Buenos Aires

Tuesday, 7 April

Iguazu to Buenos Aires

A good flight from Iguazu, but I now have Lorraine's cough and cold. I suppose it was inevitable, but at least it comes at the end of our trip. More Aussies at the airport today, not only the rugby boys but also male and female young hockey players from all over Australia. I think we outnumbered the locals on the plane.

After a little afternoon snooze we found a rather trendy cafe where the very young staff were kissy kissy, flirty wirty. We treated ourselves to a hot chocolate and shared a passionfruit (maracuya) tart. Back to the hotel to recover from this richness before we head out again for tea.

After dinner we went to a tango show. It was too loud for me but apart from that, very entertaining. Dancing, singers, traditional flutes of the Andes and a guy who swung wooden(I think) balls around and made a rhythm with them on the floor. A bit like Maori pois.

Arrived home at 12.30, very late for us. Tomorrow we fly home, so this will probably be my last entry.

No photos today so I'm putting in a coati, one of many we saw in the park yesterday, and very annoying they were too.

 

 

 

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Iguazu

Monday, 6 April

Iguazu

To say that we are exhausted is an understatement. Today has been a very big day, but very wonderful. The Iguazu Falls exceeded all expectations. We have walked about 8 kilometres on some very good walkways and also up and down a hell of a lot of stairs, some easier than others.

Our first walk was to the Devil's Throat. We saw this from the top of the falls and the quantity of water coming over was truly amazing. This is only one part of the complex of cataracts.

The second walk was called the Lower Circuit and here we saw the Dos Hermanas (the Two Sisters) and then about 6 more falls which were along a bit from the Devil's Throat. It was from this trail that we descended - slowly and carefully - to the river.

We were given a bag to put our belongings in and a it further along, a life jacket. Finally we boarded a boat, sort of a giant rubber ducky. This took us to both sides of San Martin Island, which divides the falls already mentioned. We didn't bother to try and get our cameras out in case they got wet. When some people had taken their photos the fun began. The boat raced us right up to the waterfall where we got absolutely drenched. It felt like a bathful of water was tipped on us and we couldn't see a thing for a few moments. The boat then raced us down the rapids to a landing place downstream. We had to climb about a million steps back up to the top, where we were met by a four wheel drive truck.

The truck took us for a drive through the rainforest. Lots of beautiful butterflies which were impossible to photograph. We were then deposited at the lunch place where we bought a sandwich and I sat in the sun trying to dry off. My rain poncho was totally useless, but Lorraine's kept her mostly dry.

After lunch we went on our final walk, the Upper Trail. This was relatively easy going and took us to the top and even across the top of some of the falls. Walking across the top of those huge cliffs with their rushing water was a little nervous-making, but spectacular.

By the time we got back to the bus I was spent. Had to lie on the bed in our hotel for an hour or so before I could think of going out for a bite of dinner. We had a snack at the closest place to our hotel and came back eager for bed, which is where I'm writing this.

Tomorrow is another travel day and our last day in Argentina. We will be flying to Buenos Aires.

 

 

 

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Buenos Aires - Iguazu

Sunday, 5 April

Buenos Aires to Iguazu

Today has been another travel day. I have never had so many flights so close together. My poor swollen ankles don't know what's hit them. On the flight today were 31 boys from a school on the Gold Coast. They are travelling around Argentina playing rugby. So far they have won one and lost one.

The drive from the airport was through jungle and there were lots of butterflies. There were also signs to watch out for raccoons and tapirs. We are in a national park. The border of Brazil is 400 metres from here and the Paraguay border is a similar distance. It has been raining here for two days. There was a short downpour a few minutes ago but the sky is blue now. Let's hope for good weather tomorrow. The weather gods have been kind to us so far but it probably won't matter as we are going to get wet anyway.

Sat outside in the garden for a while this afternoon and watched hummingbirds drinking from a bird feeder. A bit tricky trying to get a photo but this one is the best.

An early night tonight as we have a very big day tomorrow.

 

 

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Buenos Aires

Saturday, 4 April

Buenos Aires

It was very wet while we were having breakfast so we went out prepared with coats but the weather cleared as we were boarding our bus for a city tour. What luck we are having with the weather.

Buenos Aires is a beautiful city, laid out with broad boulevards and many parks. It has a very Parisian feel as the architectural style is modelled on France. We visited four districts and saw some lovely sculptures, such as the big, shiny flower, which is meant to close at night but is broken. There was only one sculpture of Evita but we saw her face on a big building. On one side of the building she is shouting at the wealthy people who live on that side of the city and on the opposite side of the building she is smiling in the direction of the poorer part of the city.

