South America » Argentina
January 19th 2009

Published: February 26th 2009

Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina

And that's the wonderful thing about family travel: it provides you with experiences that will remain locked forever in the scar tissue of your mind.

~ Dave Barry

A year ago I was blessed to have my parents come and visit me from the UK to New Zealand. Our time then was split up a bit by me working as an extra for Underworld 3. Not only had the job in Auckland forced Mum and Dad to change their flight into the country but it restricted our time together, Dad even driving me to set at half 3 in the morning! Despite that, we did have a brilliant time as a depleted family in NZ and is one of the most viewed blogs I have written (although one might reasonably guess its due to the title of our family motto being googled, Per Castra Ad Astra - through the camp, to the stars).

On a side note, that experience of working in a movie was amazing. Now that the film has also been released I can talk about it too. OK so its far from an Oscar nomination, very little substance to it or the plot and one would do well to refer to it as chewing gum for the eyes, yet it was really one

Yacutunga lodge

of the best experiences I have been blessed with since travelling. To work daily along side actors such as Bill Nighy (Pirates of the Caribbean), Rona Mitra (Nip tuck), Steven Mackintosh (lock stock), Michael Sheen (the queen, blood diamond) and Kevin Greviuox (who stared in and wrote the original Underworld) was incredible. All of them being very humble people and would often stop and talk to us “extras” very frequently. I went to see the film last week in Melbourne with Saoirse. It was a strange viewing as for the first time at the cinema I couldn’t see what we were watching as an actual film. Every scene I could remember standing around with the other Lycans, laughing and joking about, waiting to here the words “action” before running around covered in blood with an axe in hand or carrying large bits of polystyrene that looked like rocks, or fighting over food scraps in the cells, or being harnessed into a high up chamber and growling at the guards, or running through the corridors screaming for our freedom, dodging large spears and being killed off by our vampire masters. It was so much fun, but very hard work too. Some

Tree planted

weeks we had to get up at 3am every day and weren’t away till 9pm, standing in the blistering sun, covered in all sorts of make up that would constantly run into your eyes and waiting to be called up. There were days like that when you wouldn’t even be used once. The only disappointing thing was that in a film about the ‘Rise of the Lycans’, when there were only about 50 of us, our names weren’t on the film credits! I did see myself quite a few times on screen and am waiting to be able to download a good copy of it to pause and safe the screen shot. Poor Saoirse however had to sink further and further into her seat every time I got excited and pointed rather excitedly at a screen of raggedly looking Lycans in human form were in the background.

Anyway. I had been treading water for some time in Buenos Aires waiting for Mum and Dad to arrive. Buenos Aires hadn’t been the best of experiences due to certain muggings and I had been keen to move on for some time. On the morning of the 19th, I

salta cross

made my way from Tom’s flat to Claridges hotel and was greeted by two very familiar loving faces. This time with no movie distractions for our holiday. Mum and Dad had paid for a two week trip with several different organisations where we were to be looked after at every step, it really was a first class ordeal in some of the moos luxurious hotels I am ever likely to stay in. Our first two nights were still in Buenos Aires and we had our own guide and driver to take us round the city and show us the various sights, most of which I had already been to myself but was great to get a guided tour of the city. We dinned well and even went to a tango show with food, which was great but me and Mum were both beginning to doze off towards the end.

Our first destination was to the jungle, where we stayed at a place called “Yacutinga lodge.” We took a brilliant jungle truck for a few hours to get there through windy forest roads before we got to the lodge. It brought back memories of being in Mexico

family values

when our group stayed in the jungle lodges in Palenque. Only this time our lodgings were rather luxurious by comparison. My own private jungle cabin, awesome! We had a resident guide called Carino, he was a good lad and seemed to know everything you could possibly imagine about birds. He took us on trips through the jungle and showed us some fantastic wildlife. The food was wonderful, Mum and Dad were on fantastic form despite so many early morning starts and an apparent lack of jetlag. Everything was so relaxed and even though we had various things to do each day, we also had our own time to relax and do our own thing. We were given a good understanding as to the extent of rain forest clearage in South America and even planted our own tree as part of a program they run in the conservation of the area.

Our 2nd destination was one that I had eagerly been awaiting for many years to revisit, Iguazu. These water falls were, and are still, the most amazing place I have ever seen and in my own opinion, the most beautiful place on this Earth. We were collected

Wee mum!

at the airport by another guide and driven to our hotel, hotel Cataratas. I had seen this hotel 11 years ago, as a humble backpacker. At the time I was so skint that I had to borrow a few dollars to be able to eat that day. And even that hotdog was stolen off me by the local racoon looking animal who’s name I forget. So to be actually able to stay in this, the pink hotel as its commonly referred to, was awesome. After a welcome drink and being shown to our rooms, the three of us went for a walk along the Brazilian side of the falls. We were not disappointed and it was just as glorious as I remembered it to be. Surrounded by the most beautiful noise of running and falling water, pure brilliant white cascading walls of falling veils of water stretched out along the river as far as the eye can see. The three of us grinning like small kids because of this incredible feast for the eyes and soul laid out before us. The walk up to the top that I had been talking to Mum and Dad about for 11 years was

Wee mum II!

just as amazing as I had kept telling them and they were in absolute awe. At the top platform you can walk out along and over the falls. This was where I had been privileged to see, and stand on, my circular rainbow 11 years earlier. The sun wasn’t quite in the right place this time round but you could see it coming close to correct conditions.

