Buenos Aires Part Three

I was glad that I came back to BA early on Monday morning - admittedly I didn't do anything exciting whatsover all day, but it was nonetheless productive. I completely overhauled my backpack, threw out all my smelly old socks that I've been dying to do for months, and organised everything so that my last two full days would be free for pure enjoyment! You see, after a year on the road, I don't do any of this packing-at-the-very-last-minute nonsense, I'm a lean, mean backpacking machine!!! I did go back to La Bomba de Tiempo that evening, and it was even better than the first time, and was completely different, with different supporting artists. Shame I can't go again next week!!!

The weather here has been spot-on here this week, so off I went yesterday (after the best brekkie so far in South America) back to the cemetery, as there is a free English tour there on Tuesdays. Along came Sam, Jed & Nick (UK), three guys from the hostel that were also heading out that way, but who didn't yet know their way around BA. Not to worry, Tour Guide Indiemma Jones at your service! I quite liked being a Know-It-All and showing them the sights, after all, I'm quite well-travelled these days you know!!! Even though I'd been there before, it was really good to actually find out about the history of the cemetery and about some of the people there.

It was then time for lunch, as of course the boys were starving. Annoyingly, the TV in the hotdog bar was showing live images of the airforce flying over the Obelisk on Avenida 9 de Julio, just like the Red Arrows, painting the French and Argentinian flags across the sky - we would have been able to see it from our hostel, but we were now in a completely different area of the city! Drat, drat, drat! Oh well, the day was still young so we headed into La Boca, the most dangerous area of BA, but with a really interesting tourist area by the waterfront, where all the houses are brightly painted. The boys said that they would be there to protect me, but I knew that I'd was wearing the trousers as they would have had no idea how to get there without me! Bless them, they had only needed to walk 4 blocks from the hostel to see La Bomba last night, but it turns out that they walked for ages in the wrong direction and finally arrived there an hour late! Whippersnappers!

After visiting the tourist area, declining to have our photographs taken with a fake Maradona, avoiding a boy who practically demanded Sam hand over his camera, (erm, NO, mate!) and buying a lovely painting from a sweet old guy who didn't want to fleece us out of $25, I took the lads to the best ice-cream place I had found in San Telmo... they weren't disappointed. I let myself down a little bit though, on the metro trip home, when we missed our stop because I was talking too much! It was a bloody good day, we ended up having a right laugh about it all! Last night, I stayed in for a barbecue at the hostel, well is it ever possible to eat too much steak?

Today was my last full day of my year's trip. I've pretty much seen everything I need to in Buenos Aires, but I did cram in a trip to see some graffiti near Aguero this morning and to buy tickets to a tango show tonight, before returning to the hostel at midday to check in for my flight tomorrow online. I've abandoned the idea of trying to get an upgrade tomorrow as A) it is highly unlikely, and B) I'm not buying a new outfit just so I look presentable enough to be in with that minuscule chance! Controversially, I have NOT chosen a window seat and NOT even an aisle seat! I'm between two other people, but there is a passage in front of me, so unlimited legroom and I can go to the toilet whenever I need to without waking anyone up. Well, you have to think about these things on a 15 hour flight!

I spent my last afternoon shopping, but not for leather jackets and tango shoes like most of my friends have; oh no, I bought half a kilo of ice cream, four empanadas and yet another pair of Havaianas! I also had a cheap manicure - admittedly it wasn-t as bad as the one I had in Peru, but I should learn by now that you only get a good CHEAP manicure in Asia, everywhere else, you get what you pay for!!! For dinner, I went back to my favourite all-you-can-eat buffet with Ross & Marianne (UK) and Colm (Ireland) and then we headed to the tango show. It was quite swanky and we ended up paying the same each for one glass of wine as the buffet and a coke! However, we were all pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable the show was and how well put together. It seemed appropriate to have one last tango in Buenos Aires!

So, I'm back in the hostel for my last night, eating one of my tubs of ice cream - I'll have to have the other one for breakfast, or in the taxi to the airport! The backpack is packed, I just have to shower, eat, throw my daysack together and nip to the ATM. This time tomorrow, I'll be somewhere over the Atlantic, hopefully not rueing my choice of seat! I have no idea how I will put my Havaianas on over my flight socks, but I'll tell you all about it on Friday... for the final blog.

Dear reader, how will you cope without any more tales of my travelling adventures?

Uruguay

You think that I'd be taking it easy by this point in my trip, but oh no - why make things easy for myself, when I can do it the long-winded crazy way around!!! Well, I guess it would have been out-of-character to do Country Number 18 in anything less than typical Emma style! At immigration, I politely asked the officials to put the stamps in exact places, as I have realised that I now only have four full pages left in my passport, which is really not going to last me another 7 years! The ferry crossing was very smooth and I was checked into a hostel in Colonia del Sacramento by 10am!

I set of on a walk around the town, which is genuinely as pretty and charming as everyone had described it. Of course, my first priority was to buy an Uruguay flag patch and get one of every coin! I spotted a good sized, good quality flag in one shop, but thought it best to shop around a bit first. I then found an inferior version, but the shade of blue for the stripes was darker. Of course, I had to then go back to the hostel to check Wikipedia for the correct shade of the flag! As it turns out, the second flag was more accurate, but the first was just much better looking! So, I decided to buy it, no one would know the blue was slightly too pale and after the palavers I had had where I've had to resort to eBay, I thought it best to buy one while I could.

It was damn annoying to walk but 5 metres, and see in the shop next door, one that was good quality and the exact right shade... and for 5 pesos less! Unbelievable, I bet the lady in the first shop hadn't even closed the cash register! So, I decided to continue my explorations and headed down to the beach to relax with my book. Of course, all that is whirring around my brain is whether or not to buy another patch that it more accurate, even though only I will know it, or just to make do with the one I have. But it is only another £1.50 to get another... but I have already bought one and a second one will be a waste of money... Dear reader, you've heard this story many times before!!!

Anyway, it was a lovely day and I actually ended up falling asleep on the beach! I must have needed the sleep after all the early starts of the previous week! After a while, I decided what the hell, I will buy the second patch anyway! The lady in the shop was lovely and her young son spoke excellent English. They were so helpful and friendly, (which I would later learn is very typical of Uruguayans) that I asked them about the coins and she gave me the only one I was missing, 50 cents, which I would be unlikely to get hold of in my short time there. That evening, I watched the sun set over Rio de la Plata before heading back for an early night... because of course, rather than chill out and have a lazy morning, I'd bought a bus ticket to Montevideo for 6.45!!!

I arrived in the capital just before 9.30am, which gave me plenty of time to explore the city. Whilst at the bus terminal, I asked about routes and prices to other cities in Uruguay, to give me an idea of where to go next - I'd already decided that I wanted to be back in BA by Tuesday at the latest. It turned out that there is a service that goes from FB to BA direct overnight, whioch would take much, much longer than the ferry, but would be significantly cheaper AND save me a night's accommodation. After finding a hostel, I went out armed with my camera, to capture the sights of Montevideos' architecture, which basically involved me doing a LOT of Emma-style circuitous walking around yet another South American big city! I liked Montevideo, but after being appraoched by three teenagers in a park who needed the time, I knew it was time to walk away fast and to avoid that old chestnut of a scheme... no, I will not be robbed again! Nothing happened, but I decided then that one day here was enough.

So, in the afternoon, I headed back to the terminal to book my onwards tickets for the next day. It had been a toss-up between Punta del Este, the St. Tropez od Latin America, or Fray Bentos, home of Oxo and meat pies! I settled on FB, just because it would be so different to tour an old meat factory, than to see yet another beach. Different AND weird!!! So, what should have taken an hour at the most to organise took up the entire evening and went a little like this>

- Got guy at hostel to phone the museum in FB to check opening times as the Lonely Planet said it was closed on Sundays.
- Told that there IS a tour on Sunday at 3pm.
- Headed to terminal, bought ticket to FB, arriving around lunchtime on Sunday.
- Told that there ISN'T an overnight service to BA from FB, so made extra enquiries in the tourist information office.
- Went to ask about the ticket again, this time with Victoria (from TI) to translate.
- YES, there is an overnight bus, it fits my plans perfectly!
- NO, they have all sold out for those arriving in BA on Monday morning!
- DAMN IT, I now don't need to go to FB tomorrow, but I've already bought the ticket!
- Plan B, take the ferry from Carmelo to Tigre home after FB, as it will be much cheaper than Colonia to BA.
- Find that there are 2 buses from FB to Carmelo: 09.45 and 19.45.
- Find that there are 2 ferries from Carmelo to Tigre: 04.00 and 14.00
- Am completely exasperated that the two services do not connect in any useful kind of way and now don't want to spend a night in FB or Carmelo, as I was resigned to being on an overnight bus!
- What the hell, let's do it so I can be back in BA first thing Monday, ask about the cost of the tickets so I can extract the exact Pesos Uruguayos from the ATM for the rest of the stay.
- Buy the tickets, thank god I have memorised my passport number, but have too many pesos left over as I had misunderstood the guy at the bus desk!

