An 8 hour, Chipa filled bus journey away from Ascuncion lies the town of Pedro Juan Caballero. An 8 hour and 2 minute bus journey away lies the town on Ponta Pora. The important disinction between the 2 is that PJC is Paraguayan, whereas Ponta Pora belongs to Brazil. The 2 towns, and therefore by definition the 2 countries, are seperated by nothing more than the main road. The border security here makes Ciudad del Este look positively strict. I found this out the interesting way, by arriving rather late, and going on a wander to find a burger. How I rejoiced when I found a place selling them for just 3 Guaranies. Then my brain clicked into gear, and I realised I had somehow inadvertently ended up in Brazil. Time to retrace steps. Fed, watered ... read more

I crossed the border to Brazil with Gareth, a fellow Englishman who has achieved the rare feat of managing to get to more footy games than me over the last few weeks. Shortly after dropping our things at the hostel, we decided to venture over to Paraguay, making this a 3 country day, an achievement I managed once before on this trip when I went from El Salvador to Nicaragua via Honduras. You remember that don´t you faithful readers? Unless you want to, there is no need to get your passport stamped as you cross the Puente del Amistad between Brazil and Paraguay, so being as we were going back to Foz that evening we spent a day technically as illegal immigrants. Ciudad del Este was a bit of a shock after spending 4 months in ... read more

This was it, what I'd been waiting for for about 2 months. The big one. No, I'm not talking about seeing Rik Waller in concert, but of Boca Juniors vs River Plate at La Bombonera. (I have to confess, that joke isn't mine, I actually stole it from someone else who went to the game, but I didn't meet until Puerto Iguazu... Gareth if you read this, please don't sue me.) First though, a short tale about an interesting first night back in BA. As you may recall from the last exciting episode of "Stewart's blog" I caught a ferry from Colonia at stupid o'clock, meaning that I couldn't sleep beforehand. A group on the boat decided it was a great idea to get out their instruments and have a bit of a jam on the ... read more

My bus from Montevideo dropped me at Maldonado, which is about another 10 minutes away from Punta del Este, Uruguay's most famous beach resort, and also one of the best in South America apparently. In summer, and over Easter weekend, the place is thronging, but by the time I arrived on Easter Monday it was quiet as a mouse. Indeed, for the last 2 nights, I've been the only person staying in my hostel. This isn't going to be a long entry, as I haven't really done that much here. My days have always followed a similar pattern of wake up late, have breakfast then head to the beach, whereupon the rest of the day was spent swimming or reading. Very relaxing. I'm not sure I'd want to come here in high season, but right now ... read more

When buying the bus ticket to my latest location, I could barely keep the grin off my face. In fact, I'm fairly sure I didn't, as the guy behind the counter looked at me in a very strange way as I said "Uno a Fray Bentos por favor". Yup thats right. Fray Bentos. Despite the fact I think their products are of dubious quality, how could I not come to a town that had pies named after it? But before we get there, I must make brief comment on my bus journey from Cordoba to Uruguay. You see, until now, the fanciest I had been on a bus was semi-cama, the basic option for overnight journeys. But that wasn't available here, so instead I went cama, enjoying a fully reclining seat, a hot meal accompanied by ... read more