Day 682 (09.02.09) After finishing up our bus trip we arrived in Puerto Iguazu into noticably more tropical environs - lush greenery and a hot and humid climate. Had a little trouble finding a place to stay but ended up with a nice place conveniently sporting a pool for us to wile away a few hours before the weather turned from blue sky to torrential downpour. We hadnt even left the hostel and with the rain literally coming down in sheets of water from the sky, we already had a mini waterfall coming off our roof! Getting a break in the weather we braved a walk into town and scored ourselves a steak dinner which we cooked up with Sally and Niall, a couple we had met on the bus. Day 683 (10.02.09) We awoke to ... read more

Day 673 (31.01.09) After our almost sleepless night on the bus we arrived in BA in the early afternoon and opted for the easy taxi option to find our way to our hostel. After having a bit of a chat with the fella behind the desk we chucked our stuff in the room and went straight out to Recoleta, one of the areas of the city famous for, amongst other things, it's weekend market. After stopping off to get some lunch we spent an annoying time trying to get some coinage for the bus machine (everywhere else you try and get rid of the weighty coins, in cities you can't seem to get it for love nor money! Pun intended!). Coins in hand we eventually found ourselves rolling across town. Walking through the local market, we ... read more

Day 663 (21.01.09) What a way to spend a birthday, 14 hours on a bus! Sadly for Mark that's exactly what he had to endure for his big day. Luckily the buses here are comfortable. Although we'd realised there would be a ferry journey as we crossed from mainland South America to Isla Grande, the southernmost section of the continent shared between Chile and Argentina, we weren't prepared for how good it would be. As we left the bus to walk onto the ferry we could see some movement in the water around the boat and before long we realised that it was some small black and white dolphins. We later found out that they're called Commersons Dolphins. Up on deck we were thoroughly entertained as lots of these cute little guys played around in groups ... read more

Day 652 (10.01.09) Having arrived late the night before we hadn't really been able to see what El Chalten was like but when we ventured out after a lie-in this morning we were to be impressed with the beautiful surrounding scenery. Set in a valley next to a milky green river and beneath some incredibly imposing jagged mountain peaks the village has the potential to be superb but falls a little short as, even though its a fairly recently purpose built place, it doesn't seem to have had the benefit of town planners. The buildings which make up the village (mostly accomodation and a few shops and restaurants) sprawl out around the main road so it has no real atmosphere. We decided to go for a short walk to the Churillo del Salto, a waterfall an ... read more

Day 646 (4.01.09) After our relatively short bus ride to El Bolson, we walked around to find a place to stay before dumping our stuff and starting an aimless wander around town to get our bearings. After a bit of a search around we found the local artesan market and strolled through to see what was on offer. With a stop at the famous Heladeria Jauja for a superb ice-cream (we can highly recommend the lemon pie and white chocolate flavours!) we finished the day with a bit of planning and catching up on the very slow internet. Day 647 (5.01.09) With our actual second wedding anniversary being partly taken up by a bus ride tomorrow, we split our celebrating over two days. A great idea we may have to adopt for many more years to ... read more