Crikey, by the time I got home, it was nearly 9pm! But, I had all my transportation sorted and paid for back to BA! It just meant that I had to get up early AGAIN to to to FB, then I had a few hours to see the museum, I'd have to hang around for the bus to Carmelo, then once there I would have to sleep in the port for 5 hours before taking the 4am ferry! So that's exactly what I did! Fray Bentos is a small little town, but it is quiet pleasant and I am glad that I opted to go there, even though it was a little bit out of the way. A few years ago, it would have been much easier, as there was a bridge that connected it with Argentina and therefore would have been but a few hours to get to BA. Now it has been closed, meaning that you have to go several hours north to the nearest land crossing.

I went to the museum first to look around and it was actually quite fun to see the exhibits about the history of the Liebig Extraction of Meat Company, inventor's of Bovril and Oxo, and subsequently Anglo, purveyors of Fray Bentos Steak and Kidney Pies! The double-headed calf in formaldehyde was quite cool too! I enjoyed the tour around the factory, even though it was all in Spanish only and a little macabre, but it was a very different way to spend an afternoon, especially as I can now tell all my friends that I have been to Fray Bentos and enjoy the puzzled look on their faces (as I reckon hardly anyone realises that it's the name of a twon in Uruguay, not just a pie!)

After the tour, I had three hours of waiting ahead of my before taking the bus to Carmelo. It passed really quickly: the weather was lovely, I strolled to Fray Bentos Gold Club to be the First to Find a geocache there, my first since June, then to walk along the riverfront with an ice cream at sunset, just people-watching as all the locals were out with friends & family, sipping mate and just whiling away the hours of a Sunday afternoon. Even though my time in was short, I was really touched by the kindness and relaxed nature of the people there. I especially appreciated it, when I arrived in Carmelo at 10.30pm that night that the guard in the port (which was actually closed) let me in to sleep, put the lights on for me and a little gas heater!

Even though it wasn't the most comfortable night of the trip, it passed quite quickly but I was glad when we were finally allowed to start boarding at 3am. Once again, I asked for my passport to be stamped neatly and then found a seat onboard where I could curl up and get in a little bit more shuteye! We arrived in Tigre around 6.30 this morning, from where I took the complimentary shuttle service into the centre of Buenos Aires. It had been a long-winded way of doing things, but a save a little bit of money and a lot of time in the process! So now I'm in my new hostel (as I thought I'd try a new one for my last three nights) and I just have to take the metro to where I stayed before to retrieve my backpack for the last time. Guess I should get some more sleep at some point as well!!!

Ice Ice Baby!

It was great to meet up again with Anh at America del Sur hostel in El Calafate. Admittedly, I'd seen her just one week before, but I was looking forward to spending some quality one-on-one time with her, and in what better a location - PATAGONIA! The views of Lago Argentino that I had seen when flying in were stunning, and it was nowhere near as cold as I had anticipated. Once at the hostel, I was greeted by Federico and Pat, both two absolutely crazy guys, but so friendly and helpful. Fede described all the tour packages to me, and even though I knew it was going to be an expensive few days, I decided what the hell, let's do it all! So, Anh and I booked ourselves up for the following few days and headed off to the supermarket to get provisions for a packed lunch!

We were up really early on Tuesday morning, in order to have enough time fro breakfast, and to put on as many layers of warm clothing as physically possible in preparation for our mini hike on Perito Moreno Glacier. It was a stunning morning and the scenery was fantastic, similar to New Zealand in many ways, but just grander and more impressive. We both slept for most of the bus drive there, especially Anh who had drugged herself up on Mareol (as she suffers from boat sickness), and thus was extremely drowsy. Of course, I couldn't resist waking her up when the first glimpse of the glacier appeared in the valley, and yet again, a few tears tricked down my cheeks!

Once off the bus, we then took a boat across the lake to the refuge, dropped off our bags and once we had had our feet strapped securely into crampons, we were off onto the ice!!! As much as I thoroughly enjoyed my day hike on Franz Josef Glacier in NZ, I could see the PM is in a whole other league... it's massive and the ice is completely blue without dirt, from the start. It was a good job that we had both wrapped up well, as even though the sun was out, the wind was extremely strong and had the potential to chill right to the bone! In fact, there were times when we both thought we would be blown off the glacier!

The views of the area, and of the glacier itself were stunning, and the hike was nice and relaxed, which gave us both time to take a LOT of photos. And I mean a LOT (I thought I was bad, but Anh really is a Happy Snapper!) After our lovely homemade cheese and ham sandwiches overlooking the lake, it was time to take the boat back across to reboard the bus, and then drive to the balconied viewing area. We were once again amazed by the views and were lucky enough to see ice fall from the glacier front - OK, I was so stunned by the scene that I stood there gawping, so astounded that I forgot to take any pictures! We were patient and we were rewarded by another ice fall that I actually managed to capture on video! Back on the bus for the drive home, we both slept and slept... all the fresh air took it out of us (and Anh was stilled feeling the effects of the Mareol!)

Yesterday, we had another early start and set off again into the National Park to see yet more ice... but this time on a leisurely catamaran trip. After embarking, we sailed through some amazing scenery before seeing our first icebergs, so blue it almost seemed unreal. We sailed as close as possible into the Upsala canal, but due to the number of icebergs, it wasn't possible to visit the glacier itself - however, we weren't disappointed as the ice was truly fantastic - I just wanted there to be a polar bear sat out there drinking a bottle of Coke!

Then it was time to sail to Spegazzini Glacier. In order to get a good viewing spot, I went up on deck way before everyone else. In fact, I could have frozen to death if it wasn't for the fact that I went out right to the tip of on of the hulls and huddled down behind the iron! It paid off though, as I had a premium viewing spot (and a really cold nose!) Spegazzini is the tallest glacier in the National Park, completely dwarfed Perito Moreno! As if I hadn't said the word "beautiful" enough by that point, I must have thrown it in another twenty times for good measure. The ice was so high and another glacier came down the mountain side to meet it, just before the water's edge - B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!!!!

Because we couldn't sail up the Upsala channel, we then back to Perito Moreno once more, where we got much closer to the north face once again and saw yet more stunning ice falls. Even though we'd been there the day before, it was still so worth going again. Back at the hostel, after a lot more sleeping on the boat and the bus, we both attempted to work through our photos and to select the best ones to upload. A hard task, given that Anh took DOUBLE the number than from the previous day! Needless to say it was quite late when she finally switched her laptop off last night!!! Last night, we treated ourselves to a slap-up meal as it was our final night together on this trip (until I visit her again in Germany one day, of course!) We went all our and had tenderloin, sirloin steaks and a rack of lamb and in true Argentinian style, it was cooked to perfection. It makes up for all the protein I DIDN'T eat for 3 months in Australia!

Today has been a lazy, relaxing day and we've deserved it after all we crammed in here! A submarino each and huge slice of apple pie to share in a little cafe and then now I'm just waiting to take the shuttle back to the airport. It's a bit sad to be leaving Anh, but to be honest, it's not that bad as I know in my gut we'll see each other again. Another great friendship has been formed, and I know that this is not the end, just the beginning! So, once I'm back in BA, I'm not going to try and make it back to the hostel on public transport, I'll hop straight in a cab and be taken right to the door. I'll just have to get my bag out of storage, and repack my daysack for a weekend in Uruguay! Best get an early night as well, as I need to be up and ready to leave for the port at 7am! Oh well, I'll rest once I am there!!!

