Wooo Hoo we´re in Brasil!!!!

So wow, there went Argentina. An amazing two months that we´ll never forget and no doubt will be boring people with our stories for a long time.

Our last port of call on the Argentine side was Iguazu, where we stayed at Hostel Inn - a sort of resort type place a little out of the town. It was really nice there with a pool, a bar, cool people and a really nice room - so a good way to finish Argentina! We took the compulsorary tour to the amazing Iguazu falls...see photos.

From Iguazu

After a couple of days of meeting cool people and hanging out by the pool it was time to cross into Brasil, which we did in a taxi. Kinda made it easy really - you hop out once to show your passport and get a stamp and that´s it; you´re in!

So here we are, Brasil. The first thing we did was go and see the falls from this side, which we actually enjoyed more although there´s less to see. The difference is that you feel right in the midst of the ´Devils Throat´which is an awesome water fall. We´re staying in a really nice chilled out Hostel called Hostel Bambu before we head east to the sea....woo hooo!

Corrientes

Man, it´s hot in this town! This is one of the oldest colonial cities in Argentina and it´s littered with really cool old buildings. But boy is it hot. This internet cafe is even hotter. Anyway, I managed to post a load more photos and have added them below - plus follow the Photo link if you want to see more....

One more stop in Argentina; Iguazu. And from there....Brasil!

Cafayate and on to Salta

Surrounded by vinyards which reach to the mountain foothills Cafayate is a wonderfully peaceful little town. On Wednesday we hired bikes and rode the six kilometers (uphill) to Rio Colorado. From there we hired a guide to take us up the mountain trail that leads to a series of waterfalls.

From Cafayate

In true Lee and Leah style we had set off at the hottest time of the day and with little shade the baking sun made the walking very hard work. By the time we made the first waterfall we were more than ready to jump into the refreshing mountain water. The first pool I jumped into wasn't as deep as I'd hoped and I landed with a bump on the pebble stream bed. There were three pools in total- one under the cascading water, the second a bubbling jacuzzi and the third where I miss judged the depth. Like goldielocks I tried all three, and while equally cool each had it's charm. We decided to have our lunch by the falls and the guide went on with the rest of our small party. After eating we made our way back up the precarious rock face and found our way back down the valley to our bikes. After pauses to fix the two punctures I managed to pick up we rolled back into town tired and happy.

The following day we went on a tour to what's known as the Quebrada, which as far as I could make out means river valley. The rock formations are incredible due to the oxidisation of mineral deposits in the rocks. There are brands of vivid colour; reds from iron, yellows from sulphur and greens from copper.

From Cafayate

From Cafayate we have come to Salta and it's odd to be back in a big city! We've met a cool couple who live in Milton Keynes who we've been out to dinner with and will be hanging out with later; Richard and Ayah. Their only experience of Buenos Aires was in a tattoo parlour where Richard got an enormous dragon tattooes onto is arm...a little bigger than he expected by all accounts! Last night we met up with Jimena's brother Gustavo and got drunk on Mojitos, so today we're feeling a little lame....

La Rioja and Belén

In truth we only stopped at Rioja en route to Belen, but we found the town agreeable enough. Belen is a lovely little town, and apparently the birthplace of the poncho. After checking in to our budget-butique hotel we took a stroll into town and ended up at the new handicraft marquee which was, needless to say, full of poncho stalls. After chatting with the friendly stall holders we found out that there was to be some kind of cultural show that evening and decided we would return later. After wandering around some more we returned to the hotel to freshen up in preparation for the evenings entertainment. When we got back to the marquee things we in full swing. A fair number of people were sitting in front of the low stage, and there were tables where we ate some local delicacies- some kind of stew and some mini pasties called empanandas. While the food was pretty nice the loud open mic style music drove us away in the end.The next day we were hoping to climb up to the statue of the Virgin with Child that over looks the town, but with a late start and the hot sun wed decided to leave it till the evening. Instead we explored the streets some more and ended up back at the crafts marquee looking for food. It turned out they were having a meal to celebrate 'day of the handicraft', and recognising us from the night before invited us to join them. It was great to sit and chat with these two firey women of indigenous decent about their trade, their hopes and fears, the nearby foreign owned mines, the country, the government and everything else. After lunch we chilled for a bit and then made the acsent up to the statue from where we had fantastic views of the town, the surrounding mountains and the flat lands beyond.