We visited a market area with colorful buildings and plaster sculptures of tango dancers etc on the walls. Here we were able to finally change some money. We also drove through an area with many embassies and again it felt very European. At the end of the tour we were dropped at the cemetery and we wandered through there looking for Evita's tomb which we eventually found in a little street where lots of people had gathered. Outside the cemetery was another market which didn't really have anything to tempt us so off we went to find an ice cream for lunch and to get a map so that've could find our way back to the hotel. It was only three blocks away and, in fact, we could see the cemetery from our hotel window.

Dinner tonight was a steak (enormous) accompanied by red wine( whole bottle polished off!). We now feel that we have sampled the two "must haves" of Argentina - and they were both excellent. We have done our duty. Tomorrow we fly to Iguasu.

 

 

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Travel

Friday, 3 April

Cusco to Buenos Aires

Today was a travel day, first from Cusco to Lima and then from Lima to Buenos Aires. We arrived here after dark so not much to report. We are in a hotel somewhere near the city centre. No ATMs available so no cash as we didn't stop to get any at the airport. Had to have a sandwich from room service as the cafe next door won't take credit cards. We are here for two nights so have been busy washing our unmentionables. It's quite hot, 30degrees.

Tomorrow we have a half day city tour.

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Machu Picchu

Thursday, 2 April

Aguas Calientes to Cusco

Up at 5.15 and down for an early breakfast before our bus to Machu Picchu. The dining room was all window along one wall and just outside the Urubamba River was rushing by.

Our guide, Sonia, met us at 7.00 and escorted us to the bus, which took us up and up and up, about a 25 minute journey to Machu Picchu. The whole tourism operation here is really efficient and runs like clockwork. There were some heart-stopping drops beside us but we felt surprisingly safe.

Machu Picchu was huge and awe-inspiring and wonderful. Our guide did an excellent job of providing information and looking out for our safety, as I was very slow on some of the steps. I have seen many photos of Machu Picchu and I knew that it was a huge site, but when you are actually standing there it's amazing. Our tour lasted about three hours and when our guide left us we sat on a step and looked out at the view for some time. We then caught the bus back down to Aguas Calientes, where we checked out the town square and found a cafe for lunch.

Aguas Calientes is a tiny town of cafes and hotels and only exists for the tourism industry. We loved the local train running down the road right outside the front door of the hotel. Everywhere you go there is the sound of water as two rivers meet here and there are fountains and little aqueducts everywhere. In places it is deafening.

Our train back to Ollantaytambo departed punctually at 4.20 and we were met at the other end by our driver, somewhat harassed as he couldn't find a couple of others that he had to sort out. The drive back to Cusco took about two hours and reminded me of coming home from Phillip Island after seeing the penguins. It was a convoy of four wheel drive vehicles jockeying for position and passing anything they could. Double lines mean nothing, but our driver was careful and didn't take too many risks.

It is very nice to be tucked back into our loft room. I have only bumped my head once this time. Tomorrow is Good Friday and we fly to Buenos Aires.

 

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Cusco to Aguas Calientes

Wednesday, 1 April

Cusco to Aguas Calientes

Started out at 7.30, with an overnight bag packed for our trip to Aguas Calientes. Our first stop was Pisac, where we visited Inca (Quechua) ruins and saw huge terraces where crops had been grown in the old days. We saw these terraces and the remains of them throughout the Sacred Valley. Down into the town of Pisac for a stop at a silver factory and a walk through the market. No matter where we looked there was always a huge mountain in the background.

 

We continued along the road through the Sacred Valley until we came to our lunch stops. This was quite bizarre and we have no idea why it was that the group was split and taken to three different restaurants, not even close to each other. Smith and I were the only ones left on the bus when we were dropped at the third restaurant, Tunupa. We had an amazing smorgasbord lunch by the river, with Peruvian musical accompaniment. But we had to scoff it down as we only had 40 minutes before we had to be at the gate ready for the bus to pick us up. Everything is pretty rushed on this trip but we're getting used to that now.

Ollantaytambo was the next destination in our Sacred Valley tour and Lorraine and I pride ourselves on our great pronunciation of the word. The ruins here were terraced up the side of a mountain and also contained some foundations and watercourses. Lorraine climbed about a million steps to the top and I opted to explore at ground level as I didn't fancy a heart attack the day before Machu Picchu. By the time the group came back down I was getting a bit anxious as we had to be at the station half an hour before the train to Aguas Calientes. It was a mad rush to the station to drop us off before the rest of the group returned to Cusco.

 

The train journey was slow and a less than smooth ride through beautiful scenery as we rattled along beside the river. It was dark when we reached Aguas Calientes and we were very happy to be met by one of the Chimu people, who walked us to our hotel, about 50 metres or so from the station. When we ventured out to get some dinner the rain was pouring down so we hope that it will have spent itself by the morning, when we have another early start and a very big day.

 

 

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