Buenos Aires Part Two

Thank goodness, my luck changed for the better after the theft/football disappointments! Well, almost - there was a blip (read on). On Thursday morning, I was up early and checked my emails. It turned out that Fiona, bless her, had hoped to surprise me the day before by coming over to my hostel unannounced! However, she didn't take the address with her, so she spent an hour wandering around San Telmo unable to find my hostel! Anyway, she was free that day, if I wanted to meet her, so I scoffed my cornflakes as quickly as possible, got dressed and left in whirlwind to take the subway to Palermo. I didn't want to try to catch her via eMail again, so I was determined to meet up with her, before she went out for that day.

I arrived at her hostel before she was even out of bed! Phew, I would finally be able to see her face to face, even if I had to wait for her to wake up. 15 minutes later, she emerged in her pyjamas and didn't she get a surprise! It was warm hugs and excited yelps all round, as we had not seen each other since February up in Cairns, Australia! I shared breakfast with her, and so began a day of girlie chats and a lot of catching-up! We headed out to the leather shopping area of Palermo, and I helped her to find a new leather jacket to take home with her. She kept apologising for trying so many different ones on, in so many different shops, but I was genuinely having a great time helping her, it was so much fun. We had a lovely lunch in a local café, and once we'd found the perfect jacket, we treated ourselves to another trip to a café, this time a really quaint one in the back of a bookstore.


We cooked dinner together that night in Fiona's hostel and it was a great end to a great day! I really, really enjoyed myself and it was fantastic to see her. What a difference a year makes - 12 months ago we had never even met, and although we have spent most of this trip doing our own things, we now have a connection of shared and similar experiences. She could see how much I have changed on this trip, and I could see the same in her. I'm looking forward to catching up with her again soon in Ireland!

On Friday, the blip occurred - the laundry had lost a t-shirt (that I was going to bin anyway) and the jumper that I had bought in Melbourne in December. I know it was only £5 and I shouldn't take it back to the UK with me, but I'd grown really fond of it... drat, I had never been robbed and I had never had a problem with my clothes until now. Stupid Buenos Aires! Anyway, I told the hostel so they could sort it out and headed off to the Eva Perón museum. It was beautifully done but I didn´t feel it told me as much about her life as I would have expected. Then, I went off in search of blue and white face paint for the football. Although it was potentially all up in the air, I thought it best to be prepared! I eventually found just the right colours and also hairspray as well!

Back at Tango City, the laundry people came to tell me that they didn't have my clothes because I had never sent them in. Well, I knew for a fact that I had as A) the t-shirt stank and had sweat stains on it from the River Plate match and REALLY needed a wash, and B) I'd been wearing the jumper at breakfast and took it off and put it straight into the laundry bag. Should have known it was going to go wrong as it was really cheap! I insisted that I go with them to the laundromat to check there, not sure what I hoped to accomplish in do so, but never mind! Drat, my clothes were gone and a resolution wasn't forthcoming. I put it to the back of my mind though, as Sandy finally confirmed that night that the football was on and there would be nothing extra to pay, RESULT!!!

Match day had arrived! I was up early, off on the subway in search of some cheap footy shirts! Claire and Laura had agreed to a maximum of 30 pesos each - the first shirts I found were reduced, from 200 to 99, obviously not good enough! I changed tack, hoping to find something in the right colours of sky blue and white, but that was a dead end. I then stumbled across some fake shirts, which for one day would be fine, but they were only available in large. I had been given strict instructions to buy skinny fit ones, but when they turned out to be 30 pesos each, I took and executive decision and bought three (and luckily, the girls were chuffed with them)! I then had enough time to head back to my hostel, shower, get dressed and buy some empanadas for the day ahead before we were on our way to Rosario!

We arrived in Rosario late in the afternoon, which gave us time to stop off at a riverside bar for some free beers, and for me to spray blue and white stripes in my hair, to paint Argentinian flags on my cheeks and then to do so for everybody else on the tour who thought it was brilliant! Then it was time to head to the stadium, a few hours before kick-off, to enable us to get in and find a decent place to stand. Security was tight and we were frisked three times, each time more thoroughly, which we actually found really reassuring. As we climbed the steps up to the highest tier, the stadium was throbbing with the sounds of thousands and thousands of Argentina fans.

The view we were greeted with was unbelievable, a sea of celeste and white, with a tiny, tiny smattering of green and yellow tucked away in one corner - I knew that there would have only been a small quotient of tickets allocated to the Brazil fans, but I was shocked at just how small an area they had been given! We made our way up the terraces and found a decent spot to stand, behind the goal, but high up enough not to have an obstructed view (and not to get peed on by the fans above!!!) I'd been a little apprehensive about have a popular ticket, as opposed to the generally safer and less rowdy platea seating area, but it was surprisingly calm and no problems whatsoever.

There was a fair bit of waiting involved then as we had entered the stadium so early, but as it turned out it was for the best as apparently 3,000 fans with tickets had to be turned away from the gates later on as the ground was at full capacity (therefore a lot of people with fake tickets had managed to get in unscathed!) Crikey, I can't imagine what I would have done if I had been turned away with my valid ticket!!! It was great fun to see some of the teams' stars warming up and doing a few walks around the pitch, and of course, we all grabbed our camera, zoomed in as much as possible and snapped away like crazy as soon as Maradona emerged. (He's still a dirty, cheating little twerp who never knows when to keep his trap shut though!!!) Then there was national anthems, balloons, ticker tape and multi-coloured smoke for the opening ceremony and the vibe was amazing!

The match itself was great entertainment, but maybe you know that unfortunately Argentina lost! Shame really, as it would have been even better to have been there supporting the winning team. It seemed that they had more possession and were working harder than Brazil, but they lacked their northern neighbours' flair and panache - and let in all their goals from free kicks. Schoolboy errors really! The Brazil side seemed to be much dirtier players and loved to showboat - Number 9 had real difficulty keeping vertical, I swear he spent most of the match on the turf! After the game was over, without any incidents either, we had to wait for the Brazil fans to leave first. It was very well policed and the opposing supporters were kept away from each other at all time. Once back on the minibus around midnight, we all dozed off pretty quickly, before arriving back in BA at 5am. It was a long, but amazing day!

Yesterday, I was due a day of rest, especially as it was practically daylight before I got to bed! However, true to form, I was up and about reasonably early and decided to visit Recoleta Cemetery, one of Buenos Aires' most famous landmarks. When the guide books describe it as a city, just were all the inhabitants are dead, they're not kidding! There are no traditional graves as in the UK, but rows and rows of family mausoleums and vaults, and some of the stonework is amazing. This is where the elite and rich of Buenos Aires are entombed, and I've never quite seen anything like it before. Of course, a visit to Evita's tomb was a must!

Later, I met up with Claire, Laura and Darren (UK) for lunch in Plaza Dorrego, we wandered around the San Telmo Sunday markets and found a great little ice cream shop that was really cheap and had at least 40 different flavours. I settled for ¼ kilo of cognac with raisins, coconut cream and chocolate with marachino cherries... when I ordered it in Spanish, it wasn't a simple sentence, but a paragraph!!! That night, I packed my bags ready to leave my backpack in the hostel's storage and to just take a daysack to Patagonia. I just about managed to squeeze all my warm clothing into it!

So, now I am at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery, the domestic airport, waiting to board my flight to El Calafate. Today should have been a breeze, as I was super organised upon leaving the hostel this morning and had loads of time to get here. After breakfast, I went to the port to purchase a ferry ticket to Uruguay for Friday, had time to enjoy some empanadas for lunch and then still had eons to make it to the terminal. Of course, despite taxis being very cheap here, I wanted to take the subway to the bus terminal (17p) and then a bus to the airport (20p). Once at the terminal though, I couldn't find the bus I needed to take and there seemed to be a protest going on somewhere (but of course!), so I didn't want to risk a bus in traffic.

So, would you believe it, I couldn't then find a taxi anywhere so I spent a good half an hour, if not more, pacing around Retiro hoping that eventually I would find a taxi and getting stuck in the middle of patches of concrete between really busy lanes of traffic. I did spot a taxi at one point and was about to get in, when a little alarm went off in my head, as some taxis are supposed to be dodgy around the bus station. I don't know why, but my gut made me walk away from the car. T one point, I pocketed a rock, just in case I did and up in a dodgy cab, because by this time, there was no chance of a bus getting me there on time!

