Ushuaia (Argentina) - Bonito (Brazil)

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20th Jan 2007 - 8th Feb 2007
Ushuaia (Argentina) - Bonito (Brazil)

We left Ushuaia on the 20th to start the long drive to Buenos Aires up along the Atlantic coast (4 days driving). Our only major stop was Puerto Madryn, from where we took a tour out to the Valdes Peninnsula where we saw sea lions, seals and little penguins. Orcas come here to kill seals but we werent in the right season for that unfortunately. So after 5 long days, we eventually made it to Buenos Aires. I really just chilled out in B.A. I didnt do too much of the tourist thing because i am planning to go back there after Rio. I went on a tour of the football stadiums though. I didnt manage to catch a game because it was out of season (again with the out of season). I also made it to La Boca district which is one of the poorer areas. It has lots of colourful buildings, open air free tango shows and other performers along with some great markets and restaurants. After Buenos Aires we spent two days driving to Iguazu Falls. I went to the national park and took a nautical boat ride up the rapids of the falls. It even brought us under some of the falls themselves. Needless to say, I got drenched. Afterwards I spent the day wandering around the various walkways above and below the falls. Its a spectacular site. I also saw some tiger ants (1 inch long) and a caiman (South American crocodile). Next stop was Foz de Iguazu on the Brazilian side of the falls. Here I took a helicopter ride over the falls, as well as a hike around the park. I also went to a bird park. Earlier that morning we visited the Itaipu Dam, the largest in the world, apparently. That was my engineering fix sorted for a while. There also was some go-karting at Foz. 22 people. I came second, beaten by my truck driver. I had more than my fare share of crashes too. So much so that my camera (which was in its protective case in my pocket) broke. Thats camera number two on this trip down the drain. From Foz, we headed north to Bonito, a small town nestled in the rainforest. I pulled out of snorkelling here because i was getting stook for cash (bank card issues). I was raging afterwards. The group i would have went with came face to face with an anaconda in the water. I was supposed to do a tour of the waterfalls in the forest where you could stop and go swimming in them but it got cancelled due to bad weather the previous night. So basically, my time in Bonito was spent on the internet or wandering around a town with nothing in it. My highlight was getting a haircut.

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