This is our last goodbye

Whilst in Rosario we stayed at the superb hostel La Lechuza (The Owl) where we where treated like members of the family. Juan and his sister Javiera welcomed us warmly, in fact so much so that we extended our time by quite a few days, as did many others, enjoying the slow chilled vibe and friendly atmosphere. Juan also cooked up a mean parilla - traditional Argentinian BBQ - one night, and took the time to explain to me why I shouldn't drink the cheap box wine, which are the best grapes on the market and also kindly explained the technique involved in cooking meat the Argentinian way! He seriously knows his stuff!

We were sorry to leave such friendly people and such a homely place, but eventually moved on, taking the bus for the capital Buenos Aires. The weather had not been particularly kind to us and continued like this in BA. So feeling a little jaded and not in the mood for any sight-seeing we spent most of our time moving from coffee shop to cafe to restaurant, drinking wine and eating steak. The city is full of great places to do this so we embraced the two things Argentina is most famous for with passion.

We did run into a "book tank"... strange but somehow much funnier after a few glasses of fine malbec.

Feeling thoroughly over-indulged we took the next bus (20 hours) to Puerto Iguazu to see the wonderous Iguazu Falls.

Again the weather was not playing ball so we got soaked but were nevertheless blown away by the force and sheer enormity of the cascades.

The river ran red/brown from all the sediment adrift in the recent rain water. The power is indescribable! A must see to anyone who is nearby. Thousands of swifts dart between the mighty torrents come evening time, returning to their nesting patches behind the water flow by dive-bombing down into the cauldron of spray and mist and through the sheets of water. Definitely the kamikaze breed of birds!

...and nipped over the other side of the bridge to enter Brazil. Just a fleeting visit, as the Brazilian economy has now overtaken the british one, so far too much $$$$$ for us at the end of such a long trip. We were lucky enough to find another great hostel "Favela Chic" in Foz do Iguacu, run by an english guy Nick and his brazilian wife. The inventive recycled decor and artistic flair of this place is was a delight to see - truly a gem in the making at only 2 months old. He certinly knows how to make a mean Caipirinha too!

 Enjoying a home-cooked roast (or a close approximation Brazilian-style)

So onto the next bus... 24 hours this time (meant to be 22 but plenty of traffic!) to Rio de Janeiro. On arriving, our cross-city bus gave me my first glimpse of the Christ statue lit up like an xmas tree, appearing to be floating in the sky like an guardian angel over the city!

One day in Rio so we packed it full. Up the Corcovado to see the Christ statue and take in the breathtaking views across the city. We spent some time up there just watching the city unfold before us as far as the eye could see. Apparently James insisted that a quote of mine needed to be shared with you:

"Wow - you can see so far away, until you can't see any more!"

I was having a blonde moment!

The magnificient Sugarloaf mountain

Similar to "Where's Wally?", let's play "Where's Beth?"

We walked the street in the afternoon, soaking up the hustle and bustle and admiring the spectacularly talented graffiti artists' handiwork. Escaping the streets for a while we stepped into the serentiy of the stunning tropical botanical gardens before heading out along the famous Copacabana beach to an all-you-can-eat churrascaria (BBQ-house) where their only goal is to try to kill you with food... let me explain:

Waiters with swords full of differing cuts of meat parade between the tables, slicing off whatever you desire. To add to that is the copious amounts of sushi and every kind of vegetable and salad you can think of, and CHEESE.

On top of that they pile plates and plates of carbs (chips, garlic bread, rice, onion rings etc) on your table - which of course you don't waste any stomach space on. You have only to glance at a passing waiter brandishing his sword of meat and before you can blink it's on your plate! :P

Done.

And that was that... out with a bang! We took the 'short' (6-hour) bus to Sao Paulo where we jumped on our final flight home courtesy of the lovely Singapore Airlines - home in style!

The final caipirinha

Salt, sand and steak

So we just couldn't resist going for another enormous steak before we left La Paz, just in case they ran out of steak in Argentina.

We headed to Coroico for some relaxation but slightly overlooked the fact that it was Easter weekend and the whole world and his wife had the same plan. So it wasn't quite the getaway we were hoping for, nevertheless we found ourselves a quiet corner with a nice French restaurant to relax in!

So back to La Paz and up a little further to an eco retreat, set just over the brow of the crater in an stunningly tranquil setting.

Illimani comes out to play

La Paz from the edge of the crater

Feeling fully recharged after the hectic two weeks we had with Jacques, we took to the road to visit the Salt Flats of Uyuni, eventually crossing the vast desert into Chile. The tour included a lot of time spent riding in a cramped jeep, but it was well worth it for the truly EPIC scenery. Words nor pictures can fully describe the vast desolate landscapes, but as usual we'll give it a go.

An abandoned train left to the elements, transforming it into a playground for adults and children alike.

Hopping on a train

Beth was blown away

Climbing the ultimate French peak

We stayed in one-horse towns with very basic accomodation. Very high and so very cold with not a glimpse of a heater or open fire to warm our bones. James decided to get food poisoning just prior to the trip (it would seem it was to be one or the other of us with bad bellies) which was particularly bad timing as there were no toilets or even a rock to hide behind in many places! But he stuggled through, trying to enjoy the magnificient views anyway.

One-horse town, missing only the tumbleweed

Resting on a living green 'poof'

A "tree" for a "tree"

Plenty of wildlife along the way to keep us entertained...

Our first sight of flamingos, not a bad one either as they flew in formation alongside the jeep

           This variety of flamingo is the James flamingo - and just as flamboyant it is!

Non-native wildlife

And some fabulous chances to get panoramics...

The algae in the lake are what make it red and the flamingos feathers pink... FACT!

After 3 days we arrived into Chile, crossing the border in no-man's-land and all of a sudden onto smooth tarmac road! We only stopped in Chile a short time, staying in the desert town of San Pedro de Atacama for a few days to soak up some deserved warmth after far too long spent on the Altiplano!

Wanting to explore the desert somewhat we took some bikes out for what we thought would be a gentle ride in the desert, which quickly turned into a hardcore workout up steep switchback roads, across rivers and through deep sand patches. It was worth it for the red rock canyons and views (only can I say this now as at the time, with a recovering James and an unfit Beth, neither of us enjoyed the uphill). Downhill on the other hand was great fun and our clean, soft bed was a welcome change from the concrete slabs we had across the salt flats.

On on last night in San Pedro we went on one of the well-established sky-at-night tours offered by local Frenchman Alain. An experienced stargazer, he spent several hours talking us through the various wonders visible to us, pointing out planets, different types of stars, constellations and even the Magellenic Cloud galaxy (which we thought was just a cloud).

Our next stop was to be in Argentina, after yet another magnificient journey (this time on a swanky Argentinian bus) across the Paso de Jama for more views of deserted wilderness and herds of wild vicunas.

The small cluster of buildings you can just about make out on the left are the Chilean/Argentinian border posts

Within an hour of getting off the bus in Salta, Argentina, we found ourselves in a restaurant enjoying huge tasty steaks and two bottles of very decent house wine. Thankyou Argentina for a very warm welcome!

More salt hexagons on the way to Argie

Adopting a new lifestyle of wine for lunch and dinner we felt quite at home here. Running short on time, we whizzed across the country to Rosario to visit some friends we met way back in New Zealand, Daniel and Hugo, who kindly showed us around the city and even a typical Argentinian ranch so Beth could see the difference between farming practices out here and back home.

With less than 10 days left, today we leave for Buenos Aires to see what Capital City is all about.