Long awaited!!.... FINALLY the Amazing Amazon story!..

Yes, I KNOW it's long overdue!
Now the reason for this blogging delay is Trinidad!!!.. The weather was just too nice! And internet access was too scarce!! But I'm getting around to it now!!

So I arrived in Manaus, Brazil and had a bit of a scare re- the baggage! My bag was the last one off the plane and I was starting to think that maybe it had been taken off when we stopped in Brasilia!.. But eventually my tatty old backpack rumbled out on the carousel.. Once I got out the doors, there was a frazzled-looking guy holding a sign with my name on it (Paulo, from the company I was taking the Amazon tour with). He had thought I'd missed my flight!

I spent the night in Manaus at a hotel, basically just relaxing. I had a bit of a wander around the Opera House there, which is gorgeous! And packed myself off to bed ready for my jungle adventure the next morning!

Bright and early, I met Elso (the bloke who was going to be my jungle guide), and Euan (the pommy guy who was going to share the adventure with me), and we were off! Once we got the the port, we were bundled into a boat and headed along the Rio Negro to the part where the the Rio Negro and Rio Solimões meet- the meeting of the waters. It was AMAZING! Two completely separate rivers, that don't mix!.. And the sheer size of the rivers is mind-boggling!

Once we'd crossed the Rio Solimões, we ended up at the port on the other side, where there were locals waiting for boats. It seemed like such a rustic place, and yet, there was a kid sitting there waiting for a boat with a DVD player in a box!.. We purchased our GORGEOUS rain jackets for the trip, met our driver, and headed off again.. We jumped into another boat and we were off on the Amazon! On the way to the jungle lodge we dropped in at one of the houses to pick up our assistant guide, and as we did so, a fish jumped clean out of the water and flipped along the river! A monkey jumping fish, apparently!

The lodge itself was fantastic! It has a little jungle shop to buy snacks and drinks, and it becomes the local bar at night- gringos staying at the lodge (and the place nextdoor) mix with locals to play pool, chat, drink, and dance.

Now, I COULD spend forever blogging about everything that happened- but I'm going to try to condense the info a bit!.. The trip involved a few treks in the highlands, and the lowlands. The lowlands trek was spent swatting mosquitos! The air was thick with the buggers! But luckily there were plenty of animals too! Like a few different species of monkey, sloths, various birds. And Elso (whose nickname evolved from "the Terminator" due to his army fatigues, to become "Rocky"), showed us all the plants that are used to medicinal purposes- handy if you have malaria, or diarrhoea to name just a couple of things! Bird-wise there were hawks, tucans, osprey, kingfishers, herons.... It was unreal! And no tarantulas or anacondas!..

There was alligator spotting- I kinda held one, but wouldn't let Rocky completely let go of it!.. We saw grey and pink dolphins in the river- AMAZING!! We went canoeing through tall grass in a leaky boat, fed piranhas (allegedly I was fishing for them, but I turned out to only be feeding them!), walked on water using the "magic feet", went to visit some locals in their homes, and even attended a local soccer match as the only gringa!.. Honestly, I could write forever about my time in the Amazon! But due to time constraints, I will just write a few of my fave moments-

* Euan asking Elso if we could take a boat without holes in it (after the guides had had to plug the leak in our boat the day before), and Elso laughing and putting us into the same boat! Which not long after was followed by Euan playing around with Elso's machete and being told "don't you put a hole in the boat".. Euan's playing with the machete got him the nickname "machete boy".
* Attempting to climb the banks of the river following a HUGE deluge of rain.... And sliding back down on my bum!.. (The fact that Rocky missed seeing it, made it even better!)
* Following the trek of the highlands (which was a little tough for me due to lack of sleep and having sampled too much of the "caipirinhas" which I swear contained petrol!), having Euan try to tip Rocky out of the boat!..
* Spotting a hummingbird in the jungle myself!!..
* Not getting eaten my mosquitos!!!
* The look on my and Euan's faces when we watched Dartemio (the assistant guide), light up a smoke at the back of the boat next to the petrol and the engine!
* Going to Superman's house to watch the sun rise over the giant waterlillies..
* Seeing the toddlers from the family who run the shop on the river jumping in and out of boats in the shallows, swimming around, rowing the boats (YES, REALLY), and then delivering beers to the locals watching and playing soccer!
* Rocky (who was goalkeeping in the soccer match at the time), running over to tell me how you could hear the howler monkeys at the time!!.. And grabbing a beer and cigarette to refuel!..
* Meeting some of the most amazing people! (tourists, locals and guides)...

