From Iguazú in Argentina's far north-east we are making a long-distance leap to its far north-west corner, to what promises to be a different Argentina again from the ones we have seen already. The is the Argentina of the Andean foothills, the Argentina of Inca heritage, of dry heat and deserts, of llamas and condors, of salt flats, of reds and oranges and yellows and browns. At least this is what we are hoping for. This Andean north-west is separated from Iguazú by the Chaco, a vast thorny desert nicknamed el impenetrable. The hint is duly taken - this is indeed a difficult area to visit. There's only so much dry thorny scrubby desert we want to see...There are direct buses between Puerto Iguazú and Salta, our base for the next couple of weeks, but we're ... read more

Across the river Paraná - nearly a mile wide at this point - from Posadas, in Paraguay, lie the crumbling ruins of missions founded in jungle by Jesuit priests in the 17th and 18th centuries. Here, in the baking heat and sweltering humidity, thousands of indigenous Americans, mostly Guaraní, lived in large communities presided over by Jesuits from Europe. Descriptions of the missions vary considerably depending on the viewpoint taken (from paternalistic Christianisation to philanthropic assistance) but the oddity of finding intricately carved baptismal fonts and large, red-brick churches bang in the middle of the Paraguayan forest is undeniable. The two 'Missionary Reductions' (their official name in Colonial times) we visited - Trinidad de Paraná and Jesús de Tavarangüe - are now part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The ruins are well preserved but, unsurprisingly, ... read more

Back from Cabo Polonio, it's a quick overnight stop in Montevideo before we head up the norther shore of the Río de la Plata to Colonia del Sacramento. Colonia - whose historic quarter is Uruguay's sole UNESCO World Heritage Site - was founded in the 17th century by the Portuguese. It acted as a port for the smuggling in of imported goods, to the unsurprising irritation of the Spanish, only just across the water in Buenos Aires. After a number of spats the town was eventually ceded to Spain. The historic part of town, located at the very tip of a peninsula sticking out into the river just within view of Buenos Aires, is a lovely place to walk around and soak up the atmosphere. Cobbled streets, palm trees and clapped out vintage cars complement the ... read more

After five years of being dreamt about, the next Big Trip begins - the Great Trans-American Adventure. And Buenos Aires is where it all starts. Now-bleedingly-obvious-but-never-really-thought-about-it-before-observation number one: South America is a long way away. A very long way away. Looking at a map of the world it hardly seems possible that the Argentine capital is a whopping fourteen hour flight away from London. But it is - oh, it is. I can't say those hours pass by particularly quicky - indeed, our progress on that little electronic map they now supply you with seems painfully slow. Which brings me to NBOBNRTAIB observation number two: South America, in addition to being very, very far, is also very, very big. Surely, once we pass over the Brazilian coastline, we must be nearly there? Nope - still another ... read more

First Impressions Kathmandu presents the traveller with a very special kind of culture shock. Our previous travels have given me the opportunity to use the phrase 'sensory overload' quite liberally: walking the streets of Hanoi, boarding an inter-island ferry in the Spice Islands, getting hopelessly lost in the winding alleys of the medina of Fez...The capital city of Nepal, however, operates on an altogether different level. Arriving in Kathmandu by air in April does not offer the heartstopping views of the Himalayas one might expect. Delhi, which we left barely an hour ago, is baking in forty degree heat. Kathmandu, at an altitude of a kilometre or so, is a little cooler, but sitting in a broad, high-sided valley, it is almost invisible from the air - concealed behind a thick veil of haze. It is ... read more