Gringo Diaries Part 2: Tour From Rio to Buenos Aires

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So after the relative success of blog 1, I thought it now is the perfect time to blog my progress up until now. I left off the last blog having returned to Rio de Janiero from Buzios for the start of my first organised tour of my trip which would take me from Rio de Janiero, to the south of Brazil, the Misiones region of Argentina, Uruguay and over the River Plate to Buenos Aires.

Unfortuntaly the tour got off the pretty bad start. Upon arriving at the starting hotel in Rio, I saw a note from the tour leader, Fabio, saying that it was of critical importance to have the immigration slip that we recieved when we arrived into Rio de Janiero airport for when we cross into Argentina.

Uh oh.

After about a week of being in Brazil I had nauntulantly thrown it in the bin thinking "whats the worst that could happen".

So Fabio informed me that I would need to get a 40 minute taxi ride to the airport to get the Federal police to give me a new one.



I got to the airport, queued up, only for the police to say "Yeah, don't worry about that, you don't need it", giving me a sense of relief and anger at the same time!

Anyway, after all this, I met all the other members of the tour. They were five Australians, a New Zealander who I roomed with for the duration of the tour, and Irishman, and an older Chinese couple who reside in New Zealand.

They were all friendly, outgoing people with plenty of stories to tell about their home and previous travels, so a good group to be part of.

We set off on the first morning to a small town to the west of Rio on the coast called Paraty. It was a very touristy area with little cobbled streets. It´s easy to twist your ankle there!

The highlight of this place is the day long boat tour around the islands. It was a day of sun, drinks, food and occasional swimming in the ocean. The Aussies and New Zealanders jumped straight into the water as soon as they had the chance whereas the me and the Irishman slowly clambered in. It's easy to see who is used to the sea and who would die of hyperthermia if they were to swim in the sea in their own country!

The next couple of days took us through some stunning scenery of forests, valleys and mountains to the big cities of Sao Paulo and Curitiba. It was nice to break up the long journey towards Iguazu Falls but a combination of the torrential rain and things being closed meant that there weren´t many things to do.

We went onwards to the Brazlian side of the Falls after an overnight bus. It was pretty comfortable but no substitute for a bed! I was feeling a bit tired on this day, but seeing the falls livens you up somewhat. I had seen photos of the them, but it doesn't quite prepare you for the amazing amount of water you see. At the Devil's Throat, the falls are so loud that you can barely hear the person standing next to you and you get soaked by the splash despite being pretty far up from where the water lands.

After this we went to a Brazilian buffet where there was also a Latin American dance show. I would normally associate a dinner show with middle to upper class people watching something mildly entertaining with some light appluase at the end.

In South America they do things slightly differently though. The dancing and music was so lively the everyone in the restuarant was picking up their napkins and swinging them or clapping, or even getting up and dancing! It was a very uplifting experience.

The Argentine side of the falls is even more incredible as you can stand at the top of the Devil´s Throat and get a much better look at the falls. I went on a speedboat around the falls on the Argentine side so I could get right up close. I got absolutely soaked, but such is the heat, I was dry within about half an hour.

After all of this excitement, we went down to a ranch in El Dorado in the Misiones region of Argentina. At this place the owners breed cattle and horses as well as the popular Argentine drink, mate (pronounced ma-teh).

A mate is a little cup where you put in herbs and hot water. You then drink the hot water out of a sort of metal straw called a bombilla. I´m amazed how popular this drink was. I thought that perhaps they might drink this instead of tea or coffee for breakfast, but actually, it's so popular that you see people carrying these mates with a flask of hot water almost anywhere in the cities and towns of Argentina and Uruguay.

Anyway, at this ranch we got an excellent barbeque lunch with the fresh meat from the farm and an argentinian dessert which consisted of fruit and nuts. We went horse riding around the nearby field and forest area.

This was quite a worrying experience at first. Like the people, the people, the south american horses have quite a free spirit so occassionally the horse sped up into a gallop without me instructing it to! I got used to it and I really enjoyed the experience. It's an easier and fun way to see the scenery.



We went onto San Ignacio to see the ruins, before heading over to Uruguay. We started in Salto which is known for its hot springs. They are naturally heated swimming pools, which was very relaxing and I also got a massage here.

After this we went to Montevideo. It's got some big old fashioned buildings and a nice little market in the old town. A stop over in Colonia followed, before we got the ferry over to Buenos Aires.

I really liked Uruguay. There's nothing there to wow you particularly but it is a relaxed safe place to be in - possibley because marihuana is legal there, or more likely, that´s how their culture is.

So I´m in Buenos Aires now, and will be here until Wednesday so I can sort out my onward travel from here. I´ve got about six weeks to see Argentina before the start of my next organised tour from La Paz in Boliva to Lima in Peru.

When I find an oportune moment, I will update you all on my progress.

Until next time!

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