Yes, I KNOW it's a cop out considering how long I've waited to blog!
As it says above, I KNOW I should write more... and maybe I will update things later.. But it's breakfast time here in Panama! And I still have to write about Trinidad too!!! (But that will have to wait until at least tomorrow!!!)

Catching up!!...

Let's start back in Rio..
Right! So clearly I survived being in the jungle for 5 nights, since here I am blogging again!.. But since I didn't actually blog from when I was in Rio or Porto Seguro, I'll get cracking with that now!

So a while back now, I arrived in Rio and was pumped to be staying in the Copacabana region! The beach itself is swarming with Cariocas and tourists. I must say, it was kinda liberating just watching the women of all ages and sizes strutting their stuff in little bikinis on the beach- they just don't care! So I joined them for a while before strolling around to Ipanema beach (which happens to be a prettier beach and frequented by prettier Cariocas)..

Unfortunately, instead of lazing around at the beach, it seems that I should have been busting my gut to see the sights of Rio! When I went to see Christ the Redeemer, the woman at the office of the "tram" that goes up to the top of the mountain said that there was no point going because the fog/cloud was so thick you couldn't see Jesus!.. (Ummm, shouldn't she have been trying to convince me to go??.. Surely it's in her best interests to sell me a ticket?!).. But go I did (along with a couple of Aussie blokes I seemed to keep bumping into all over Rio). When we got to the top, there was a pretty thick mist covering the ol' Christ, but it lifted enough to get some great photos- unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the view from Corcovado (the mountain Jesus is perched on)!! It is meant to have the most amazing view of Rio, but all I could see were clouds!.. Then in the blink of an eye, the thick fog moved back in and sure enough, you could hardly make out the shape of Jesus, even though he was only a couple of metres away!

The fog wasn't quite so bad the day I went to Sugar Loaf (and again ran into the aussie boys).. Got some quite reasonable shots of the city, and wasn't scared in the cable cars going up to the top!.. OK, maybe just a little scared!

I also managed to survive the CRAZY bus system they have going on in Rio- you literally have to jump on the road in front of the bus to get it to stop (and then hope it stops in time!!).. LOVED IT!!!

There were (of course) nights spent having a caipirinha (or two), and sharing some Natasha with fellow travellers!.. But all too soon, my time in Rio came to an end, and I found myself on an overnight bus to Porto Seguro...

Porto Seguro, Stupidity, Scandinavians and Lambada
So after a mammoth bus trip (when despite wearing my stolen TEDs, I STILL ended up with ankles that were almost bigger than my calves!), I arrived in the coastal town of Porto Seguro (between Rio and Salvador).. After surprising the guy working in the ticket booth with the fact that I understand Portuguese, I had my ticket sorted to go to Salvador the next night and checked in to my hostel.. The hostel was only a 10 minute walk from the gorgeous beach (and beachside bars!), and is run by a super helpful American named Paul, who lives on the property with his family. Not only did he sort myself and the Scandinavian blokes staying there out with tips on restaurants and bars, he even included us in the family BBQ for his son's birthday!.. It was kinda like being at home!..

