Argentina



Left Brazil and headed for the Argentinean border and stayed in Puerto Iguassu campsite for a night.  The next day I went to visit the Iguassu Falls - absolutely amazing, especially the ´Devil´s Throat´waterfall - could´ve sat for ages just watching it.  Got to do a wildlife tour as well as a speed boat trip up close to the falls.  The wildlife tour was the usual..there are over 600 different species, but only the butterflies came out to say hello that day.

The speedboat up was pretty cool, but we all got soaked and then spent the rest of the day walking as though we`d wet ourselves. The weather has been roasting, so the coat I bought in Paraguay has been used for a pillow. I tried to wear it one night, but it stank of fish - all that cheapo rubbish material - suppose I should´ve expected it when I bought it.

After Iguassu, we travelled onto Salta, which was a 25 hour truck journey and camping in a cotton field.  Some of us kipped on the truck as it was freezing outside.  Sitting on the truck for that long was probably like being in an OAP home - staring out the window for hours watching the world go by, dropping off to sleep and wakening up only to be fed again (and the cycle continued pretty much like that for hours and hours).  We did stop in the Service Stations or ´Servos´as we´ve all called em..they seem to be our home/toilet stop when we´re never near any campsites..I think most of us know every ´servo´the length and breadth of South America.

Salta was fantastic - a city of over 300 000 people. The city is buzzing with nightlife and people, who are really friendly and welcoming. The wee laundry woman in the city was so happy to see you, she´d shake your hand at least 5 times and speak away to you in Spanish..hadn´t a clue what she was saying, but she was a wee gem.

The cars driving around are funny to watch.  There are some nice new cars and then there are bangers flying around...cars that have probably once been our cast-offs are now on the streets of Argentina.  Loads of old ´Princess´cars about and really old Renault and Citroen cars etc with no mirrors, bits flying off them and smoke bellowing from the exhaust pipes.

Spent one day whitewater rafting and zip-wiring high up in the Andes mountains. Lovin this part of the trip, as the adrenaline activities are what I´ve been looking forward to.  We camped at the cusp of the Andes mountain and the second night was freezing cold, so out came my fishy coat to keep me warm and whatever else I could find.  Dogs seem to be everywhere in this country and they all seem to get together at night and bark in a pack just to piss everyone off and keep people awake. 

The next day we went horseriding and drank wine and had a BBQ in the scorching heat as it was 2 of the lads´birthday.  El Nino is working his magic again and is meant to be cold, but has been very hot...none of us were complaining. You can´t come to Argentina and be a veggie..you´ll be asked to leave the place.  The meat is to die for though. Our host for the day was a man named Enrique -   a typical Argentine was full of great banter and craic - he looked like Santa Claus with the big belly and beard...couldve taken him home. Last night was spent clubbing to finish the birthday celebrations off.  A few of us arrived back to our camp just in time to get the truck to Bolivia at 6.30am...no sleep at all, so we´re suffering today!

Argentina and it´s people are amazing - the warm welcome and hospitality is first class. Just over a week in this country isn´t long enough, so I intend to make it back again some day in the future and visit Buenos Aires and southern Argentina. 

After 10 hours driving the next stop was Bolivia. Completely different to Argentina so far from what I´ve seen.  Crossing the border was like stepping back in time.  Arrived in a little town 3000 metres above sea level where the air is thin. In a hotel and it´s great to get a nice bed with pillows and other comforts that isn´t there during camping. Tomorrow it´s an early start again as we move through Bolivia to the salt mines. During the week I´ll be cycling down the ´Road of Death´ - should be a fun experience if nothing else..looking forward to this bit

Devil´s Throat, Iguasu Falls, Argentina