Uruguay & Brazil: Caipirinha Time!

It's been a while since my last update and I've now been through Uruguay and into Brazil. The nightbus to Buenos Aires really wasnt that bad and took 20.5 hours in total and BA was really great fun! We had three nights in total, the first afternoon Helen and I went for a wander around the city but not having a map we could only go in straight lines in order to find our way back to the hotel! We managed to get as far as the Obelisk and then headed back ready for a night out...we ended up getting back to the hotel at around 6:30am the next morning. As a result, the next day was pretty much a write off before meeting our new guide and additional (and final) group members for the trip to Rio. Our new guide, Guillermo, is great...heaps better than the previous one, and the new additions to the group seem to fit in really well too. That night it was out for dinner (more steak) and then onto another club. Several of us eneded up heading back to an Argentinian guys apartment with an amazing view over BA before getting back to the hotel at around 7:30am...two nights in a row of seeing daylight before going to bed was starting to take its toll! The following day Helen, Zoe and I went shopping to replace my handbag due to a broken zip...not ideal in a city where my bag had already been opened in a pickpocket attempt! It was an early night that night before the boat ride to Uruguay.

Firtst stop in Uruguay was Colonia, a really lovely town just across the border. After heading to the hotel we went out for lunch before hiring golf buggies and driving around town all afternoon. We headed to the beach for a while before I spotted some horses and went off for an hour's ride along the beach (for less than £3!!). That evening there was a storm and it absolutely bucketed with rain so we stayed in the restaurant where we had dinner and had a few drinks. It was an adventurous trip back to the hotel after getting lost and walking around much of the town but we eventually  got back and went to bed. The following day was another bus ride onto Montevideo, this was probably the worst place we have stayed so far and we had two nights. On arrival we were told not to be in the old town past 8pm becuase the police leave the area and its really unsafe...great first impressions! Luckily for me we didnt do a great deal in Montevideo becuase I eneded up with a temperature, cough, cold and generally felt pretty rubbish. We did head to the beach (Punta del Este) one afternoon and to top off my illness I also got ridiculously sunburnt.

After Montevideo it was onto Salto for one night, this was pretty much a stopover to get to Iguassu Falls. I went straight to bed when we arrived and started to feel better the following day after heading to the farmacy to stock up on medicine. We did go to a water park in Salto which was pretty fun with water slides and a lazy river, although I'm pretty sure we were the only foreign tourists in the Uruguayan water park! That evening we had a  13 hour night bus to get to Foz de Iguassu, Brazil. After arriving and checking into the hotel we headed off to see the Brazilian side of the falls, Brazil owns only 20% of the falls whereas Argentina has the majority. Before reaching the falls there was an optional helicopter ride, I opted for this and it was amazing to see the waterfalls from the air! Seeing the Brazilian side was great but it wasnt until the next day when we headed back into Argentina yet again (6 Argentina stamps in my passport now!) to see the falls from the otherside that you realise how different it is from Argentina. When we arrived on the Argentinian side we headed straight for the boat ride, we had a 30min tour through the rainforest before arriving at the boat. The boat initially took us close enough to get photos but not get wet, then it was time to put everything into dry bags before the boat took us into the waterfalls and we got absolutely soaked!! It was actually really nice given that it is BOILING in Brazil so far, around 32 degrees every day! After the boat ride we walked over the top of the falls along walkways. It was increadible to be above the waterfalls watching the water tumble over the edge! We also saw lots of Coati's (Racoon type animals), tonnes of butterflies, a stick insect, an armadillo and lots of giant lizards plus loads of bugs. That evening we had a bbq and pool party with unlimited caipirinhas which meant a fairly quiet day the following day with a trip to a bird park before a night bus to get to the next stop, Paraty.

We arrived in Paraty at around 5pm this afternoon after travelling for 23 hours, but on first impressions it definitely seems worth it. The bus journey really wasnt too bad, a little cold but other from that it was fine, plus we saw an amazing electrical storm along the way! There was no rain just constant forks of lightening in the sky, it was incredible!! Paraty is great, not quite as warm as the 32 degrees we left behind in Foz (not such a bad thing!) and the sea is really warm...which will be perfect for our boat ride with unlimited caipirinhas tomorrow. Only one week left in South America now...cannot believe how fast the past 2 months have flown by, very depressing!!

Photos:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150370843521491.352317.516011490&type=1&l=e859bf9da0

E
X