Anyway, in the end it all worked out fine, but I'm still of on my crazy capers after all this time away, you'd think I would have learned by now! Once in a taxi, with a lovely reliable driver, I did get there with plenty of time to spare, so now I'm off to the departure lounge to chill out with my book. I'm reading Atlas Shrugged, it is huge and the writing is tine, but I am completely gripped, everyone should read it! Soon, I'll be back in the sky and this evening in a cosy hostel... with Anh!!! Yippee, this is going to be a great week!

S**tember

It was all going so well wasn't it? Well, no amount of touching wood could save Intrepid Traveller Emma from the curse of the backpacker! Intrigued? Read on...

It was another grey day on Tuesday and it was really cold! After returning to Aerolineas Argentina to pay for my flights first thing, I met Claire and Laura and we headed back to the mall (that I didn't actually end up exploring the day before!). After lunch, we decided to visit the zoo, which was fun, but I felt it was a bit neglected and needed a lot of love. Plus, it was quite warm in my hostel that morning, so I'd gone out without my coat and thus I was absolutely freezing! Luckily, the girls had enough spare clothing to help limit the damage!

There were some extremely funny moments in the zoo though! I can't elaborate too much, as this is a family-friendly blog, but I had told Claire a tale about a male baboon I had seen on a documentary and how he was fascinated and subsequently disappointed with a certain part of his anatomy! She seemed to look at me with incredulity but was amused by my tale nonetheless. Imagine my absolute satisfaction when within minutes of approaching the baboon enclosure, a large male replicated the exact same behaviour I'd seen on TV just metres away from us! We were in stitches, and I was glad that Claire could see I wasn't a strange weirdo that made up bizarre tales about wild animals! In fact, the baboons were so fascinating that we probably spent more time watching them that might be considered healthy!

I was due to meet Anh for her last night in Buenos Aires that night, so I needed to head over to her hostel. We all boarded the subway, but because it was rush hour, it was absolutely rammed. It was quite amusing as we has to pile in and I couldn't see Claire as she was wedged in behind other people, so I spent most of the journey giggling and chatting away to Laura about it all! I said my goodbyes a few stops later, as I had to change lines to get to Anh's, and stepped out onto the platform.

Then I looked down...

The zips of my handbag were open and my heart stopped beating. Then it started again, but way too fast and up in my throat. S**t, s**t, s**t... On September 1st, I had been pick-pocketed. I checked through the bag and my little cash purse had gone, but NOT my phone, camera or main purse with my cards in, which had a large amount of cash in for the rest of the week. Thank goodness not much had gone, but I was gutted that after all this time, I became one of those backpacking statistics. So, I looked back at the closing doors of the train, knowing that it was impossible to get back on and tell the girls. I saw the woman who had been stood next to me, so I decided to chase after her and demand my money back. I had no proof it was her, but from where she was stood, it probably was. Of course, she denied it. I stood there like an idiot not knowing what to do, so I chased after her again and asked to see her pockets (all in English, even though she only knew Spanish). Well, I couldn't strip search her could I, so I just had to let her go, not knowing if it was her or not...

I guessed it served me right, because I was with friends, I wasn't paying enough attention, especially on such a crowded train. I served me right as I had been going on for days how I hadn't had any bad experiences and I was determined to get home unscathed. It served me right as I went out with my handbag for the first time in weeks instead of stuffing my money into my bra as usual. It served me right as I felt a bit of movement near my bag on the train, but I didn't actually look down to check it... blah blah blah.

So, instead of changing trains and heading to Anh's, I really just wanted to go home, so I boarded the next one back to the hostel. I met up with Claire and Laura again and told them all about it, I was reeling. Then, if things couldn't get any worse, I asked Sandy, the guy at their hostel, about the football tickets: "So, you´ll be getting our tickets tomorrow, won´t you?" I quipped. "Erm, about that..." As if my heart couldn't sink any lower. To cut a LONG story short, the agency that had sold the package to us hadn't sold enough and therefore wouldn't cover their costs by buying the pack of tickets that they had access to. The manager was going to try to buy the exact number needed but there was no guarantee he could do this and so it was possible there would be no ticket, or it would end up being significantly more expensive.

Of course, I tried to formulate a back-up plan, but on one day before the on-sale date, my options were limited. My hostel had told me that morning that they were definitely getting tickets but they wouldn't be selling them until they knew exactly how many they had and how much they would cost. I knew it was too good to be true when I paid my money last Saturday and for such a good price. Anyway, I found out that I couldn't get a refund unless there was no ticket (meaning that I would potentially had to pay a lot more extra). Needless to say, I didn't sleep very well that night!

Today was yet another grey, rainy day. I had wanted to meet Fiona for lunch, but with the whole football situation in the balance, I didn't want to leave San Telmo until I had a definite answer about the tickets. I spent the day going over to the girls' hostel to pester them. Of course, they couldn't give me any definite answers as everyone was in the same boat. I managed to put my laundry in to my hostel and then I had a haircut, but that was as constructive as it got all day! At 10pm, Sandy told me that it was looking 95% sure that we'd get our tickets, but he still couldn't confirm it for definite. To be honest, by this point, I had reached a weird calm place of acceptance - I was resigned to the outcome, whatever happened as at least I had made an effort to get a ticket. Realistically, I would be very lucky if I did as thousands of other people would be trying to do the same thing. Also, I'm still peeved about my purse, but there wasn't much money in it and it could have been much worse if my other things had been taken as well. So, the last 24 hours has been pretty crap, but I'm over it now - yes, I was horribly stressed last night, but in the past, that level of anxiety would last for days, if not weeks. As the end draws near, I really am noticing just how much I've changed. Let's just hope the rest of September improves!!!

Buenos Aires

In true Emma style, I did indeed meet Anh last Thursday for lunch AND bid on the patches on eBay, but I had to rush off before my sandwich had even arrived to find an Internet cafe to do so, leaving Anh abandoned in the plaza! Anyway, I am now the proud owner of one Fiji patch and one Paraguay patch, both purchased from a guy in Stoke... UK! 3 days later, I of course found a Paraguay one in a shop here. Well, the one off eBay is better, so there!

When I finally ran back to Anh, my sandwich (that I had gone to great lengths to order hot) was cold, but luckily still pretty delicious! It was beautifully sunny afternoon, and she was soon swept up from the table by a gentleman, with whom she impressively danced a little tango with. It was so romantic, until he came round to our table moments later with an upturned hat for tips! Oh well! That evening, we met up with Jess & Lizzie (UK) who Anh had met in Bolivia, and some other guys who they had met also along the way, in typical backpacker style! It soon became clear that BA is a city that never sleeps and that most things start later, and finish much, much later! We went out for dinner at an All-You-Can-Eat buffet, my first one ever, as I have always been a bit skeptical of them. Yes, I know you can eat all you want, but I've always thought that they cost more than I would usually spend on a meal, regardless that I could fill my face unendlessly! I was pleased to find that it was a very reasonable £3.50 - and that was including dessert as well!

After steak, veg, rice, salad, stir fry, bananas, peaches, bananas, peaches, creme caramel, we chatted away for a good while without being shuffled out of the restaurant and then when it was sufficiently late enough, we took a taxi to a milonga (tango dancehall) that Anh had recommended to her. We all thought it was hilarious when, as there were no free seats left around the edges of the hall), we were escorted to a table on the stage at the end of the room, metres above the dancers and everyone else! We didn't realise we would be starring in our own "Spot The Gringo" show!!! I thought that I should see some tango whilst in BA, even though I am not a huge fan of formal dancing, but I was really pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed watching the dancers. The bottle of bubbly that I shared with Jess & Lizzie went down a treat too! I think I eventually went to bed around 3am - way, way, WAY past my usual bedtime!

Friday was a lazy day, the weather was still great, so I strolled along the waterside at Puerto Madero and later people-watched in Plaza de Mayo, near the palace where Eva Perón made her famous address to the public. The late night (coupled with the long bus ride from Paraguay) had taken its toll and a good nap was required that afternoon! Later on, I went out with Anh to watch the Tango World Cup, but unfortunately, we didn't arrive early enough and after standing in the queue for 2 hours, we abandoned our chances of actually getting in and went for pizza instead!

