300km south of Rio, Paraty is one of Brazil's first planned urban projects and today is considered one of the world's most important examples of Portuguese colonial architecture by UNESCO. The town is a grand spot to relax in but the prices of everything are incredibly high, and we know we're nearing the end of our trip and so the funds are getting low, but everyone we met all complained of the same. Still, we had fabulous weather here and divided our time between wandering through the cobbled streets of Old Town and walking the golden sands of Trinidade beach, 21km [View Full Entry]

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The Iguazu falls.... .....is composed of around 275 separate falls. .....tumble for some 2km from the Rio Iguazu Superior over a 70m cliff to the Rio Iguazu inferior below. .....are at their most spectacular after the heavy rains in June and July. .....currently has the greatest average annual flow of any waterfall in the world. .....has a 3km semicircle of rock called the Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat), over which hurtles 1800 cubic metres of water per second. From here, mist rises between 30 metres (98 ft) and 150 m (492 ft). ..... a person can stand and be surrounded [View Full Entry]

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Move aside New York, there is a new girl in town, her name is Buenos Aires. To say this is one of the coolest cities I have ever visited would be an understatement. Just like the dance it's famed for, the city encapsulates you in its gaze where you spend endless days wandering its streets and relaxing in its many cafes. In over all the city is lacking in a large number of attractions but that doesn't seem to matter, it charms you nonetheless. One of the key attractions is the neighbourhood of La Boca. which was originally settled by Spanish [View Full Entry]

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Our stay in Mendoza was like this blog entry will be - short but sweet. For Karen's birthday, we booked into a fabulous 4 star hotel and after our day long trip over the stunning snow capped Andes, we were equally wowed with our huge, luxury room. We had a wonderful few days here ambling around the squares and markets enjoying the sunshine. The locals were a bit amused to see us in summery clothes and one elderly lady jokingly tried to bundle Karen up in her red scarf. So far the Argentinians are a wonderful, welcoming people, we're going to [View Full Entry]

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We actually were in Santiago twice. The first time was back on July 8th before we flew to Lima on the 10th and then we flew back in on July 29th and we liked it so much more the second time round. It may be because it was warmer or that the part we stayed in second time round was nicer. The smog in this city makes it seem grey and a bit rundown. There aren't many major sights here - a few churches, the plaza, a fort and the cable car to a viewpoint (which turned out not to be [View Full Entry]

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We arrived into San Pedro with only one thing on our minds after two days on the Salt Flats - a long, long hot shower! After we were presentable again we set out to explore the town which didn't take too long. This is a town which seems to exist only for or because of tourists with the main street choc a block full of restaurants, tour agents and well fed dogs. Still, the sun was shining and it was fabulously warm after the extreme cold we had endured on the salt flats so we were happy to relax and enjoy. [View Full Entry]

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Our journey from Potosi to Salar de Uyuni was one I don't think we'll ever forget, we have never seen so much dust inside a bus before! The road was not sealed and with cracks above him in the ceiling the dust was soon raining down on Vinny. Whether it was the amount of dust he inhaled or the generous mouthfuls of coca leaves chewed earlier, poor Vinny was ill when we reached Uyuni but thankfully he made a full recovery for the start of our tour through the salt flats. We loaded into the 4x4's with the first stop at [View Full Entry]

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Our journey to Potosi was an interesting one, by taxi in the dark with lots of driving in the middle or on the wrong side of the road! Curiously, the taxi driver had to give a list of his passengers into the police to be stamped before we left Sucre and then it was checked again as we entered Potosi. The next morning we got up and each dressed in oodles of layers as advised to visit the silver and zinc mines on the outskirts of town. First stop was the miners' market, where we bought coca leaves, biscuits, alcohol and [View Full Entry]

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Sucre is the constitutional capital and when we drove into the city past the crisp white colonial buildings, we began to wonder had we somehow boarded the wrong flight and left Bolivia. One thing for sure though is this is a great place to chill, hang out and enjoy some down time which we gladly did. Our days were spent soaking up the winter sunshine in the Plaza de las Armas, browsing the market stalls lining the side streets, catching the latest Harry Potter film and sampling the delights of the local chocolatiers.......... without a doubt this backpacking lark ain't so [View Full Entry]

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Crossing over the border from Peru to Bolivia was completely painless, a very relaxed affair, even the guards on duty were standing around drinking smoothies with a dog lying sleeping at their feet. Once on the Bolivian side there were dogs and donkeys everywhere! We were heading to La Paz , Bolivia's admin capital and the highest capital in the world. Before reaching La Paz itself we had to go through El Alto, a city on the doorstep. The two cities are world's apart, the general rule of thumb however is the richer you are the lower down the valley you [View Full Entry]

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