An 8 hour, Chipa filled bus journey away from Ascuncion lies the town of Pedro Juan Caballero. An 8 hour and 2 minute bus journey away lies the town on Ponta Pora. The important disinction between the 2 is that PJC is Paraguayan, whereas Ponta Pora belongs to Brazil. The 2 towns, and therefore by definition the 2 countries, are seperated by nothing more than the main road. The border security here makes Ciudad del Este look positively strict. I found this out the interesting way, by arriving rather late, and going on a wander to find a burger. How I [View Full Entry]

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Ah the pun, my most faithful of friends. Helping me out when I can´t think of any decent titles. I digress. I´d heard many things about Paraguayan´police trying to bribe tourists when they enter the country, so when 2 such fellows approached me in Ciudad del Este just as I had my passport stamped I was a little wary. I shouldn´t have been. All they wanted to do is make sure noone tried to rob me as I waited for my bus to the bus station, give me a map of Paraguay and their own personal tips, before wishing me well [View Full Entry]

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I crossed the border to Brazil with Gareth, a fellow Englishman who has achieved the rare feat of managing to get to more footy games than me over the last few weeks. Shortly after dropping our things at the hostel, we decided to venture over to Paraguay, making this a 3 country day, an achievement I managed once before on this trip when I went from El Salvador to Nicaragua via Honduras. You remember that don´t you faithful readers? Unless you want to, there is no need to get your passport stamped as you cross the Puente del Amistad between Brazil [View Full Entry]

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Unfortunately, I was already on a bus bound for Puerto Iguazu before I remembered the above sage advice from TLC. I considered jumping off at the next stop, but it was the middle of the night and I didn´t really feel like it. By the time the bus arrived in Puerto Iguazu, I wondered why I was ever considering taking the advice of a dodgy early 90s girl group over virtually everyone in the world who say that the Iguazu Falls are incredible, and went to find myself a hostel. Fact of the Day. My dad owns the TLC album. How [View Full Entry]

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This was it, what I'd been waiting for for about 2 months. The big one. No, I'm not talking about seeing Rik Waller in concert, but of Boca Juniors vs River Plate at La Bombonera. (I have to confess, that joke isn't mine, I actually stole it from someone else who went to the game, but I didn't meet until Puerto Iguazu... Gareth if you read this, please don't sue me.) First though, a short tale about an interesting first night back in BA. As you may recall from the last exciting episode of "Stewart's blog" I caught a ferry from [View Full Entry]

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I got a little scared that you guys were stalking me after my last entry, so decided to put some months between us. Sorry about that. but we do continue. So, from Maldonado, I skidaddled westwards for my final stop in Uruguay - Colonia. I'd heard really mixed reports on this place, with some people saying its a great place to stay for a few days, and others saying come and see the sights, then get out. Being as I had an urgent appointment with La Bombonera in Buenos Aires on Sunday (I arrived in Colonia on Friday) I would be [View Full Entry]

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My bus from Montevideo dropped me at Maldonado, which is about another 10 minutes away from Punta del Este, Uruguay's most famous beach resort, and also one of the best in South America apparently. In summer, and over Easter weekend, the place is thronging, but by the time I arrived on Easter Monday it was quiet as a mouse. Indeed, for the last 2 nights, I've been the only person staying in my hostel. This isn't going to be a long entry, as I haven't really done that much here. My days have always followed a similar pattern of wake up [View Full Entry]

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And if you tolerate this then your children will be next. Sorry, couldn't resist. By the way, I've been sneaking in song references into my titles for a while now. If you're bored, why not try and find them all. A prize for anyone who gets them all. Oh, and for the smart Alec that says Las Ramblas are in Barcelona... well they're in Montevideo too. I've a picture that proves it. I spent all of the Easter weekend in Montevideo, as with Uruguay being a Catholic country, it all goes a little crazy, with buses and hostels all booked up. [View Full Entry]

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When buying the bus ticket to my latest location, I could barely keep the grin off my face. In fact, I'm fairly sure I didn't, as the guy behind the counter looked at me in a very strange way as I said "Uno a Fray Bentos por favor". Yup thats right. Fray Bentos. Despite the fact I think their products are of dubious quality, how could I not come to a town that had pies named after it? But before we get there, I must make brief comment on my bus journey from Cordoba to Uruguay. You see, until now, the [View Full Entry]

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At least according to Che Guevara. Find out why later in this latest exciting episode of Stewart's blog. So, to Cordoba. Before I created this 3 weeks window, it was always going to a place I ended up skipping over. And after spending 6 days there, I've got to say I'm quite glad I didn't. I've got to say though, that Argentina's second city didn't make the greatest of first impressions on me. You see, my first day in places I usually go out and see "the sights". But unless you like churches, Cordoba doesn't really have many. Sure, theres the [View Full Entry]

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