On Saturday, I knew I had to actually be constructive and make an effort to buy a football ticket for ARG vs BRA. I went to Tangol, the main tour agency in BA who are recommended in most guide books. I wasn't quite prepared to be turned away immediately with "We have sold all our tickets, sorry." I was stunned, I had convinced myself that as they weren't even on sale yet, that such a big agency would simply be able to get hold of any number they required. That really put me in a quandary as I was annoyed at myself for being too laid back about it all! Drat, drat, drat! The rest of the day then involved me stressing about leaving it too late, then finding out that Claire & Laura were in a hostel around the corner for me and had bought tickets through them at a great price, then trying to zoom over to meet them to get one for me, then arranging to meet Anh & the gang there in a while so that we could all head into La Boca together!

It didn't quite go that smoothly: I went to the girls' hostel and asked about the tickets. I was wary of such a good price, but they 100% guaranteed that the football agency they used would definitely get tickets and if there were any problems whatsoever, (which there wouldn't be, of course) I would get a full refund. Phew! So I handed over the cash and then headed back to my hostel to meet Anh, Jess & Lizzie. Turns out I had missed them by 5 mins and they had gone straight int La Boca. We had got our wires crossed - I had said that if I wasn't there when I arrived, that I would be at the other hostel, meaning "Wait for me until I get back" not "If I am not there, then I've gone somewhere else!!" Anyway, I went back to yet another hostel round the corner, where I had just helped Paige (Australia) who'd I'd met at lunch, to move her bags across the city!

We decided to take a bus ourselves into La Boca, but we wandered the wrong way out of the hostel, in the opposite direction to the bus stop! Then, because I was chatting so much, I wasn't paying attention to the map and kept missing the turns into the area. By the time we made it to the start of La Boca, it was dusk and we were headed down a dead-end behind the football stadium. Not a clever place to be in Buenos Aires. I didn't feel threatened at all, but I thought that maybe this wasn't the best idea I had ever had and to go home, rather than put myself in a risky situation. We managed to find the bus stop home but then of course there was trouble as we didn't have the exact change and the bus driver just ranted on and on at us in fast Argentinian Spanish, that neither of us fully understood.

Finally, a local girl helped us ans we managed to put the right coins into the ticket machine. That really annoyed me - my first impressions of BA hadn't been so great up to that point as I felt that most people were much less friendly than everywhere else in South America, it is a city coated in dog poo and burst refuse sacks on every street corner... and I find it impossible to under the Spanish here. Anyway, I agreed to meet Paige later for dinner. Ideally, I just wanted a light snack as I felt bad about eating every meal since I had arrived in a restaurant. I should have just been more direct about it, but in the end I went to an open air restaurant, where I ordered the cheapest set meal that was the worse thing I have eaten in South America - bolognese sauce that had no meat and was creamy and/or cheesy instead of tomatoey, finished off with the worst creme caramel ever - plastic with burnt sauce. Really, I need to be more direct and not settle for things because I don't have the nerve to complain. That night, when I went to bed at gone 1am, I felt like there was molten lead at the pit of my stomach.

Sunday was a much better day! I went to see River Plate versus Chacarita and the weather was unbelievable, so hot and sunny that we really couldn't have asked for anything better, except we were all a bit too warmly dressed and had no shade! The match was a cracker, River Plate were up in the first half, although Chacarita equalized! In the second half, River seemed to be faffing around a bit and not making enough of an effort, but luckily once Chacarita took the lead, it seemed to prompt them into action, resulting in a nail-biting equalizer and then an amazing winning goal, so there cheers and screams all round from Gringo Corner!!!

Unfortunately, the weather took a turn for the worse on today - it was really cold and it heaved it down for most of the day. As a result, my planned trip to the cemetery in Recoleta was shelved and the gang agreed to hit the shopping malls and the cinema instead! In the morning, I looked at the cost of flights down to El Calafate in Patagonia and found them to be pretty damn reasonable - then when I found out that Anh would also be there at the time I planned to go, my decision to book was sealed! It was an easy online process, but I had to pay in person at a branch of Aerolineas Argentina. So, what should have been an easy trip to the mall ensued as follows:

- Take subway to airline office, arrange to meet girls in the mall at 12.30pm
- Arrive at office, had to queue to ask where to pay
- Told to take ticket and queue AGAIN (luckily, I'd picked up a ticket when I went in!)
- Getting short on time, but luckily got to front of queue, got the information so I could return with the money tomorrow.
- Back to subway station, right on schedule to meet the girls.
- Drat it! The service was interrupted! Texted Anh to warn her I would be late.
- Subway started, only 10 mins late but just missed Anh - she'd taken a taxi to buy (more) tango shoes!
- Went to Internet cafe to kill time until 2pm when everyone would be back at the mall!
- Finally met Anh, went to the cinema but we got the times wrong, so abandoned the plan and had lunch instead!!!

It is so difficult to co-ordinate when there are more than 2 people, and because there were 5 of us, we all ended up spread over Buenos Aires! However, I did make it back to Anh's hostel in time to meet Jessie and Lizzie, so we could head out to La Bomba del Tiempo in the evening! It is a Latin American drum show that is performed every Monday night, and it had been recommended to me by Rachel from The Galápagos, but I couldn't find the venue online. When Jess mentioned it that morning, I was committed, even though it meant turning down a free ticket to the Tango World Cup Finals!!! I made the right choice though, as it was absolutely amazing, 3 solid hours of beats, including a guy (like a cross between Freddie Mercury, Derren Brown and Orlando Bloom) who was so into the music that he was fascinating to watch! Even after an encore, I managed to make the last subway home! So, I back in the hostel feeling pretty great and enjoying Buenos Aires - but tomorrow is September, and the Month of Return will arrive... not long to go now!

My Last Overnight Bus (I Hope!)

After you last heard from me on Tuesday afternoon, I finally took it easy for my last few hours in Encarnación. I enjoyed some delicious barbecued chicken at Daniel's house and then we went to a little ice-cream parlour for dessert. It was amazing, basically a self-serve ice-cream buffet by weight!!! Daniel handed me a generously sized tub and I was free to fill it with vanilla, dulce de leche, chocolate, white chocolate and rum 'n' raisin! I can't describe the joy of using a proper metal scoop to cram the icy spheres into the tub, and so cheap as well - I was gutted that I didn't know about this place on my first day in Paraguay... but then again, I would have needed to go to the casa de cambio even more times!!!

After a spot of people-watching in the plaza, we collected my bags and headed to the bus terminal. The bus arrived pretty much on time and I was soon on board and off back towards the border. Now, I was originally going to go back to Posadas by myself that morning, but decided against it due to the ticket being cheaper to Buenos Aires from Encarnción. Now, that saved me £12 or so, but Daniel warned me that it would take a couple of hours to clear immigration this way. He wasn't wrong!!! Admittedly, it wasn't a difficult proceedure, but there was a lot of waiting around. At the Paraguay side, a guy from the bus company took all the ID cards from the other passengers, and my passport (the only one!) and disappeared off into immigration. What seemed like an age later, he returned them all to us, much to my great relief - I knew that my passport wouldn't get lost, but I always feel better when I have it on my person and am dealing with it directly! We then crossed the bridge to Argentina. This time, we had to disembark and hand over our documents in person.

Now, this is the 3rd time I have crossed into Argentina, and with all the other stamps from this trip, there's not actually much room left in my passport! With another 7 years before it expires, I'd rather not have to buy another one before then because it is completely full. Imagine my annoyance when the official's first attempt at a stamp was too faint to read, so rather than stamp a clearer one OVER it, he stamped one NEXT to it, using up even more space!!! He then said something to me in Spanish which I didn't understand, so another lady had to explain that they would return my passport to me later and I had to follow the rest of the queue.

Once I was x-rayed, I then had to wait for ages more for everyone to clear immigration and for the bus to collect us. At this point, I still hadn't had my passport returned to me, so I was still on edge. As people started to re-board the bus, I decided to go back into the office to ask where my passport was. I think they said I would get it back on the bus... but I wasn't sure, so I asked the conductor... To my relief, we were all given our documents back as we set off again, at last making some progress towards our final destination! That was until we made a rest stop just a few minutes later!

