After our whistle stop tour of Bolivia we were quite pleased to be heading back for the familiar feel of Argentina.After a dust storm at the bus station and an almighty free for all with a load of drunk Argentineans as we boarded the bus in Villazon we headed down to Salta. Salta came highly recommended by our fellow travellers and we weren't to be disappointed. Our bus arrived at midnight and for the first time we had nowhere booked to stay. As is often the way, we were approached at the station by a guy who offered us accommodation and after a little persuasion we followed him. This turned out to be a good move as he took us to what was basically a family's home where they rented out a few rooms as a sideline. We got a room with big double bed, en-suite and cable TV for £20 per night and after the last few days this was absolute bliss! Sarah did freak out at a huge cockroach in the shower but Indiana Warnes saved the day once again and peace was restored!Our first day in Salta saw us take in the lovely square, museums and churches along with a cable car trip to the San Bernardo peak to take in some quite lovely views across the surrounding areas. We visited a street market that evening for some souvenir shopping and then back to the room for some more cable TV! The following day was very hot and humid so after breakfast and a good chat with Sarah (the hostel owner) and meeting the family we had a lazy day in the park and booked a 6pm bus back to Buenos Aires.

We arrived in BA at 4pm the following day after a long hot journey due to the air conditioning breaking down on the bus. The time was speeding by so we decided to spend only a short time in Uruguay in order to enjoy a little more of Buenos Aires and make the trip to Iguassu on time.Being hot, tired and having no real 'must-do's' in BA we decided to just spend the night at the hostel and head over to Uruguay the next day. A swift taxi ride in the morning took us to the BuqueBus terminal at the port to catch the ferry over to Colonia. In contrast to the bus station, the ferry terminal was very comfortable and modern and we had probably the smoothest immigration ever prior to boarding the boat. After a 1 hour ride (and losing an hour due to the local time difference!) we arrived in Colonia. The town is the oldest in Uruguay and was very beautiful with old colonial Portuguese buildings; tree lined cobbled streets and a nice harbor. We booked into a nice B&B overlooking the sea and set out to enjoy the sunshine and a local brew or two. This part of the trip felt like a holiday within a holiday and after a lovely meal in an open air restaurant and strolling hand in hand through the town, it made me think how completely different this trip was to travelling on my own the previous year. Good or a bad thing? Undecided!

After a little discussion, we rented a dune buggy to explore the whole resort the next day which was clearly fraught with potential danger as we both wanted to drive! I drove first (naturally!) although I was stopped abruptly by the traffic police at one point after almost entering a one way dual carriageway which would have been most interesting and potentially life threatening for us both! Sarah took the wheel after that and promptly broke most speed limits and cut up a few cars on our way back to the rental shop. Needless to say I was a picture of serenity in the passenger seat!After another nice lunch by the harbor we caught the return ferry to Buenos Aires and gained back the hour we lost on the way over.Highlight of the trip was a large group of football fans who chanted and drunk their way through the entire journey. Entertaining for me but not to most of the other passengers liking!

Back in Buenos Aires we checked into the same hostel as before and had a nice night out in the San Telmo area of the city which is renowned for it's architecture and tango shows. Typically we caught it on a night when all the tango shows were full! We spent the next morning enjoying more of the area which was filled with small squares, buskers and street side bars and cafes. I found it to be the nicest area of BA and we both wished we had more time to relax and just chill out for a couple of days but the long awaited trip to Iguassu was imminent so sadly we had to make tracks. That afternoon, we hopped on yet another bus for a 20 hour journey north to Iguassu. Thankfully this was an overnight trip so it didn't feel like we'd lost another day just travelling. We arrived in Iguassu expecting to be met by a rep from the tour company and taken to our hotel but unsurprisingly they didn't show! Not really knowing what to do we did what all good travellers do and had a beer! I called the travel company from the bar and was slightly surprised when they told me that our hotel was the one directly opposite the bar. It was very nice and turned out to be 4 star where we had a large room with a balcony, in house gym and lovely outdoor pool. Who says you have to travel rough! The only downside was a huge thunderstorm in the afternoon but we were looking forward to seeing the falls the next day as it was one of the most highly recommended things to see on the whole of the continent.