And so on to Colonia del Sacramento. It is a listed Patrimonial Site by the UNESCO as the most complete illustration of Colonial Architecture in South America. It is pretty. The moment we got there we felt we were back on the tourist trail as we saw back packers the moment we arrived! There were lots of locals also between the station and town offering us accommodation etc. We headed to one of the recommended hotels, got ourselves installed and headed off to see Colonia. It is pretty, it really is. You can tell I was inspired by the number of [View Full Entry]

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And so to Montevideo..... had a feeling we had entered a time machine. It is just so dated and stuck in the 70ｴs. At first we thought it was the hotel we were staying at - it was a mock style castle walls, everything patterned and in brown. There are photos of the room so you can see for yourselves when I finally get them loaded. We sauntered off to the tourist office to see what Montevideo had to offer. Apparently a walking tour of the old city to view all the different styles of architecturefrom Neoclassical to our favourite historical [View Full Entry]

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Salto! Yes it is not exactly on the tourist map it must be said. We had decided we did not want two 20 hr trips back to back between Rio and Foz and then to BA. So looking at the map of SA (thanks Roachie) we saw a little place called Salto on the way to BA with has natural thermal baths! Well two girls and the idea of a little pampering - decision was quickly made. We then realised it was in Uruguay and not Argentina and so an extra country was added! We got to Salto to discover that [View Full Entry]

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OK so the 22 hours turned into 25 trying to get from Rio to Foz. The most frustrating is that there are no road signs so the only sign you have that you might be close is that Iguacu starts to appear on lots of names of shops etc as you pass through the villages. We got to Foz in the early afternoon. We had by then figured out that the fastest way to get where we wanted to go to next was via Argentina. Soooo slight problem as obviously the Brazilians have no idea as to the bus schedules in [View Full Entry]

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Yep we are still here! Ginny arrived on Sunday and was very lucky that I was there to meet her considering I had two hours of sleep the night before. I had been checking out a night club in Leblon with some of the other travellers. Sunday in Rio when it is hot and sunny? One place to go and that is the beach! We were installed with the usual hustle and bustle that is Ipanema. It was fantastic. One thing to note J Baptista - Caipirinha man has not been sighted. I suppose without one Budha it would not make [View Full Entry]

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How could I have ever thought of coming to SA and missing out on Rio? Now that I am here it is hard to imagine not having this as part of the tour. I have had a smile on my face from the moment the plane landed. Ipanema is still the same as ever with the same suco and lanches bar. This time though I have managed to make it in summer and it is hot hot hot! Top temp for today at 37 C. Needless to say I am about to set off to the beach and frazzle! The trip [View Full Entry]

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It is the night before the last day at work and things are really coming to an end here! All I have now fits into a suitcase and ultimately the rucksack I will be taking with me to South America. I still have a couple of weeks to go - the real adventure will be starting on Feb 21st when I fly into Rio…. [View Full Entry]

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