So the boys and I headed into "town" for dinner, and at the insistence of our waitress, ended up at zouk/lambada club on the water... OH MY GOD!!!! The dancing was incredible!! I was quite keen to have a crack, but the poor Scandinavians (despite being able to dance) were kinda intimidated and just stuck to observing! I was trying to use my "interpreting skills" to get one of the guys to dance with a local who was keen.... But he was just too shy!..

The next day (28th Feb), I was swanning about, and going to organise my accommodation for Salvador... when all of sudden it hit me- THERE ARE ONLY 28 DAYS IN FEBRUARY, NOT 30!!! The lack of structure and a diary had almost made me miss my flight from Salvador to Manaus on the 1st of March!!

Luckily my bus to Salvador arrived in enough time for me to get a taxi to the airport and catch my flight!!!

YES, I KNOW I need to blog about my Amazon trip, and I certainly will....... But right now I'm in Trinidad! And I need sunshine!!!... So perhaps tomorrow I will pick up where I'm leaving off now??....

Apologies!!

Ok, so it has been a while since I last blogged... And due to the SLOW connection of the computer I'm currently on, this is just going to be a quick one to say that, YES I WILL fill you in on what went down in Rio de Janeiro, Porto Seguro, Salvador, etc!!!

I am in Manaus and will be getting up at sparrow's fart to go on a 5 night Amazon tour! So I don't know that I will have internet access for a while... Then there's the fact that I have a SHOCKINGLY BAD connecting flight from Manaus to Panama City and Panama City to Port of Spain.. But who knows? Maybe this jungle lodge has internet access???... And there is to be NO laughing at the thought of me sleeping in a hammock in the jungle with all the beasties for a night, either!

São Paulo- Melbourne on steroids!!..

I heart Sampa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, it has been a while since I last blogged, but I have been thoroughly enjoying being in São Paulo!! I have enjoyed spending time in most of the cities I have ever visited, but this one is the first that really feels as though I've come home. It is AWESOME!!!

I'm staying in an area of the city that has a real Fitroy vibe to it- sensational!! And no, I'm not biased- some of the people I have spoken to agree that São Paulo is the Melbourne of Brazil, and that Vila Madelena (where I'm staying), is like Fitzer. My Portuguese teacher Gisele was spot on! And the hostel is fabulous! I can't speak highly enough of the great staff, the awesome location, and the comfy hostel itself!

I have spent days checking out the art galleries (there are thousands of them in this city!), and the gorgeous streets. They have streets that are almost designated to a certain product- a street filled with stores that sell musical instruments, one for antique furniture, etc etc.. And some great markets! So yes, I have blown the budget here in Sampa!

The people here are awesome, and despite the bad press São Paulo has copped at times (touch wood) I have had no trouble!

Today (Sunday) I have spent the day the way that most of Sampa spends it- at Parque do Ibirapuera, this HUGE, gorgeous park- there are lakes filled with black and white swans, gorgeous garden areas, museums, galleries, bike paths, soccer pitches, basketball courts, skating areas, restaurants.... you name it! And due to the lovely warm weather, there are many scantily clad men jogging through the park!... Nice!

There are nightclubs EVERYWHERE!!! They are so sensational that the cover charge alone is almost what you would spend on a whole night out back in Oz! (I guess that stops me from over-indulging on the caipirinhas!!!)

So tomorrow I'm off to check out the centre of the city in the morning (it's a no go area on the weekend due to its dodginess), and will then be bus-ing it to Rio!!!..

Oi Brasil!!!

Visas, vistas and Carnaval
After much stuffing around, the visa situation was FINALLY sorted, and I was on my way to Foz do Iguaçu.. (A little hint for anyone wanting to sort out their visa for Brasil in Puerto Iguazu- the consulate opens at 7am... GET THERE AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE BEFORE THE POWER GOES OUT!) The hostel I stayed in at Foz was the sister hostel of the one in Puerto- only with a superb bar and a pool!!! SWEET!!!!