From Belén and Qui...

From Belen we had hoped to make it straight to Cafayate, our next port of call. Unfortunately the rumbling, shuddering bus that wound it's way to Santa Maria was too slow so there was no connection. Furthermore some guy at the back of the bus tried to rob our bags by passing them out the window to his acomplice! Thankfully we caught himin the act and we still have our clothes! Our night in Santa Maria wasmarred by this and our dissapointment at not making it to Cafayate, and we weren't sad to be on our way early the following day.

We took a taxi from SM to Cafayate so that we could stop off at the 1000 year old ruins of Quilmes, which were the stronghold of an indigenous tribe until the Spanish came along and shiped them off to Buenos Aires. Nestled in the hills it consisted of a number of small walls, which we were to asume as rooms, kitchens etc. We followed the paths that led up behind the settlement to what appeared to bewatchtowers, and from there the layout of the town was much more clear to see.

From Belén and Qui...

After a couple of hourse we headed off to Cafayate.

San Juan and Barreal

From Mendoza we headed up to San Juan en route to Barreal. We originally wanted to go straight to Barreal from Mendoza but there didn´t seem to be a way without hiring a car, which was too expensive, thankfully in the end San Juan turned out to be cool so it worked out for the best. We arrived some time in the afternoon, which is annoying in Argentina since everything closes between about 1pm and 5 for a siesta! However, we wandered out in search of lunch and ended up at the 'Syrian Lebanese' social club; a real touch of the middle east with mosaic tiled walls, high ceilings supported by arched columns and the best coffee we've had in Argentina! The waiters were decendents of Syrian or Lebanese immigrants, and the clientele looked not unlike the guys you see sitting around in the kebab houses along the Edgware road smoking on Hookers.

After lunch we continued our stroll through the town to a park on the far side, but there wasn't a whole lot to see and the dinosaur museum was closed. That evening we sat and watched 'Snakes on a Plane', which is very silly but kept us ammused none the less.

The following morning we had to get up early to catch the 8am bus to Barreal, which took us on a five hour journey along winding roads into the valleys of the Andes. According to the lonely planet Barreal offered the 'most beautiful town in Argentina'and 'dreamy laziness' as we were to stroll along the backstreets, so we had high hopes. Thankfully it didn't let us down in the slightest, being indeed beautiful and wonderfully relaxed. We had a small cabin all of our own to stay in with pear and apple trees on the front porch, and being a little out of the town it was very peaceful. Now we wished we had a little more time here.

From Barreal

Other than dreamy laziness the other things Barreal is known for is stargazing and land yachting, the latter of which I was very keen to have a go at. To this aim we got in touch with Don Toro and after a second morning of laziness found ourselves in a beaten up old Jeep heading out in search of wind with two land yachts on the trailer behind. He took us to a vast dried up lake of cracked white earth, too poisonous for anything to grow. When we came to a halt about halfway along it´s 12km length there wasn´t a breath of wind, but Don Toro had been doing this for 30 years, and, pointing to some gathering dust in the distance, ensured us that it was indeed going to be windy. No sooner had we taken one of the buggies of the trailer and started to assemble the mast than the wind began to lift, and continued to do so until you had to brace yourself against it to stand firm. By this point we were enjoying the exhilaration of flying over the land with nothing but the wind and the humming of the wheels filling the air. Woo hoooooo.

From Barreal

Upon returning to the Jeep I found Leah talking to a couple from Buenos Aires who who had been to see the nearby observatory and had come down to see what we were up to. There names were Josefina and Guido. We got chatting and, seeing there enthusiasm, offered them a ride with Don Toro on his crazy wind-car! Later, back at the Cabins, we came across them again and it turned out they were to be staying in one also. Furthermore they invited us to dinner with them and we spent the evening outside their cabin eating, you guessed it, a barbecue and drinking local wine which I bought cheaply from the charming and slightly eccentric manager of the cabin complex, Leonor.

