Steve Martin. We headed out later to get some lunch for David then back to the room for some more rest. In the afternoon we went for a huge walk along Copacabana beach and Ipanema beach. The roads in front of the beaches were closed to trafic and there were heaps of people out and about. We ended the day doing a bit of shopping for diner. 31st Met Tanja this morning (she is on our tour) and headed off on a full day tour of Rio. Our first stop was Sugarloaf mountain. We had to take 2 cable cars to get to the top. We had a clear sunny day and the views of Rio were magnificent. We then drove by Copacabana and Ipanema beach to take some more photos. We then went into Centro (the CBD) and visited the Cathedral, which is a very modern designed building like a cone with the top chopped off. There were full stained glass windows on four `sides`. We headed up through St Teresa on the cobble stone streets to the Corcavado to see Christ the Redeemer. Once again the views were very impressive. Had a meeting with the others on our tour and went out to dinner. Dawn from London, Laura from Oxford, Amanda from Cambridge and Marin from Norway are continuing on having started the tour in Caracus, John and Greg from toronto, Gi and Victoria from Brisbane, Sandy and Fran from Proserpine, tanja from Munich and Charlotte from Cheltanham, with Paul our Leader from UK somewhere.