I really needed the loo by this point, so my first priority was to locate the bathroom. I asked the conductor (again) how much time we would be spending there, as every bus journey differs. He said something like "go and eat" so I just blankly stared back... He signalled for me to follow the others, and after quickly nipping to the bathroom, I followed the entire busload into a restaurant, where we were all seated at tables and served with a hot meal of chicken with rice, bread rolls and dessert, plus Coke, Sprite, wine and beer! This was the first time this had happened in my entire trip, so of course I was scared that there would be some charge, but is seemed that everybody else on the bus was doing the same. I just went along with it, smiling to myself how funny my experiences in South America have been!

Once fed and watered, and 3 hours after I had boarded the bus, we finally set off properly into Argentina. I had been told the journey would take 12 hours, and I now realised that it would, from this point onwards, so really it was 15 hours from door-to-door!!! Oh well, I would still reach BA at a reasonable time in the morning. After a short time, we made a stop for the local police to come and inspect the bus. I'd forgotten just how routine this is in Argentina, but of course, I was relaxed about it as it is all part of the process here. Until... the conductor came upstairs and gestured for me to get off the bus. I swear my blood ran cold for a few seconds. "Me?" I inquired sheepishly, while he continued to babble on in Spanish that I couldn't make head nor tail of! I grabbed my daysack and headed outside, where I saw a police guard inside the bus's hold, with my backpack. Both he and the conductor asked me questions, to which I could only tell them that I didn't speak much Spanish and I didn't understand!

How did he know that was my backpack? What was the problem? Were they going to search it and empty out all the contents, meaning that the bus would have to be delayed by an hour while I reassembled it??? Crikey, only 3 weeks to go, please don't all go horribly wrong now!!! Anyway, another guard appeared, they all looked at each other then let me reboard. "¿Esta bien?" I asked, stunned that everything seemed to be in order anyway and still wondering what on Earth they had taken me off the bus for! I spent a good few minutes quietly quaking in my seat as we drove away, hoping to goodness everything was indeed OK and realising that I would never have any idea as to what had just happened! I can only surmise that they could see from the bus's manifesto that I was the only non-Paraguayan/Argentinian on the bus and they wanted to give me a once over! Thank goodness I managed to get a fair amount of sleep!

That was until this morning when at something past 6am, the guy opposite me thought it would be acceptable to play awful music on his mobile phone, but not without using headphones like any normal human being! After 10 minutes, he seemed to get bored and turned it off, allowing me to drop off again... until the driver then put a video of cowboys or gauchos or somebody bucking around on broncos and bulls, all to horrendous mariachi music! All this and the sun was barely up! All I could do was bear it as we made the slow crawl through the traffic into the centre of Buenos Aires! I finally arrived into Retiro terminal at 9.45am and headed off to find tourist information to ask which bus I would need to take to my hostel. Unfortunately, there was no one in the office, so after standing around for too long looking like a lost tourist, I headed out to the local bus depot, asked a guy in a uniform for assistance and was guided in the right direction.

It was easier for me to ask to go to Plaza de Mayo, rather than my hostel directly, and luckily, because the traffic was slow, I was able to follow the route on my map. Once at the plaza, I had my exact bearings, but I then needed to walk for another ¾km on foot through the city to the hostel. Through traffic lights, parades, road-works and protests, I thought to myself just how much I enjoy travelling, but just how much I am in need of a good rest! Only in South America! Welcome to Buenos Aires! Anyway, I checked in and asked if which room my friend Anh was in. The receptionist just gave me the key to my room, so I dropped off my bags and went back to ask her where Anh might be. "She's in your room!" Oh I see, she'd put me in the same dorm, but there was no-one in there! I headed down to the computers to write Anh an email, when I heard a familiar voice behind me - it was her and so there were joyous shrieks all round! Turns out she was taking a nap in the dorm, I had walked in and put my bags on the bunk directly above her before walking out again! She came looking for me as she thought "That backpack looks familiar!" Anyway, she's now nipped out for a tango lesson, but we are meeting for lucnh in a few minutes! It will be great to catch up properly, but we have to eat quickly, as I need to be back online at 3pm to bid on eBay...

...for a Paraguay patch of course, I will have to order it from England as I sure as hell can't find one in South America!

Popping Into Paraguay

Off I set early on Monday morning from Posadas, on my way to Country Number Seventeen - PARAGUAY! The bus stop for the Posadas - Encarnación bus was really close to my hotel, so I didn't have far to walk with all my luggage! Luckily enough, when the bus arrived, it wasn't very full and there was no difficult turnstile, like in Brazil, to negociate! Soon though, the bus became full and when we reached the border to get our Argentinian exit stamps, I have never seen such a chaotic disembarking before! Everybody zoomed of the bus, pushing each other out of the way so that they could be stamped out and then re-board the same bus! Bedlam! I found it really amusing until we all tried to re-embark: it just so happened that I was stood right next to the bus door when it pulled up along side us, but everyone pushed me out of the way, even though it was clearly difficult for me to manoeuvre with all my belongings! I got on in the end, but was stunned that the people simply didn't let me board and thus be out of their way!

The same thing occurred at Paraguayian immigration, but I decided to let the hoards pass, I had gained hour by crossing the border, so there was no rush! I had to queue for a while to see an official, who then made me wait longer after looking at my passport. I was calm, as border crossings are now second nature to me, but I did have a tiny feeling of apprehension - I was 99.9% sure that I didn't require a visa as a British citizen, but I was relieved when a different offical took my passport, typed something into her computer then returned it to me, complete with a new stamp! Woohoo! As it happened, the next bus arrived just moments later and there was no mad rush to reboard! Once in the centre of Encarnación, I found a hotel, changed my remaining Brazilian money into Guaraníes and headed off in search of a Paraguayan flag patch for my collection.

Yikes, I thought this would be a difficult task, and I wasn't wrong! I tried a few different stores to no avail, and and then thought that maybe a sports shop could help. There, I met Daniel, a local who spoke some English and so could translate to the store owner for me. No luck again, but Daniel then very kindly offered to help my with my search! Off we went in his pick-up truck to haberdashers and many other shops, but no one could help. He took me back to my hotel, where, as it happened, he was friends with the guy on reception and then he tried to help make suggestions about where I could find a patch! By that point, I needed to rest, so I arranged to meet Daniel again later that evening, so he could show my some more of the town. However, me being me, I couldn't settle so I set off again on foot to trawl the market on my quest!

Once again, not a single soul could help - luckily, by now, my Spanish is just about good enough to get my point across and then politely decline when I am offered a huge flag or a metre of ribbon in the Paraguayan colours! No, it isn't good enough mçfor me to cut it to size, it's ribbon, not a patch! I then ended up walking a really long way past my hotel, but my excellent sense of direction enabled me to eventually make it back there! I met Daniel again and we had a look around the town. I was interested in buying another memory card or flash drive as electronics are cheap here, plus I don't have enough space for the remaining few weeks of the trip! I could buy a 4Gb pern drive for 70,000 guaranís, about £9. Hmmm, I would need to think about it and get out some more cash anyway. I planned to visit the nearby Jesuit ruins at Trindad and Jesús the next day, and Daniel seemed to want to accompany me. However, I had no idea what time I would be setting off in the morning, so I didn't want to commit to a time. He bid me goodnight and wished me well.

Yesterday morning, as usual, I was awake early, so I showered and headed off towards the bus terminal. However, Daniel was waiting outside for me! I would have been wuite happy to go by myself, but he was quite keen to come too! Oh well, at least it would be easier to go by car! However, I soon realised that he was going to take the bus as well! I said that it would be better by car and that I thought that was what he wanted to do anyway. So, the rest of the day progressed as follows:

- Collected his truck from outside his friend's store.
- Stopped by his mother's shop.
- Find out that he can't drive the truck outside of the city as it is not registered in his name.
- Re-park truck outside his friend's store!
- Walk back to terminal and board next bus to Trinidad.
- Have found the world's slowest bus EVER and wonder how many hours it will take to cover 30km!
- Make it to the ruins at Trinidad, take photos and wait for bus to Jesús.
- Take bus to next ruins, take photos and catch return to Trindad within an hour.
- Arrive in Trindad and immediately re-board bus to Encarnación.

By the time I arrived back at my hostel at 3.30pm, I was shattered, but I still needed to decide what to do about the memory card/flas drive situation. So, I found a shop nearby that sold a 4Gb SD card 75,000. Not bad. OK, I had 10,000 guaranís left which was enough for food and internet, but I would need an ATM to get money for my hotel and the SD card. So...

