Rio to Iguazu

Hola de Argentina,

Sorry I haven`t written b4 this but its just been so mad acclimatising to this place

the food, the language the madness etc.I did post up a link to a blog on the first

few days we spent in Rio on my Facebook (its in the about me section) but we`ve

done more than since then.Anyway, for those of you not on Facebook or not

bothered I`ll give you a quick summary.Landed in Sao Paulo at 5am, got crazy taxi

to hotel, slept.Did minimum of exploring (its a BIG city)and woke early to catch a

6 hr bus ride to Rio de Janeiro.Nice scenery, weather was beautiful, we thought it

couldn`t change.It did.Whole 5 days spent in Rio was overcast if not downright

wet!We did get lucky enough the first day to go hand gliding in one of the few

moments of clear dry weather.It was class!Scary at first (when you run at full tilt

off a cliff face with a man who keeps telling you its his first time too!), but it

becomes very relaxing very quickly, almost serene.Great views of the city, its

favelas, the beaches etc etc.Defo recommended!

In some ways, tho, it was a bit of an anticlimax.We spent the next 4 days in

raingear muttering about crap Brazilian weather.Well in fairness,now we can see

why its low season.We did have fun tho.Checked out the local area, managed to

enjoy a few drinks watching a reggae band up in the hills of Rio at nite.Did tours

of the local gardens etc.We did see Copacabana and Ipanema beaches, but

they somewhat lose their appeal in the rain when there`s no one around but

the homeless and hawkers selling local touristy crap.Oh, and we took a tram up to

Cristos Rendentor, or Christ the Redeemer, the 30m statue atop a large hill

overlooking the whole of Rio.As such, its become the icon of Rio, even the whole

of Brazil.And we saw ...nothing.It rained.There was heavy, heavy fog and cloud.

The statue itself we could barely make out in the absolute pissings of rain.Heh,

couldn`t have picked a worse day to go, but unfortunately, it was our last

and we had no choice.So we left Rio with a less than ideal view of the city.But,

one thing you can enjoy, rain or no, was the food.They serve a selection of bbq

meats on large pointed skewers, one after another.Beef, chicken, steak, pork,

sausages, different beef, more sausages, a spicy type of pork, a nicer cut of

steak, they just keep coming up to your table and offering it to you.And seeing

as you pay a flat fee at the door, its all you can eat.Nice.This type of meal

is known as rodizio, and it is very popular here.And bearing in mind, this is all

on top of the usual Brazilian buffet fare, rice, black beans, farofa, etc.We spent

our last nite indulging in this, washing it back with the local Choppe beer and

caipiriniaa, the famous Brazilian cocktail.Lots of rum and sugar mainly, but man

is it strong!We were warned b4hand by a British backpacker who swore that

2 of them would be enough to send you on your way.And sure enough, halfway

through her first one,Janelle turned white and had to take a break.SO nice tho!

You wouldn`t believe something so sweet would be so lethal.Anyway, we

continued drinking more of them back at the hostel, but not many more!

Right!That was Rio, or a brief summary.We then took a 22hr overnite bus ride

to where we are now, Peurto Iguazu on the very outer edge of Argentina.It was

nasty!Cramped seats, noisy passengers, and a broken toilet whose reek increased

exponentially as the ride wore on.They did show an English version of the

Incredible Hulk tho, which neither of us had seen.Funny enough, it starts off

in a favela in Brazil!Weird.Anyway, the bus ride went on and on, and we slept,

and woke, to find us still on the bus.And son on.Anyway.We reached the

Brazilian town of Foz de Iguazu at 6am.Weary and cranky and cramped, we fell

off the bus, caught a local bus to the main terminal, which transferred us onto

another bus to cross over into Argentina.The main attraction in this area, the

reason we put ourselves thru such an ass numbing journey is the world famous

and world class Iguazu Falls.275 individual waterfalls, fed from the absolutely

huge Iguazu river, plunge hundreds of feet into the abyss creating a permanent

roar that can be heard from miles around.These waterfalls, or catarats, happen

to lie on the borders of 3 countries - Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay.And as such

there are 3 cities built up respectively to deal with the numbers of tourists who

come here annually - Foz de Iguazu in Brazil, Peurto Iguazu in Argentina and

Ciadad del Este in Paraguay.But apparently Argentina have the best views, right up

close, and the better developed amenities in the Iguazu Parque Nacional.Hence

our destination.Anyway, suffice to say we crossed over the border tho we literally

had to walk from one country to another as the bus that dropped us off at the

border station wouldn`t wait for us.Bastardoes!Much to the amusment of the

armed border gaurds in Argentina...

So, yesterday we spent at the falls.And it is AMAZING!So much better than we

could have hoped or expected.We got sunny blue perfect skies too, for the first

time, which just added to everything.Boardwalks thru jungle, wild Coatis walking

alongside us, tropical blue coloured birds flying overhead, lizards everywhere...

It was beautiful..We took a train at one stage, to the main falls, Gargantan del

Diablo, or the Devils Throat and a ferry boat over to San Martin Island to get

closer to the falls.Everywhere we were covered in huge amounts of spray, and

everywhere there were rainbows rising out of the mist with the strong sun out

in force.Of course we took hundreds of photos and plenty of video.And we`re

off back again today to do some more trails that we missed yesterday.And after

that, another bus ride to Buenos Aires, tho we hear the transport in this

country is far superior to Brazil (Thank God).Anyway, must go, ppl waiting to

use thenet as alwyas in these hostels.Feel free to write and keep in touch.I`ll

keep writing anyway!Later, adios amigos!