We found that due to certain buses not running every day we would have to return to Montevideo and catch a bus from there to Paso de los Toros. This meant leaving Colonia at 4:50 am. On the bus we watched as lots of police got on the same bus. We watched as they greeted each other, some got kisses and some not. In Uruguay it was a single kiss only. We wondered why some people didn't get a kiss. Because they didn't know them well? Or perhaps they didn't like them? Or they had a cold? Anyway, it passed the [View Full Entry]

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We went from Salto to Montevideo where we stayed a few nights. But we didn't do much sight seeing and took absolutely no photos. This was not because Montevideo was a bad place, in fact we quite liked it, but we had 3 problems. First, Pieter was sick in bed most of the time with the flu. Second, it was raining all the time we were there. Third, it was bloody bloody cold! Moving on to Colonia, the rain stayed with us but Pieter was feeling better and we determined to enjoy this UNESCO World Heritage Site. Arriving at the bus [View Full Entry]

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From Paraguay we decided to shoot straight across to Uruguay. We had already been to Argentina and only had 3 weeks before we had to be in Rio for the start of the Dragoman tour. Leaving Asunción in the morning, we took a posh double decker bus which soon crossed into Argentina. Our stuff got x-rayed at the border and we had two very long customs stops. The long straight roads on the open and flat landscape took us comfortably to Resistencia, arriving early evening. Here we found a night bus going to Concordia at 9 pm. The 3 hour wait [View Full Entry]

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Standing on the main road out of San Ignacio it only took us 5 minutes to flag down a bus to Asunción. A 3 hour journey and it only cost us $25,000 (US$5) each. We decided to have a little splurge and checked into the historic Asunción Palace Hotel. Sadly it had been mucked around with a lot but our room was big with a balcony. The town center looked dead, nobody much around on a Saturday. We arranged to meet a fellow couch surfer and soon found out that people hung out at the weekends in the new mall area [View Full Entry]

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A bridge is all that separates the cities of Foz do Iguaçu in Brazil and Ciudad del Este in Paraguay. Getting stamped out of Brazil we walked with our packs across the bridge which was busy with traffic and people. The arched bridge is 500 meters or so across and we had a fantastic view of the river below covered in morning mist. On the other side we were presented with a grubby, dodgy looking Ciudad del Este. Quite a contrast from the controlled and relaxed and safe city we had just come from across the river. It was known for [View Full Entry]

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We flew from Cayenne to Belem, stayed one night, then flew all the way down to Foz do Iguaçu. It was a long trip but at least from the bottom of Brazil we could easily travel overland to Paraguay and Uruguay. We suffered a long delay in Sao Paulo so arrived quite late at Hostel Bambu in Foz do Iguaçu. Our reserved double had been given away but they put us in a dorm on our own until the next night. The brothers running the place were great. They gave us information for visiting the falls and also for getting to [View Full Entry]

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Because of the huge lack of public transport we had to hitch hike to Cayenne. Valerie dropped us on the road to Cayenne and I stood with my thumb out for only 5 minutes again before were picked up by a nice, smiley frenchman in a jeep. No english so it was a quiet trip. He dropped us on the edge of town and walked to the hotel, stopping for coffee and croissants on the way. We booked at the Hotel Central, a little pricey at 59 euros a night but a nice room with a balcony and a cool shower [View Full Entry]

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Zus & Zo arranged a taxi for us to French Guiana. The taxi was 150 SRD for the 2.5 hour trip to Albina and we could have got it cheaper if we waited for other people but that could have taken all day. The taxi man then arranged a boat for us and a taxi on the other side. This was much easier than the last border crossing. We were first taken to an old wooden building in need of a paint. We climbed the stairs over the sleeping dog to where the immigration man at a desk on the balcony. [View Full Entry]

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We travelled to Paramaribo from Georgetown, Guyana, deciding to go overland. We had a not-too-comfy minibus pick us up at 3:30 am. Only 10 or so people on board. It took a couple of hours to get to Rosignol and we didn't have to wait long for the short 6:30 am crossing on a rickety old ferry to New Amsterdam. Passing through we could see that New Amsterdam and Berbice were quite pretty. A couple of hours later we stopped in Corriverton where the Corantijn river served as the border with Suriname. The next few hours were about pain and suffering. [View Full Entry]

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We arrived in Guyana close on midnight. It was easy to get a taxi. US$22. It was a 45 minute ride and we arrived in 30 minutes. Our driver sped like a mad bugger. We were grateful it was late and there was nobody much to get in his way. Arriving at the Sleepin Guest House on George St we noticed the driver also received additional payment from the desk. The hotel was very new. The room was nice and had a good size bathroom. This hotel and others had been built for the March Cricket World Cup. It was US$41 [View Full Entry]

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