I went to the Brazilian side of the falls, which were fantastic! Although I must admit, I wish I had seen the Brazilian side first- you get so close on the Argentinian side that despite the sensational view in Brazil, it isn't quite the same.. But I DID learn something I wish I had known earlier- the cute coatis that were everywhere on the Argentinian side carry RABIES!!!! And are AGGRESSIVE!!! Lucky I didn't get too close to them then!

I also went to the bird park near the falls, which was kinda scary!!! I just wanted to get a good photo of a tucan!!! But the ones in the park are so used to people that they hop around you and try to pull at any dangly bits on your backpack! And they have HUGE beaks!!!.. (I did get some great photos though!)

My inital plan was only to stay ONE extra night in Foz....... But somehow the Irish contingent at the hostel managed to peer pressure me into staying for TWO more nights- mainly due to the hostel's Carnaval celebrations which included super cheap caipirinhas!... A great night was had by all- and there are NUMEROUS photos to prove it- "OK, one more with my camera".... And I swear I WILL put up photos soon! (I just have to find the USB cord first!)..

Curitiba
So I arrived in Curitiba after a relatively sleepless 10 hour bus trip from Foz (after the bus left 2 hours late)- I WISH the Brazilian buses were as comfy as the Argentinian ones!! No such luck!!! No one serving food and drinks, and no videos- just an old bus with the most uncomfortable seats ever!!! But I managed to only have a little snooze after checking in, and walked my way around the town. The footpaths are paved with black and white patterned cobblestones, just like in Portugal- gorgeous!.. And the old buildings are amazing! It seems as though every second block there is another beautiful praça with old trees and fountains.. No wonder it is known to be the "greenest" city in Brazil!

But next up will be Sao Paulo- should be sensational!!!......

Luaggae, Che, oedema and Iguazu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Luggage... Kinda
Right, so I caught the ferry from Colonia to Buenos Aires on Saturday morning. I spent the walk to the port in Colonia plus the hour it took to get to Buenos Aires, joking with a Swiss bloke about how my backpack (that I was forced to check in by staff at the port) wouldn't turn up when I arrived in BA... BAD MOVE!!! Turns out that it isn't quite that funny when you go to pick up your backpack and it's not there! Luckily there was a lovely Brazilian couple who were in the same boat (figuratively and literally). EVENTUALLY we were approached by a woman working for the boat company who informed us that our bags were put on the wrong boat and that we'd have to get a taxi to the other company's port to pick our stuff up... Luckily THEY would foot the taxi bill! But we weren't so lucky with the taxi driver- MANIAC!!! Made it to the port in one piece, grabbed my bag, hoofed it to the bus station, bought a ticket to Rosario for the next bus, sprinted to the bus platform and was on my way....

Che... Kinda
I arrived in the afternoon in Rosario and went for a wander around that night.. It's a gorgeous city! When I got back to the hostel I was glad I splashed out and got myself a single room for the night- talk about LUXURY! (Not really, but it GREAT to be able to stretch out in a double bed again!..) I spent the next day furiously trying to see as much of Rosario as possible. I went up the war memorial which has great views of the city.. Had a look at the market by the river.. Went to the house that Che Guevara was born in- which was CLOSED (boo!.. but I guess that's to be expected on a Sunday!).. Then hoofed it to the lovely park to go to a couple of museums within the park- CLOSED!.. So I figured that I'd hike to the Che memorial statue, which was in the middle of nowhere! I got there, and it was literally a statue of Che in an unmown field.. Oh well! With sore feet, I headed back to the hostel for a quick kip before I went on the 16 hour bus trip to Puerto Iguazu..

Puffy ankles are NOT attractive!
I KNOW it's my own fault for not putting on the TEDs that I have, but when I evetually made it to Puerto Iguazu, I had ankles the size of my calves! After a rest, they were feeling a touch better, and I popped out to the adjoining bar for cheap daquiries and caipirinhas- YUM! Met a great group of people and had a huge laugh, before a refreshing night of sleep...

