Punta del Diablo proved to be everything we´d hoped, not exactly a quiet little fishing village as it is becoming a popular destination , but still a laid back little village with gorgeous beaches and crashing Atlantic waves. We were lucky to find a little cabana (hut) right on the point, with no electricity (candles are romantic right?), a hammock and a stunning view along the playa del viuda (widow´s beach). We spent 6 days here! We met up with Duncan and Lorrienne who had been at the ranch. They popped over a few times for braai (bbq) and more schloofdoof (Henry´s South African concoction of a hollowed out watermelon with oranges, pineapple.... and vodka!). We had a good time relaxing here during the sunset and into the night, sharing stories of our trips. We were ... read more

It was clear that this place was isolated. It is an amazing reserve of wildlife, but routes to get here are limited to two - the one we took, the four wheel drive was all over the "road" and the other, going south, we heard was passable. On the way down we saw two cars in three hours, but plenty of cattle, sheep, horses and birds. We were dropped off on a dirt road (all roads in this place were dirt) next to a house which seemed to be near nothing. It was scorching hot. The question to the driver of where the centre of "town" was, was answered with a waving hand pointing down another dirt road. So we stayed where we were... Later that day we walked down this other dirt road that had ... read more

Arriving in Argentina and heading to Salta by bus from the Chilean border proved to be quite a deserted affair. Besides the moderate mountains and the 4 metre high cacti, it was pretty average scenery following our previous few weeks. It was also not helped by the fact that we were presented with ham and cheese sandwiches for breakfast, elevenses and lunch! It got better though...towards the end of our journey the exposed rock faces blended into rainbows of different colours. Dark reds colours were adjacent to bright greens and gunmetal greys, caused by different minerals within. It was also evident how much wealthier the country was comparitively as almost every house was brick, had a satelite dish, and 4x4 outside...and the buses are first world! We were now consistently at lower altitude and the weather ... read more

We decided to cross to Bolivia via Copacabana, a touristy little town on the banks of Lake Titikaka with white beaches and a relaxed feel about the place. Before entering Bolivia we made sure we were up to speed with the latest scams in the country, as there have been a few incidents over the last few years...fake police asking to search bags, fake taxi drivers etc all resulting in loss of possesions. We also took an organised bus that departed Puno, stopped in Copacabana for an hour (changed buses too) and then finished in La Paz. This made the border crossing simple and ensured we were traveling in a large group of people. Our lunch consisted of grilled trout in basic huts on the beach overlooking the lovely bay filled with pedalos, canoes, and yachts. ... read more

Fourteen hours on the overnight bus took us from a vast desert at sea level to rainy season at 3600 m above! Not too bad a journey...until we had to walk up several steps to find our accommodation panting from lack of oxygen. We decided to phone a hostel and approached the nearest pay phone. It wasn´t working and we noticed a piece of paper stuck in the coin slot. As we had heard that kids often do this to gain some cash so we decided to fix the problem. Henry took out his penknife and removed the blockage. We inserted 1 soles but the phone still didn´t work, however when pressing the return coin lever 5 soles fell out. We tried again and got another 5 soles...that´s worth nearly 2 quid and a meal over ... read more