Blogs from South America - page 5478

Today was our Laguna day. Laguna Grande is a large lake that feeds into the Cuyabeno River, located about 25-30 minutes upstream from our lodge. Walter, our trusty canoe driver, took us out to the laguna, and drove us around while Diego explained the laguna -- its wildlife and its seasons (dry and wet). At one point someone saw a freshwater dolphin, so we cruised around the laguna, hoping to catch another glimpse of it (or them). I did hear one come up for air, but it was behind the canoe so I never saw it. Unfortunately this part of the day -- cruising around the laguna -- was not quite as enjoyable for me as it could have been. When we left for our canoe ride yesterday the skies were threatening rain so none of ... read more

Rio de Janeiro... What can you say? Crazy place, favelas everywhere. some are on the waters edge, some go all the way up the mountainside! I still really want to go into one, but I really don´t think it would be the safest idea, so we headed for the beach instead. After asking several people where we could find a cheap hotel, a couple suggested we try this really good, but cheap one in the Lapa area. We found the hotel, it seemed okay from the outside so we booked one night and paid! Only once inside did we realise it was a dodgy motel, dark red coridoors, pictures of naked women, mirrors on the ceiling! Oh, well a bed´s a bed! That couple must have thought me and Elizangela (Andersons Wife) were sneaking away for ... read more

Hello all!! Following on from yesterday, when I was rudely awakened at 2.30am and failed miserably in getting back to sleep, I was extremely grumpy this morning and almost ready to commit murder when the alarm went off!! Anyway - headed off to Wawa Wasi. Andrea was back today, back to full fitness and twice as boisterous!! Photo attached as evidence!! In the morning we played a little with the toys. I had gone equipped with some cardboard and sponges all prepared for some sponge painting. Had a fuller group today. Rufina and Karina were back and also Andrea. We were back to a full compliment of 8 kids again!! No news of the little girl in Marruja and Eileen´s WW - I understand she is in quarantine for 2 weeks at home. Please continue to ... read more

"How civilized air travel is", one of us recently quipped. It's difficult to share that sentiment when it means getting up at stupid o´clock (3am) to catch a 3 hour flight. Well that´s exactly what we did and as a result of such actions we are delighted to now be in Ushuaia - the southernmost city on Earth and self proclaimed "End of the World, beginning of everything". Situated on the shores of the Beagle Channel, Ushuaia is a former penal colony that has boomed into a thriving little tourist town. Upon arrival we booked ourselves on a 6 hour boat trip out into the channel so see cormorants, sea lions and pengiuns. Unfortunately for us, we had inadvertantly booked ourselves on a ´luxury´ trip, and in doing so we discovered that we were the only ... read more

I´m sitting in an internet cafe on Avenida Tres Fronteras, so called since it leads down towards the confluence of two rivers that mark the borders between Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. We´re here to see the amazing Iguazu waterfalls. Maybe it´s just my geographical ignorance but I have to admit that before planning my trip to Argentina, I´d never heard of them. The truth is that they are absolutely breathtaking and I would highly recommend them to anyone. Alison´s visited Angel Falls in Venezuela (tallest in South America or world?) and she found Iguazu more impressive. I guess you´ll see the sheer size of them from the photos... We saw them from both the Argentinian and Brazilian sides, which meant that we hopped over to Brazil just for the day. Excellent! Was fun trying to guess ... read more