That night, after a glorious swim in an awesome pool with lounger service, we watched the sunset from the roof top tower of the hotel and then dinned outside with the noise of the falls behind us, the slow change from the amber sky to night with great food and wine. The following day was just as, if not better than, the previous. Collected again by our guide and driven to the Argentinean border side. We headed right up to the top of the falls while the day was young and there weren’t too many people fighting for space to see the falls. The Devils throat, or “Garganta de Diablo” as it is referred to. The sight was just as awesome, if not more so, than the previous day.

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putty in my hand...

The noise was amazing, an almost deafening roar of tones of water pouring over the horseshoe section at the devils throat. Spray in the air, in our faces, hair and soaking our clothes in the already hot sun. Another rainbow behind us as we looked down the falls for miles of cascading water. The whole day was full of walking amid the falls in the baking sun. this truly is the most beautiful place I have ever been to, seen and walked within. Every turn, step, gap in the trees and viewing platform providing yet more visual splendours. You would think that you would get bored of water falls, but here, its just not possible, here, and at the risk of sounding way over the top, in heavens gardens of lost paradise. You see the thing is that sometimes you do actually come across things so amazing in life that there are no words, no matter how positive and descriptive they are and in what order you combine them, that still just don’t do justice to what you are experiencing. This is one of those occasions.

Just before lunch we opted to go on a boat

Photo 9

ride on the lower river section. So much fun. God we got soaked too. Rough turbulent waters and they took us right under some of the 250 individual falls. We bought the DVD of the ride and laughed at ourselves the next day while watching it, arms flailing everywhere amid shrieks of laughter! But as it was with walking away from Macchu Pichu, I looked back longingly at the falls as we left. So glad to have been back and still having felt the wonder of this place for a second time. So glad that Mum and Dad had got the chance to see and feel how wonderful this place really is.

We flew back to BA but just for a connection flight onto Salta. This was the second of a few hairy plane flights I have recently experienced. The most of the flight was fine but we were informed we were flying into thunderstorms on landing, oh the joys! I was at the window seat and could see just how dark and menacing the clouds were that we were heading into. I kept just saying to myself “you can land this Mr Pilot, just get

Photo 10

us onto the runway” as I saw the first of several bolts of rather unsettling lightening come down just off our right wing. I know planes get hit the whole time and they can withstand lightening, still doesn’t help when you’re in among the chances. Got in and down fine, and driven to our hotel, again, absolute luxury. I cannot begin to tell you the joys of having been backpacking through hostel dorms for a year and a half to suddenly go to top class hotels! That night, after myself and Dad both getting lost in the same direction, we found our way to a recommended restaurant where you eat and watch a show of local Traditional dancing and performance. It was brilliant but I was again falling asleep at the table and we all retired to our beds. We had the next day to ourselves and toured the city. It was rather picturesque and great for the 3 of us to just chill together at our own devices. Our next day was a long day out, a lot of driving to just see a winery and some lovely sights, which were cool but our guide, even though he was

Goucho

a good guy, was a bit crap at his job. We were picked up early the next morning in a sweet converted ride that a German entrepreneur had created.

This truck was some kind of, well, I really am not sure how to describe it. It was some kind of people carrier with glass surrounds and hatches above all our seats so we could stand up and feel the wind in our faces. Our drive was a brilliant day out, if a long one. We spent pretty much the whole day in the truck, seeing some more salt flats and other magical natural sights on our way to Puenmamarca. Again, we had just the most delightful hotel here. But you can imagine our surprise and slight annoyance when we found our guide the following day was the same one we had left behind in Salta! Oh, well, never mind. We sill had a good day despite the constant stops for cigarettes. In fact it was our driver that was really good, shame his English wasn’t better as he would have been great. We saw some ancient Mayan settlements that kept dad as happy as he was

coloured hills

the past year at the helm of the boat who’s name is annoyingly slipping my memory right now! The surrounding area was just beautiful, the colours n the hills were like nothing you could have imagined if you haven’t seen them for yourselves. It was like natures oil pallet of colours, all in segments and grouped in their own areas, spread across the hills.

We had to take an early ride to the airport to fly back to BA, where we had another night and time to ourselves. That night was made a complete end to our holiday by being able to Skype my sister and see her and my nephews too. And alas that was the end of our time and holiday. The following day I waved bye to my folks. We had had just short of two weeks of the best family holiday possible. I had also come to the end of my luxury accommodation and had to check into the Clan. Back to the way of the humble backpacker. But this was also to be the end of another adventure, mine in South America. I had planned to go to Brazil and the

The devils throat

Rio carnival, I had planned to go to Easter Island to see the stone heads, I had planned to go to Patagonia and take a boat across to the Antarctic also. But the truth was that money just wouldn’t allow for all these things, but, and more importantly, I was after something else now.

Having been on the road for 18 months I had begun to miss what comes from close relationships, from your friends and family. I wasn’t home sick, far from it, but just tired from constantly making new and temporary friends. I wasn’t ready to go home either, but a routine sounded good, somewhere to just settle for a wee bit and work again. So, all roads led to Australia. It is where Saoirse was, so too is Sophie, along with Mel and Grieg, who’s wedding I was so gutted to miss last year, so too many of my friends from NZ and specifically Queenstown, some friends from Uni’ and at home in Helensburgh. So that was the plan, what little funds were available, were going to take me to Oz and find some work for some months before I plan to