That night we had to catch the 4am bus back to San Juan and then the 10:30 bus up to La Rioja. The first bus was hot and smelly, making the five hour journey pretty arduous. We tried to sleep but the windy roads and seemingly never ending stops to pick up passengers (at which point all the lights would come on) made it pretty difficult. I tried to keep the dreamy laziness of Barreal in my head.....After a brief stop in San Juan, in which we consumed the now customary coffee and Croissants, we got on the second bus to La Rioja and at about 5pm alighted stiff, smelly and hungry to the run down bus terminal.

Bariloche Horse Riding

After a couple of very lazy days coinciding with rather cold and windyweather, we went on a horse riding trip out on an Estancia (farm) on the opposite side of the Nauel Huapi lake to Bariloche. The weather turned out fine and it was another cloudless day of infinite blue sky, I was happy for my sun hat. After we arrived our two guides, Alicia and Manuel, set about bringing in the horses. This entailed some incredible high speed bare-back riding that we watched in awe from the shade of the rickerty old wooden farm building where they had left us.

From Bariloche Hor...

Soon enough they were saddled and we moumted our steeds and set off into the surrounding hills. The pace was very relaxed and I spent my time chatting with Alicia about the 'Gaucho' life and enjoying being out in the country again. Manu didn't speak much, but tended to ride on ahead singing loudly to himself. He had the manner of an old hand, though he was only 17! We climbed up and over a hill (much easier onhorseback) and descended into a plain where we stopped to have lunch. Inevitably a barbeque was made and we hade huge slabs of beef to get through, as well as some chorizo sausage. The ride back was equally slow paced, despite the eager horses who wanted to be set free again and knew that the sooner we got back the sooner this would happen.

From Bariloche Hor...

The next day we were both very saddle sore and walked around like apair of worn out old donkeys. It was to be another lazy day inBariloche...

Our final excursion around lake Nauel Huapi took us out to the Llao Llao peninsula. We walked away from the golf courses and imposing hotel and into the national park. It was a beautiful afternoon and we could hear nothing but our footsteps and the calls of the various birds flitting around in the trees. We tried to stop for a picnic in a clearing, but wasps and flies drove us away. Then we were rewarded bythe site of a male woodpecker, just off the path, tap-tapping a tree to dig out his lunch. We stood and watched as he flew low over ourheads and landed on a tree even closer. His body was dark but he had abright red head and crest- which is the male plumage I think. Unfortunately I didn't manage to get a great photo for not wanting tomake any sudden movements.

Back at the Hostel I got chatting to a couple of Argentinian brothers from Buenos Aires. The older was more chatty and is studying to be a theatre producer- apparently there are hundreds of theatres inBA, though it's hard to make it big as ever. He was a nice guy and it was good to be conversing in spanish rather than just booking rooms or ordering food!

The following day we took a touristy bus up the seven lakes with a tour guide who had a bad case of verbal diahorrea...

This bought us to San Martin de los Andes, and it was really relaxed after the tourism of Bariloche. It is also located by a lake, but is surrounded by much closer hills. We went for an easy bike ride up into the hills but that was about all. After two nights it was time to move on, this time a big journey north to Mendoza and the wine district.

Bariloche: Rafting, Paraglding and Walking

Well, we´ve continued in our extreme streak, with adventures of rafting, paragliding and a very long walk up a mountain.


This video (if it works) shows Landing her tandem paraglide flight. It´s better with sound as you can hear her shreiking in anticipation!! If it doesn´t work click here

Paragliding is amazing - so crazy to run of the edge of a mountain and find yourself suspended and flying through the air. Suffice to say we were both a bit nervous standing on the ´runway´with our hats and jump suits waiting to launch. You have to wait for the guy to inflate the ´wing´, and then brace against the pull as the wind grabs it. Then he hooks on and you have to run like a lunatic as though you wish to throw yourself off the edge. All of a sudden you´re running like the Wylee Coyote with your feet in the air and the mountain floor dissapearing below. Then you fly...

