After braving the 23 hour journey to get here, which actually wasn´t as bad as it sounds, if we erase the memory of the food, we arrived in San Pedro to beautiful sunshine. We immediately found our hostel, dropped off our belongings and changed into our shorts feeling very happy to have finally found some heat! Sadly this didn´t last long, once the sun had gone it was freezing! So cold in fact that the social scene here at this time of year revolves around finding somewhere with a courtyard and a fire, for which of course you have to buy a drink! As you can tell from our photos we found this just a little bit exciting, and we´re sure the locals thought we were lunatics! Anyway... San Pedro itself is tiny and set in ... read more

Thursday was Steve's birthday and in order to celebrate we planned to stay somewhere more lavish than our usual choice... The bus! Due to our lengthened stay in Buenos Aires and a little problem Steve seems to have with dates (see 1st blog), he arranged for us to wake up on his birthday on the bus and this time not as luxurious as the last! However this journey did have it's positive points: Ellie unleashed her bingo skills and after ticking off numbers better than those around her won the ´on bus entertainment´ and was presented with a prize; a bottle of wine. A fitting start to our stay in Mendoza!  So, after waking up to a birthday breakfast of instant coffee with powdered milk and a dulce de leche filled penguin biscuit, (this contained enough sugar to ... read more

After an exciting but soggy start in Argentina we headed west to sleepy Posadas. A fairly small city in misiones named for the various catholic 'missions' that were housed in the area during the times of colonisation.  Posadas, recommended in the guide as a  convenient base for travel to many of the ruins (see photos), like many Hispanic cities has an impressive main square complete with cathedral, coffee shops and gossiping old ladies. It also boasts a river front which looks out over the city of Encarnacion in Paraguay which made a nice way to while away a morning.  Despite all this however, it would seem it isn't such a visited destination after all, and to the population of Posadas we were fascinating.  Everywhere we went we were stared at and bombarded with strange looks, and ... read more

We decided that as much as we both like the beach it really was time to move on and indulge in a little culture. We headed to Sao Paulo, the business centre of Brazil's booming economy. With only 2 nights here we had to fit in as much as possible during our short stay.  We went to a local samba night in Vila Madalena, where we were staying. The night was recommended to us by Tulio our informative hostelier. He promised a fun and authentic party, which was certainly delivered. The music played by a live band was brilliant. We never knew a tambourine could be played so well (it was truly a replacement for the drums). The place was packed with locals which was a good thing but also meant that as samba novices we ... read more

We are currently cruising back from Ilha Grande. This may sound luxurious. However, our boat would not be out of place doing the isle of Wight hop. Our 5 day stay here was wonderful. Not to be too English about it but, the weather has been incredible and we are both looking a little less pasty. We stayed in a lovely hostel owned by Mamma Brazil (as Ellie's friend Roopa likes to call her). Every day there were fresh juices and cakes on the breakfast table (cake for breakfast, yes Brazilians have a very sweet tooth. No fresh juice is served without a sachet of sugar), and she would cook amazing Brazilian meals every night for her guests.  The island itself is idyllic, sweeping white sand beaches and unspoilt jungle (you lie in bed and listen ... read more