- Walked to supermarket, got bread and cheese.
- Found ATM but it wanted to charge me 25,000 in fees (over £3!) NO CHANCE!
- Found another ATM but it wanted to charge me 25,000 in fees. SERIOUSLY, NO WAY!
- Returned to hotel to raid emergency stash of US dollars.
- Found a different shop where a 4Gb pen drive was only 50,000 guaranís! Bonus!
- Changed USD $25 and just 5 Argentinian pesos so O had the exact money for the hotel and pen drive.
- Bought pen drive, made sandwiches.
- Tested pen drive in an internet café, but it didn´t work (of course, because I had bought it from a cheapy-cheapy shop!)
- Ran back to shop to get a refund, but shop closed!
- Stressed about what to do as had to check out by 10am the next morning, get a refund and hang around until the evening for my bus to Buenos Aires, with nothing to do in Encarnación!

I tell you, it is a good job that I will home in 22 days (YIKES!) so that I can stop running around foreign towns like a headless chicken on my stupid schemes! After barely getting a wink of sleep last night, compounded by a dripping cistern, I decided to get up early and somehow contact Daniel in order to ask him to help me sort out the refund! The usual guy on reception wasn't there, so he couldn't call him for me. I didn't have enough money left for the internet to send him a message either, so I set off on auto-pilot hoping that I would somehow find his mother's shop again! By some miracle, even though I had a rough idea where it was, i found it, managed to ask her to call Daniel and he came along a few minutes later! Phew!

So, this morning, I have, with Daniel's help:

- Taken the dodgy pen drive back to the dodgy store run by dodgy Moroccans
- Insisted on a full refund, which was granted, albeit begrudgingly.
- Changed $5 more at the casa de cambio (they must think I am an idiot!)
- Bought genuine Panasonic CD memory card and it works!
- Bought a bus ticket to Buenos Aires direct from Encarnacíon, which works out £12 cheaper than if I crossed the border myself and caught it in Posadas!
- Checked out of the hotel and dropped off my bags at Daniel's house.
- Got just enough money left to exactly pay for the time it has taken me to write this blog entry!

So, for the rest of the afternoon I am going to hang out with Daniel until I am due at the terminal at 5.30pm. It is supposed to be a 12 hour journey to BA from Posadas once border formalities are completed, so I hope to arrive some time before nightfall on Thursday!!! I decided to go directly to BA now, as I thought it would be easier to organise a football ticket there, plus Anh, Laura, Claire and Fiona (who I started travelling with) will all be there this week! That will give me exactly 3 weeks to see the match, explore BA and pop into Uruguay as well. Well, 18 is a much nicer number than 17!!!

Iguazú Falls - Both Sides!

Well, it was supposed to be a 22-hour bus journey from Rio, but it turned out to be 25!!! It was a very comfortable bus though, with plenty of stops, so it wasn't unpleasant, just really boring by the end of it! Of course, the air conditioning was on full blast throughout the entire trip, and although I had a jumper with me, I was still in beach mode and hadn't wrapped up well enough! I had to resort to extracting my Bolivian cardie and Peruvian legwarmers out of my daysack, which had been parcelled up since May!

Once I arrived in Foz do Iguaçú, the town on the Brazilian side of the falls, I was given a flyer for Hostel Bambu (Brazil). I didn't have any better plans, so i thought I would check it out, especially as I could take a local bus right there from the terminal. I wasn't disappointed as the staff were friendly and it was nice and clean! That evening, I had just enough energy for a McDonalds (I know, but sometimes it's the only thing that will do!) and to chat to the girls in my dorm, Laura and Claire (UK). I had a dilemma about what order to do things in, i.e. Brazil side, Paraguay, Argentinian side, or Paraguay last? Everyone was telling me not to bother with Paraguay, but you know me: another flag, another set of passport stamps, another boxed ticked!!! Of course, it all depended on the weather as well. When I arrived on Thursday afternoon, it looked like the week's rain was finally ending and the sun came out. I crossed my fingers and hoped that the forecast of two days of sun was right...

On Friday morning, I got up early and the sun was indeed out! I had a great breakfast at the hostel, procrastinated a bit more witrh Laura and Claire, then got a wind of inspiration and checked out! Soon, I was off on a bus to the falls, bought my entrance ticket and took the park bus to the start of the walking trail. Most of the cataracts are on the Argentinian side of Iguazú Falls, as are most of the attractions, but by visiting the Brazilian side, you get the best panaoramic views of the whole area. After a few moments of walking, I got my first glimpse of the famous falls. No prizes for guessing what happened next...

Yes, of course, Emma cried again!!! I swear, it is one of the most impressive things I have ever seen and it was truly spectacular, and I was so glad I was lucky enough to see it in the sunshine, especially in the morning when the sun was shining in the right direction for my photos as well! The walk took an hour or so and ended right next to the main falls on the Brazilian side, and of course I got quite wet from all the spray! I had come prepared though with only shorts and flip flops (to minimise wet clothing) and my rain mac! By the time I got back to the hostel around lunchtime, I was practically dry again!

It was then all systems go as I went into auto-pilot: instead of over-thinking my next moves as per usual, I collected my bags from the hostel and jumped on the next bus to the Argentinian border, to make the most of the good weather! It was really easy to get stamped out of Brazil and all I had to do then was wait for the next bus across the bridge into Puerto Iguazú. The sun was shining, and I was in a great mood... even when the next bus came and then promptly drove passed! Yikes, stranded in No Man's Land!!! I think the driver thought I was getting into a taxi with two other ladies that were there, but in the end it didn't matter as my ticket to continue over the border was valid for a different company! 20 minutes later, the next bus came and took me over to Argentinian immigration. Another easy process, another stamp in the passport, and I was back on the bus again, off to Hostel Bambu (Argentina).

Once I had settled in and found a cash machine that actually accepted my card, I walked along the river to Tres Fronteras, an area where you can see across the water to both Brazil and Paraguay. I'd had a great day, but I think all the travelling and excitement had taken it out of me, so after I'd made a bit of pasta, I headed to bed with my book for an early night! Good job, as I was up bright and early on Saturday morning, showered and breakfasted and at the Argentinian side by 9am!!! There was much more to see on this side, and my goodness, did I cram it all in:

- Took train then walked to Garganta del Diablo, poncho required!
- Took train then walked around the Upper Circuit
- Walked around the Lower Circuit and decided to take the boat ride then rather than return later
- Wore rain mac AND poncho but still got absolutely soaked through in the boat!
- Had packed lunch whilst trying to avoid being mobbed by coatis and bees!
- Took train to park entrance then walked along the Macuco Trail
- Walked 3 kms in 30 mins, saw Salto Arrecha and then paced it back again!
- Took train back to Garganta del Diablo again to take more pics now that the sun had moved
- Ran back to train station to catch next train back to the park entrance
- After a full 8 hours, took bus back to the hostel!

Admittedly, I didn't cry on this side of the falls, but I think that was because I had already seen them the day before, but it was still amazing to see them up close. I certainly had an emotional day though, as I laughed so loud and heartily on the boat trip - when we sailed close to some of the cataracts, I couldn't even see them as the spray was so dense and I couldn't keep my eyes open!!! Even though I was swathed in plastic, I got so wet that I was only dry again after I had completed the Macuco Trail! Luckily enough though, my top half stayed reasonably dry, so it wasn't too uncomfortable!

Yesterday morning, I was not sure what my next moves would be. I was desperately trying to find out how to buy a ticket for the World Cup qualifier between Argentina and Brazil, to be played on September 5th in Rosario. Now, I don't really like football, but before the start of this trip, I said to myself that it would be great to see either the Brazilian or Argentinian national team play. When I found out that they would be playing each other, and while I am in South America, I knew this would be an opportunity not to be missed! However, the tickets don't go on slae until 3 days before the match and then I would need to queue for HOURS at the stadium, with no guarantee that I would even get a ticket. The alternative is to book through an agency, but then the price increases tenfold...