From Paragliding

Two days before paragliding we went rafting down the river Guiterez to the Chilean border. This was also fantastic fun, though I have to say that Paragliding tops it on the extremomiter. The day trip included a massive lunch of barbequed lamb, sausages and wine, so after all the excercise and exhileration we´re were all pissed after about two glasses!

From Bariloche

As you can see, Leah was loving it! The coolest thing was that we got Leah into Chile without a visa, albeit for only a moment! Shhh, dont tell no one.

From Bariloche

The day before yesterday I was making dinner when my good friend Joanna walked into the Hostel kitchen...how bonkers is that? She is over staying with her sister, Justine, who lives in Uruguay. We decided to join forces for a walk up the mountains which we did yesterday.

From Frey Mountain...

It was a beautful clear and still day, but not too hot so it was perfect for the walk. We took the 9.15 bus that left us at the bottom of a ski lift, which carries people up the mountian to either just enjoy the view or hurtle down on mountain bikes. We, however, left this behind to find the path that leads up to a mountain refuge called Frey. At first the path seemed to just contour around the side of the mountian, which had beautiful views of the lake below, but I really wanted to get up into the hills. Finally we came round a bend and the gradient steepened as we followed a river gorge up and up through wonderful lush green woodland. Up up and up some more we went until finally we the greenery began to thin and we could see the rocky mountain peaks all around. At about 2 in the afternoon we arrived at the Refuge and were greeted by a number of Brasilian climbers who´d been up there for 40 days. They were on their way down and had enormous rucksaks, laden with climbing gear and camping equipment.

From Frey Mountain...

After a lunch of chorizo, brie and olives we decided that instead of wlaking down the path we had come up, we´d try to walk over the top of the mountain pass and go down by the ski-lift. After talking with a few of the poeple up there it seemed as though the walk wouldn´t be too difficult, but would probably take 3 to 4 hours....so off we set. The refuge is nestled in at the base of two peaks with a large lake at it´s rear. This we had to circumnavigate before climbing up a steep and rocky slope to exit the vally. At the top of this was another lake and another steep climb to get to the top of the pass, which revealed wonderful views of the the mountains stretching off into the distance.

From Frey Mountain...

It felt like we had reached the hardest point after all that climbing, but the traverse to reach the ski lifts was steep and difficult, with loose rocks covered in gravel. This made it slow and tiring and as the day wore on and our legs and bodies began to tire it seemed as though the trail would never end.

From Frey Mountain...

Finally however we crested a slope to see the vast lake and Bariloche miles below. Unfortunately the lifts had closed for the day, but thankfully Johanna had managed to go ahead and secure us a lift with some workers who were making there way home for the day. This meant we had to ride on the back of a truck all the way down the bumpy mountain paths, but although it was cold and uncomfortable, it was much better than the hours of walking that awaited us if we´d not got the lift. When we got to the bottom the bus seemed to be waiting to greet our tired legs, and the relief and happyness at being inside the warm shuddering vehicle was wonderful.

From Frey Mountain...

Back in Bariloche we bought some food and went to the Hostel for much needed showers. Once refreshed the four of us (Johanna, Justine, Leah and I) met in the kitched and cooked a wonderful meal of grilled steak, mashed potato, corn on the cob and an onion and chilli gravy. Yum yum.

Today Leah and I are chilling and resting our tired thighs, while Joanna and her sister have gone off to investigate El Bolson for a couple of days. We may hook up with them this weekend for some more adventures though....

Bariloche

We´ve been in Bariloche since Monday, with one night spent out in the hills - more on that in a moment. We´re staying in the Tango Inn Hostel, which is really cool. It´s a little out of town, but has been set up really well and our room has a great view over the lake and the mountains beyond.

From Bariloche

Bariloche is a skiing town in the winter and in the summer caters for all the extreme sports nuts that want to go and play in the mountains...er like me I guess. It´s also famous for chocolate and has some enormous chocolate emporiums where you can promise to take your girlfriend if they agree to you spending a week being extreme (cold, wet, tired, etc).

