We arrived at the Manaus airport at 3.00am after a bit of a milk-run, stopping at Belem which is at the mouth of the Amazon and Santarem which is due west of Belem. We were to be picked up by someone from the Hotel but this was not to be! It was obviously too late for them. We caught a ‘taxi’ which did 100kms per hour down a main street. The hotel was not my best choice but the bed was clean and the room had air-conditioning and it was only going to be for ½ a night. The next morning after a cold shower (which was very refreshing in 32 degree heat and 90% humidity) we found a place for breakfast and practiced our Portuguese and hand language (!) which all worked well. We then ... read more

We THROUGHLY enjoyed Salvador! The weather is more like Brisbane's in October and the beaches are nearly as good as in Australia. Having flown in from Rio, arriving at about 2.00pm we caught a bus and travelled for 1 ½ hours to Barra which is a southern suburb of Salvador. It cost 3 Riels ($2.00 Aust) and we later learned it didn’t matter if you travelled 1 stop or for 2 hours, a bus trip always cost $R3. We had picked up a couple of maps from the tourist office at the airport so knew where we were going. We started talking to a Korean girl who was staying at the same hotel so we kept each other company and shared a taxi from where we got off the bus. The Barra Guesthouse which is ... read more

A 1 hour 50 minute flight from Buenos Aires with LAN Argentina Airlines got us safely to Puerto Iguacu in the late morning. We had no trouble catching the bus, direct to our Hotel Garden Stone. The owners of the Hotel were very friendly and immediately went through suggestions on how to approach the day on the Argentine side of the Falls. We were also given a map of the Falls and the town. The Hotel had a pool (cold water so no swimming for me!), outdoor kitchen, many hammocks and areas to sit in the garden. We had a private garden setting outside our room, which we used on several occasions. We found some lunch and then walked around the town as well as finding the junction of the boundaries of the 3 countries, ... read more

We left Ancud at about 11.00am. After hopping on the bus which quickly drove onto the car ferry from Isle Cheloe and across to the mainland. We were about to travel on the most picturesque part of our journey – through the Argentina Lakes District. At Puerto Montt, we changed busses and set out across to Bariloche. I hope the photos give you some idea of the scenery. The area was so green, with dairy cows grazing, new vineyards planted, waterfalls and snow-capped mountains and volcanos. We were a bit disappointed when the sun set. Arriving at around 9.30pm in Bariloche, we certainly felt an added nip in the air from the surrounding snow. We drove to our hotel by taxi to be met by a very friendly owner of Hotel Venize in a lovely ... read more

Have any of you climbed a snow-covered active volcano??? I haven't so its on the bucket list!!!!! The snowcapped Volcano Villarrica looms majestically over Pucón at 2,840 meters above sea level. Climbing to the top is non-technical and, on clear days, easy. However, we had a couple of extra challenges. We only had 1 full day in Pucon and the weather forecast was rain (which meant snow up on the volcano) and there had already been heavy snow falls during previous days. Thousands of people make the climb each year, most of them in January and February, taking in the spectacular views of Volcans Llaima, Choshuenco, Quetrupillán, Lanin, and Lonquimay in the horizon. However, this was May and heading towards winter!! The plan was that the Hotel owner would wake us up at 6.00am if the ... read more