Anyway, after trying to find this information online, with little success, the I decided to make a move towards Paraguay and the girl at the hostel told me the next bus to Posadas, by the the border, left in 20 minutes time. So, I grabbed all my bags and dashed to the bus terminal, and bought a ticket with minutes to spare! 6 hours later, I arrived in Posadas, found a hotel and crashed for the night! This morning, I got up early to find a travel agency to ask about buying a football ticket. At last, they were ble to give me the information about the on-sale date, but if I bought a ticket through them, they couldn't confirm (at that stage) where I would be able to collect the ticket - Buenos Aires or Rosario! At least I knew that nobody had a ticket as yet and in theory, any agency would be able to get on for me, so maybe it would be best to head to BA or Rosario first and make enquiries there.

Anyway, I'm now all checked out of my hotel and ready to take the local bus over the Paraguayan border to Encarnación... another country, another set of stamps for my passport!

I ♥ Rio

Oh my goodness, what a city! I went for a few days and stayed for over two weeks! When you last heard from me, I was still recovering from the Cartagena incident and all the travelling required to make it over to Rio, and I was due for a rest... so that's exactly what I did!

The Rio city was tour was great and took in all the main sights. In the morning, we walked up Morro da Urca, the smaller mountain adjacent to Sugar Loaf. Luckily, it wasn't too long a walk as it was quite steep in parts and most of the group didn't have much energy for it! Once at the top, we then toke the cable car across to the main attraction and it didn't disappoint - the views from the summit over Rio were amazing! It was then time to head to Lapa to visit Escadaria Selarón, the famous tiled steps created by a Chilean artist, before stopping at a restaurant for lunch.

As always on tours like this, it was over-priced (for my budget anyway) and we spent way too long there, but eventually, it was time to head through Santa Teresa to Corcovado, the highest peak in rio and home of Cristo Redentor! We arrived in time for sunset and of course it was incredibly busy! The views, this time looking towards Sugar Loaf, were again amazing, and a girl form the tour very patiently took a photo of me with the statue in the background... without other random people in it! It took quite a while and a few attempts, but we got there in the end! The bus then took us back to our hostels and I just had enough time to run up the hill to Casa Carioka (ouch!), change my clothes and run back down the hill (ouch!) to take another tour to the Maracaná!!!

The game was great fun - even though the stadium was mostly empty, the Fluminense fans more than made up for it with flag waving, arm swaying and chanting... for the entire 90 minutes! At half time, it became very quiet and then we noticed that all th home fans had got up and moved seats to the other side of the stadium, so they could sit behind their own goal again, so of course, we followed them! Luck was on my side again, as it often is with football matches, and Fluminense won 5-1, including two penalties! I certainly got my money's worth! Back at the hostel it was gone midnight and so I flopped straight into bed after a really crammed day in Rio!

The following day was a complete write-off as the weather wasn't too great, and I needed to veg out as I was so tired! However, I made up for my laziness the next day as I went hang-gliding!!! The weather conditions were perfect and it was great fun - I went with Roberto and he ran through the proceedures with me - basically, don't jump off the pier and don't stop at the end as that's how accidents happen! Yikes! So, when it was time to go, I looked out to the horizon... and RAN! It was amazing fun and the scenery was spectacular, it was just a shame that we touched down onto the beach after just a few minutes! That afternoon, I headed down to the beach for the first time and what better way to end the day than to soak up the sun with the locals on Copacabana! I had a great afternoon with Kars (Netherlands), Silke (Germany) and Laura and Jamie (UK), being buried in the sand, dodging Atlantic waves and buying cheap and delicious ice cream for a vendor on the beach!

That evening, we headed out for caipirinhas, as I had been wanting to try one since making my own at home a year ago! They are really strong and from experience, I knew that I would have to buy a Sprite to mix it with. OK, that's not very authentic, but they are much nicer as a long drink! Well, the beach kiosk didn't sell Sprite, neither did any of the others nearby and it was too dark to go wandering around for a supermarket... so while the others ordered another round, I took about 2 hours to finish mine, tiny sip by sip! The next day, Sunday, was again glorious, so this time we headed to Ipanema and then to the hippie market as the sun began to set.

On Monday, Laura, Jamie and I went on a tour to Rocinha, the largest favela in Rio. We took motorbikes up to the top (which was hilarious fun for a veteran like me, but hair-raising for the girls as they had never been on motorbikes before!) Daniella, our guide, gave us loads of info about life in the favela and it was really interesting and informative. That afternoon, we headed back to Ipanema to meet Jasmine (UK) and Cristina (Spain) from the hostel, for more sun and people watching. We decided to head back to the hostl as the sun started to dip and no sooner than we stood up, a huge wind materialised from nowhere and parasols started flying along the beach! It was of biblical proportions and the entire beach emptied in a mass exodus! A storm was obviously on the way!

Indeed it was, Tuesday was another write-off and Laura and I spent most of the day moping in the hostel! Eventually, we ventured out to the shops and I bought another pair of Havaianas - £4 a pair, it would be rude not to stock up for future holidays!!! However, from Wednesday onwards, the sun came out in the afternoon and so began a week of serious sunbathing! I won't document it all but here's a run-down of the rest of my time in Rio:

Wednesday 12th August

Day on beach, got chatted up by a Brazilian guy for 2 hours who said that he would like to compliment my parents for creating me and that he really wanted to kiss me. No chance pal! Said guy came up to my hostel that evening, but I told the staff to tell him I was out!

Thursday 13th August

Stressed about leaving Rio - wanted to meet Anh in Iguazu the following weekend but weather forecast for Rio amazing, rainy at the falls. Sun out again, full day on beach! Went to Flamengo and Botafogo on the Metro with Laura in the evening, bought 2 more pairs of flip flops (so that makes 4!!!) Cooked big patch of pasta and sauce for the week!

Friday 14th August

Sun still out - another day on Copacabana with Laura, Jim (US), Guilhermo & Mayra (Sao Paulo) and Vikram (Canada). Tan coming along very nicely!

Saturday 15th August

Another full day on Copacabana, amazing weather and in their winter as well!!! After searching for Ice Cream Man for entire week, he finally returned, which I announced to the entire beach with shouts of "LAURA!!! ICE CREAM MAN!!!" Went to Sao Cristovoa market with Laura and Crystal (US). Bit worried about being in a really dodgy area at night with no idea where the bus stopped, but made it home again in one piece. Helped Karina (Australia) plan her art exhibition at the hostel.

Sunday 16th August

Back to the hippie market in Ipanema with Crystal and Laura. Wanted to buy a Brazil bikini, but lady wouldn't barter! Bought one on the Ipanema beach instead, for a higher price but at least that guy bargained with me! Decided that I prefered my regular patch on Copacabana, so headed back there for the afternoon, with a double order from Ice Cream Man, of course!

Monday 17th August

Copacabana again with Crystal and Jim. Had a buffet lunch by weight at 686 including sushi! Found delicious cake shop in the evening, 2 weeks too late!!!

Tuesday 18th August

Copacabana AGAIN with Rafael (Mexico). The weather turned overcast that afternoon and I knew things were changing!

Throughout all this time, I was so happy to just relax on the beach. I had said to myself before I arrived in Brazil that I had seen enough beautiful beaches on my trip so far and that it wasn't that important to see any more. However, Copacabana is just amazing - it's not a pretty little cove that you want to have all to yourself - it's a vibrant swathe of sand, full of people, but people of all walks of life, some tiny, some in tiny bikinis, some not so tiny, some not so tiny but still in tiny bikinis... I just loved the atmosphere and the feeling that it is a placed to be enjoyed by everyone. It also didn't hurt that the Brazilian Marines train there some mornings and I really enjoyed watching them jog past in their little white vests and tiny black shorts...

Anyway, when I woke up this morning, the sunny spell had ended. I had felt like I wanted to spend forever in Rio, but today , I had my first urge to leave. I checked the forecast for the next few days and it was rain, rain, rain. I checked Iguazu and there were two days of sun predicted for Friday and Saturday! That, coupled with the fact that there were two other girls from the hostel taking the overnight bus to Foz do Iguaçu this afternoon, prompted me into action! I rushed off to buy a bus ticket, packed my bags, said goodbye to all the great people I had met in the hostel - Laura, Karina, Rafael, and Alegra (Australia), who had made me feel so welcome in her hostel that she said I was now part of it - and am now waiting for a taxi to the rodoviária. Only 22 hours on th road... YIKES!!!