Speaking of which we have booked ourselves onto a few such excusrions. The day before yesterday we headed off on the "Free Spirit Tour", which meant travelling out of town to a lovely secluded set of bunk houses nestled in the foothills by a lake. We were joined by a South African couple who had been living in London for 6 - 9 years and were on their way to live in Australia.

In the morning we went for a mountain bike ride around the lake, which was scenic and picturesque but not particularly challenging. The fun part was riding through a river ford and getting soaking wet!

From Bariloche

Lunch was (needless to say) a Bar-b-q, or Parilla, with loads of Chorizo sausage, beef steak and blood pudding type thing called Morcilla. Yum. I´m feeling hungry just thinking about it.

In the afternoon it was time to take to the lake with in a rubber dingy and a canoe. This seemed like a good idea but shortly after we got onto the water it started to rain, and without the sun the temperature dropped pretty quickly. Further more we only had our own gear to rely on, which meant light rain jackets and swim shorts. Soon enough everyone was pretty wet and cold (extreme categories 1 and 2) and begining to tire (category 3). When Leah started shivering uncontrolably my EMC training kicked in (those from Atlantic College will know what I´m talking about - otherwise just think Outward Bound) and I realised we needed to get back to the shore and some warmth pretty quickly. She was wearing (soaking) jeans and my lighweight Howies cycling jacket, which were all wet through. I was, or course, having a wail of a time...feel the cold? Me? Never. We stopped momentarily to watch some Aguilitas (small Eagles) who were standing on the lake shore just a few meters away, but the cold soon drove us on. When we reached the shore we found that our legs no longer worked and both struggled to clamber out of the canoe and up the steep bank to the path that lead back to the cabins. We had been promised 1000 litres of hot water, and I think that gave us the determination to scramble and slither up the muddy path and eventually to the relative warmth of the shower block. Thankfully the hot water promise came through and after a while the feeling returned to numb fingers and toes.

We spent the evening playing cards with the owners, drying our clothes over the small wood-burning stove, exchanging stories and drinking wine.

The night was spent in a cold bunk house with about four blankets to keep us warm (and a few spoders to boot). I had a bit of a funny tummy and as I went to bed I enjoyed the irony that the one time I may need to be making night-time excursions to the bathroom it was in another building a cold walk away...thankfully there was no need in the end!

Yesterday we went for a nice walk around a small lagoon surrounded by a lovely forest with dappled sunslight coming through the trees before gathering our stuff together and heading back to Bariloche. Nice.

Calafate and the Porito Moreno glacier

Well the journey down to Calafate wasn´t so bad after all, though it was long. We splashed out on what´s known as a "cama" seat, which basically means bed and is large and comfortable and reclines a long way, though not quite to horizontal. This ticket included food, but this turned out to be a lump of tired meat on a bed of dry mashed potato....yum. Good thing we had packed some fruit and biscuits for the journey!

Calafate was lovely, we stayed in what´s known as a Cabañita, or small cabin, which was situated in a lovely lavendar filled garden area near the centre of town.

From Calafate and ...

Calafate sits on the side of a lake of glacier water surrounded by dramatic hills. In the distance are the snow capped mountains of the Andes. The weekend we were there happened to be the date for the town to celebrate what I understood to be it´s 125th aniversary (might have got that wrong of course), which meant there was a huge stage and live music everynight, as well as food and craft stalls a plenty.

The main atraction is the Porito Moreno glaciar, which is an hour or so out of town by bus. It´s amazing. Awesome. Fantastic. If you can, go and see it! The bus trip gave us about five hours to gape at the vast sea of advancing ice, and gape we did. It seems to be a living thing with incredible echos and booms of the ice cracking and falling filling the still mountain air. We stood and watched as a 50 meter tall block broke off the face and slipped into the lake waters below with an enormous splash.

From Calafate and ...

In truth the three nights we gave to Calafate weren´t really enough as I would have liked to explore the surrounding hills a bit more. The flight we booked dictated that we move on however, so we packed our bags and left the South behind, marking as we did a turning point in our journey; from now on we´re pretty much heading due north!