Day 5 - Iguassu Falls

Day 5 - Iguassu Falls
Today we spent an hour and a half at a Bird Sanctuary which had a great mix of South American birds. We saw Macaws and Toucans - and they were a spectacular range of bright colours. We got lots of photos there, but then the battery on the camera went flat so we didn't get any of the falls.

We then had another amazing couple of hours at the Iguassu Falls, but this time on the Brazilian side. From there you get a panoramic view of most of the falls (about 3/4 are in Argentina, so you get to see even more from the Brazil side) and the weather was not so damp, so there was more visibility. We walked along towards the Devils Throat and you walk out on a walkway that is very close to the falls, and you get quite wet from the spray.
Macaws

After lunch at a local BBQ restaurant we went on a helicopter flight over the falls. All day it looked like we wouldn't be able to go, but then the weather cleared and it was OK. It was a 10 min flight and we got 2 loops around the falls themselves. It was just great. Then it was back to the hotel to lounge around the pool (and we were thinking of all of you having to get up for work) before getting ready for a leisurely dinner.

Buenos Aires to Iguassu Falls

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Monday 28 March

This morning we did a city tour of the main sights of Buenos Aires: the Recoletta cemetary, home of many ornate crypts for people who clearly didn't want to leave much money to their kids, including the legendary one of Evita Peron. Also the shanty towns which have grown up under all the main freeways - 2 and 3 storeys high, made out of whatever brick can be found. A couple of Victorians were not happy when I compared it to Melbourne. The tour guide was even more unimpressed with the Argentine Government and even less positive about the next election. It appears corruption will always be part of this country.

Stopped at the tourist trap of La Boca again and tried (unsuccessfully) to convert some Argentinian pesos to US dollars, because many outlets refuse to take their own currency! In the afternoon we took a boat ride on the Tigre delta to the north of the city, then spent the late afternoon again unable to find US dollars. Another Starbucks coffee helped restore order.

 This is dog walking in the expensive suburb of Recoletta.  $60 US gets your dog walked twice a day for a week.  They certainly weren't getting any individual attention, but they appeared to be well behaved and not fighting.

We took in a spectacular tango show that night - 3 course dinner, unlimited wine and the show for $US98 per person (had to borrow $ from someone else on the tour to pay as we couldn't buy any). Back to the hotel at 12.10am and collapsed ready to get up at 6.15am.

Tuesday 29 March.

We left sunny Buenos Aires at 7.30am. Flew to cloudy Iguassu Falls and on arrival our guide told us that the boat trips towards the base of the falls have all been cancelled pending an inquiry into the deaths of 2 Americans in a boat accident last week.

Undaunted, we walked over the river to the top of the most spectacular fall, the Devil's Throat, then back to other walkways which offer stunning views of much of the 2.7 kilometres of falls. Our ponchos got a workout when the threatening rain finally arrived. However, everyone gets wet, rain or shine because of the massive water spray when you come close. It is impossible to describe the size and the power of so many waterfalls (278 individual ones) and the photos don't do them justice.
We found out tonight that we are the babies on the tour, and we think that the oldest is 74.

Buenos Aires day 2

Hello again.  Another sunny day here.  Had a sleep in after a very noisy night with a concert blaring outside our hotel room until 2.45am.  Government sponsored too - could only happen in South America?  Went for a walk down to the new dock area which has been turned into a ritzy area like Melbourne's South Bank.  then to the very silty River Plate, looking across to where we imagined Uruguay might be.

Found a Starbucks - yay!  Decent coffee at last.  Then in the afternoon we did a 3 hour bike tour of the city - went around the city down to La Boca area, famous for multi-coloured houses and the soccer team.  Early evening we met all the travel party, and learned about arrangements, then off to a restaurant with half of them to eat huge Argentinian steaks which no-one could finish.  Talked to a large party of blokes there who at first pretended to be a UK rugby team then told us they were actually part of the 200-person U2 band support team, who tell people they are rugby players to prevent being hit for free tickets.

The very brown River Plate

La Boca

La Boca soccer home

We have arrived in Buenos Aires

Hello all from Buenos Aires, 5.30pm Saturday. Qantas 747 was chockers, and an hour late leaving Sydney ("minor electrical problems") but only half an hour late into Argentina after a very smooth 12 hour flight. At the airport we met up with another 7 Aussies on the tour (all older than us) and were ferried into our hotel which is next to the Obelisk on the main wide avenue through BA called Avenida 9 de Julio. We dropped our bags off then headed out to walk around the city in very pleasant temperature and blue skies. 

As I type we are in a McDonalds (very ordinary coffee) on the Avenida advertising free wifi but we’re blowed if we can pick it up (will send this blog from our hotel). The upside is we are being entertained by a free symphony orchestra and other acts doing sound checks for a concert tonight in the Avenida. This has necessitated closing off the road which is fun as it’s causing traffic jams resulting in all the Argies furiously blowing their horns at each other.

Neither of us got much sleep on the flight so we will crash later, although we’re not feeling too bad at the moment. Planning to do a bike tour tomorrow arvo. Will blog again when we can.
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Itinerary

Day	Where
Sat 26.3.11	Sydney - Buenos Aires
Sun 27 - Mon 28.3.11	Buenos Aires - City tour.  Detailed Trip Notes
Tues 29 - Wed 30.3.11	Morning flight to Puerto Iguazu. Explore Argentinean and Brazilian side of the falls.
Thur 31.3 - Sat 2.4.11	Fly to Rio de Janeiro. City tour including Sugarloaf, Christ the Redeemer, Ipanema and Copacabana beaches.
Sun 3.4.11	Fly to Peruvian capital, Lima.
Mon 4.4.11	City tour of Lima's Colonial Centre.
Tues 5 - Wed 6.4.11	Fly to Iquitos. Boat to Jungle Lodge. Jungle and river excursions.
Thur 7.4.11	Return to Iquitos. Afternoon flight to Lima.
Fri 8 - Sat 9.4.11	Fly to Cusco. City tour and excursion to Sacsayhuaman and the Sacred Valley including Ollantaytambo and Pisac.
Sun 10 - Mon 11.4.11	Train to Aguas Calientes. Visit Machu Picchu and return to Cusco.
Tues 12 - Wed 13.4.11	Visit the Peru's Challenge Community Project just outside of Cusco.
Thur 14.4.11	Drive to Puno on the shores of Lake Titicaca.
Fri 15.4.11	Visit Lake Titicaca, the Uros Indians and the ancient burial chambers at Sillustani.
Sat 16.4.11	Enter Bolivia and head to La Paz via the ancient ruins of Tiahuanaco.
Sun 17.4.11	La Paz city tour.
Mon 18 - Tues 19.4.11	Fly to Santiago and explore the colonial centre and enjoy a winery tour.
Wed 20 - Thur 21.4.11	South to Puerto Varas, in the heart of the Lakes District, to discover stunning mountain scenery.
Fri 22.4.11	The 'Lakes Crossing' by boat and bus to Bariloche in Argentina.
Sat 23.4.11	Evening flight to Buenos Aires where trip ends on arrival
Sun 24.4.11	Buenos Aires
Mon 25 - Tues 26.4.11	Buenos Aires - Sydney - Canberra

Test blog

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This is a test blog to see if we know what we are doing.