Then we had an idea...

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Rio, birds-eye view

A month has passed since we arrived in Rio, wide-eyed and pale, guiltily clutching our phrase book. None of my clothes have that smell of home anymore, and I'm now accustomed to having feet with permanently black soles.

I have a little bit of Spanish, even less of a sun tan, and a journal that is fat with doodles and scribblings, in many languages and handwritings besides my own (memories I have recorded for myself scattered among messages left by people I have met along the way).

Perched in a stuffy internet cafe, with a sticky space bar to contend with, I'm not going to attempt to copy these pages onto a blinking computer screen...so for now, let it be said that we have danced in the streets in Rio and dug our toes in the sand with cheeky smiles on deserted beaches that blissfully have escaped the claws of Lonely Planet.

And now we are in Buenos Aires, where we will remain for a few weeks, volunteering and nesting in the best way we know how - by spreading our clothes all over the floor and eating copious amounts of cereal.

When we are not busy licking yoghurt lids or getting a warm glow from helping the kids, we are cooking up a new scheme. Despite the alarming way people look at us when we tell them about our plan, Tom and I have decided to drive to end of the world.

We are going to travel some 5000km through Patagonia - the enormous wilderness that straddles Argentina and Chile - until we run out of land. Our highway will be Route 40 (essentially a gravel path) and our chariot, a humble Corsa. Many people have tried to warn us off the idea, reminding us of the enormous distances and the notorious solitude of the Argentine South - but of course this only makes us more determined. Besides, there will be the odd Albatross along the way to boost morale.

Patagonia means 'big feet', after the clod-hopping giants who are said to have lived there originally. The thought of the giants makes me smile. And the thought of scampering in their footsteps with my own 'little feet'(thank you Anya) makes me grin from ear to ear...

Perhaps this is a silly idea. Perhaps (probably) the Corsa will die, but but I've told you about it now, which means we have to give it a go 😊

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Photos

Welcome to Rio
Perhaps one of the planet´s most spectacular settings for a city. There is so much to be seduced by in Rio.

Rio streets
The perils of crossing a typical Rio road

Copacobana beach
Swinging poi at dusk

Pretty Paraty
Cobbled colonial streets and Carnival streamers

"Sao Paulo Por Favor"
With hopeful hearts & extended thumbs, we set out for SP...

One car every half an hour...
....

But luckily..
Tom had the magic thumb, and we were on our way within the hour :)

Our hosts
Apparently called "Ted-Ted" and "Gus", our drivers spoke no English, and us no Portugese, but with a combination of mime, sketches and our shitty phrase book, the six hours to SP passed happily.

King of the swingers
Settling for the only available bus tickets out of Sao Paulo, we found ourselves in Curitiba. The town was sprawling and uninspiring, but we discovered a family of monkeys in the park, who kept us entertained and happy

Peurto Iguazu
Hola Argentina! The size, the power and the sheer roar of the Falls were spectacular - we came home exhuasted and drenched from the spray.

"It´s not unusual.."
Shamefully, we had been in Puerto Iguazu for five days before we got around to visiting the town´s main attraction. The reason - every day we woke up late and hungover, having had far too much fun with the colourful characters at our hostel. One of whom was the spitting image of Tom Jones, much to our delight of course.

Senora Delores
We are lodging in the home of Senora Delores, who in many ways defies description. She is a wonderfully eccentric widow who teaches tango and has travelled the world. She warns us daily to keep our hands off her booze. On the day this photo was taken Delores had decided to dress up as the Godess Nephrite.

Recoleta Cemetary
..because hardly any of the photos have me in them...

Happy (but weirdly ginger)
Taking advantage of cheap living costs, I thought I´d treat myself to some *blonde* highlights. This turned out to be a mistake - obviously not used to caucasian hair, the girl turned me a weird shade of ginger. I tried to fix it and now my hair is banana yellow. Hmm... (Tom had a similar & hilarious hair-cutting distaster. But it´s alright for him. He has the clippers...)

Comments

[stuart]

the bounds of joy are released
I am practically weeping with happiness for you, this definitely consistent with what I call nothing being too good for you. You're absolutely right about the corsa though - take plenty of water for the long walk back to whatever passes as a garage! xxxx

[anya]

ha ha yeaaaa! x x

[sasha]

Europe meets south america
Dude I love reading your travels. So inspiring

[Mum]

You've had better ideas
Amy not one of your better ideas, I'd just about reconciled myself to your travelling, and was starting to think maybe it was a good idea, and now you hit me with this one. Anyway I'm sure you'll love it, and who knows there's still time for a change of plan!! Miss you. Love Mum Dad said have you thought about going over the Andes, the scenery will be much better!

[lucy]

but have you thought about this..
It's all well and good you two running riot in South America, but you have missed so much 'Come Dine With Me' I don't even know where to begin.

[Mom]

I'm with Amy's mum on the latest plan as you can imagine Tom! Still, if you dont change the plan, hope it works out really well for you, just take care. Great to see pictures of you both, makes it all a bit more real. All my love Mom xxx

[Troy]

safe!
work horses those corsa's! just keep it full of water and oil and dont let tom drive! be sensible tho, dont get carried away with your emotions but have a good one kids!