BlakeR

From Bariloche, we crossed the Andes and the border into the final country of my trip, CHILE. The Andes are beautiful and snow capped and apparently Chile is the Volcano capital of the world. Volcanos are everywhere, including two near Puerto Varas, our next stop on the journey. Puerto Varas is about six hours by bus from Bariloche. On rgw map, it looks like a straight line, but the roads obviously don´t go straight between the two. We did get to experience the PanAmerican Highway in Chile, the first real highway of the trip. I can see that Chile is the most wealthy of all the places I have been and seems to have its act together. Puerto Varas is a small tourist town on a lake just outside Puerto Montt, which is one of the ... read more

Sorry for the gap between entries. I´ll add a few today to get you caught up. And will post pictures next week when I get home. TUESDAY. Buenos Aires was the highlight of the trip so far. A real city where I felt comfortable, enjoyed the neighborhoods, sights, food, etc. It has wide boulevards like Paris (They claim that Avenida 9 de Julio is the largest boulevard in the world, running through the heart of the city with 10 lanes in each direction. Crossing it is a process.) They drive better than in Rio though most inner city intersections don´t have stop signs, yield signs or stop lights. Our cab drivers simply flashed their lights to announce their arrival and hope that the person coming from one of the sides saw that. There are great pedestrian ... read more

Hey from Iguassu Falls on the Argentine-Brazilian border These are some of the most beautiful waterfalls in the world, even though they´re at a six year low water level and many of the falls are dry (Thank climate change and a recent lack of rain). They´re quite different than Niagara because they´re in the middle of a giant National Park and you can actually walk on catwalks and look down on the falls. A really interesting perspective and I will get photos up of the falls soon. For now, enjoy some pictures of other parts of Brazil and some random things I´ve noticed here. In most places in Brazil (restaurants, hotels, etc) you get one option of beer, called SKOL in cans usually costing about $1. In Brazil (and other parts of South America), the sewers ... read more

Rio is a city of contrasts. From the amazing beaches to the uninhabitable black rock mountain peaks that quickly rise out of the ocean to form a striking addition to the skyline. From the wealth of Ipanema and Leblon to the abject poverty of the favelas (shanty towns) numbering some 500 neighborhoods ranging from tent and cardboard cities to cinder block and tin roof buildings, riddled with crime and hopelessness. In these areas, families are given free water, electricity and rent along with 300 Reais (about $150) a month to live. Luckily, I didn´t venture into any of the favelas, staying in the moderate safety of the touristy areas. Arriving on Thursday morning, I have spent the last four nights at the Lighthouse Hostel (very good) in Ipanema and will meet up with my GAP tour ... read more