Yesterday was Iguazu falls day (for the Argentinian side). It was so amazingly breathtakingly spectacular! You can get so close to some of the falls that you can feel the pressure of the water! And get drenched in the spray!.. Fabulous! You can catch a little train up the the Devil's Throat where you get close to a whole heaps of falls together, and have to shout to be heard over the noise of the falls!

The falls are surrounded by parkland, and surprisingly (because of the huge number of tourists in the park) there are heaps of animals to spot! There was a group of monkeys up in the trees throwing fruit at us!.. There were coatis EVERYWHERE! They rummaged through bins and jumped on picnic tables after food- (they are VERY cute looking animals, google em!).. Despite how cute they looked, I wouldn't have stood between one and food! There were turtles in the water, lizards running around.. AWESOME!

Today I was meant to be heading to Brazil, but my plans were thwarted! It's daily occurrence that the power goes out in Puerto Iguazu- and it's usually for a good couple of hours.. Which makes it hard for the consulate (that is only open for a couple of hours a day- coincidently the same kinda time the power goes out for..) to photocopy my stuff for the visa!.. Anyhow, there are worse places than Puerto Iguazu to be stuck for a day!.. I will be up at the crack of dawn to get this visa situation sorted out once and for all, then on my way to Foz do Iguaçu, on the Brazilian side of the border.. After that, there'll be a long bus trip (with TEDs in situ) but not 100% sure where to.... Curitiba? Sao Paulo?... I'll sort that out in the next day or so.......

Colonia Del Sacramento... Uruguay's Ocean Grove

Hmmmmmmm
OK, so I just realised that in the last blog, I referred in one of the subtitles to "mate", and then never said anything about it! Mate is a herbal tea-like substance that the Uruguayans go NUTS for! Every second person has a thermos of hot water, their mate gourd and bombilla and mate under their arm! The pull their cars over and sit on the grass in the shade drinking it, or outside shops- basically anywhere! I thought Argentinans were keen on the stuff, but they are 10 times more obsessed in Uruguay!

Monte-Colonia
My last night in Montevideo was spent at a different hostel, which turned out to be great! I met a couple of awesome Kiwi chicks, and some of the locals there taught us a bit of latin dancing!.. Great fun! I kinda slept in the next morning, and was ALMOST late for my bus (plus there was the fact that the screen with the departure bays on it said that mine was leaving from platform 14, when it turned out it was leaving from 16). But some kind Montevideanos helped me get the right one!

I arrived in Colonia in the early afternoon, and spent the rest of the day wandering around the old part of town, stickbeaking in shops, avoiding being run over by the people hooning around the streets in rented golf carts (yes, SERIOUSLY) and generally just taking it easy. I had an AMAZING candlelit dinner at a restaurant next to the river, where the crickets and frogs were competing to see who could be the loudest... It was all quite romantic... except for the fact that I was sitting by myself reading a book! Today, I went up the rickety old staircase to the lighthouse without tripping up- YAY! It had a great view of the town..

Things I've loved about Uruguay
Since I'm heading back to Argentina tomorrow, I've been reflecting upon some of the trivial things I have loved about Uruguay.. And here are some of them- I love that they call their McDonalds drive-through an "auto mac" (as I'm sure other South American countries do too, but it's the first time I've seen one!). What a great name! And one that I shall use back home! I love that there is a dress shop called "tit" in the upmarket shopping centre in Montevideo. I loved that one of the older women at one of the hostels I stayed in had more idea about what to do in Montevideo, and spoke better English than the bloke working at the hostel- he said to me "she have my job". I love that the graffiti in Montevideo was about Jesus and Christianity!

Actually, enough trivial stuff! I LOVE Uruguay- full stop! The country is gorgeous, the people are really friendly, and it has a laid back vibe..

Next stop, Rosario- the birthplace of Che Guevara. PS- I am now the owner of a functional camera WITH a USB cord..... Photos will be coming!...