Hi All,

Well we made our way to the bus station in Buenos Aires and it turned out most of the buses went to Puerto Iguassu which is practically the same as Foz do Iguaçu but just on the Argentine side. We waited till 4pm and had a couple of crap meals in the station and boarded our bus which was 18 hours and not too bad, we had good sleep. The buses are amazing in Argentina you get films, meals, pillows and blankets and a host and your seat goes practically into a bed, downstairs there is only 9 seats and we always go here as there is less chance of someone annoying you and being loud! We got to Iguassu quite early and set out to find our hostel which was just a couple of blocks from the station. It was really nice, the owners spoke English and it had a pool, free breakfast, loads of DVDs, free internet, wifi and best of all………4 dogs awww lol! It was quite funny when we walked in Craig bent to pet one of the dogs nd it bit his bald head lol! The first day we were just so glad to be somewhere welcoming and relaxing so didn’t do very much. We went for lunch and then sat by the pool and I was able to put my bikini top on, it was finally that hot! We watched a film and then had a free welcome drink in the bar which ended up being followed by a couple more including a very nice Cuban Mojto mmmm!! We sat on a nice deck and watched the dogs play fighting which was cool. The town is really nice, it has a small touristy feel to it and is kind of a good base for visiting the waterfalls which are the main attraction here and or heading to Brazil and Paraguay. It is full of bikers just now for some kind of rally that’s going on. While we were watching TV I was playing with one of the dogs and another one jumped up for some attention and I ended up with a burst lip which was quite sore but funny lol!

The next day we got up all ready to go out but it was chucking down with rain so we watched a movie till it dried up a bit. We decided not to go to the falls as it was quite expensive and we are coming to the end of our stash and we had just seen Victoria falls which are way more impressive. So we set out for breakfast and then walked 2 miles to The Landmark which is the point where the two rivers between Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay meet and they have a landmark of the flags of each country on each bit of and so you can see all three countries which was pretty impressive for a geography geek like myself lol! We then walked back and chilled for a while before heading out for tea where I have now learnt the expression pure de papas so that I no longer have to eat steak and chips for each meal and can now have mash potato instead, amazing! It was really nice though, you got free bread and salad. On that note I have now started collecting salt an sugar sachets for my dad’s collection, I noticed you were running out but don’t worry it will be replenished soon lol! After tea we headed back and stayed up till 1am watching MTV as all our new favourite shows from when we were bedridden were on and we got to watch Tila Tequila and G’s to Gents lol!

Next day we got up with the intention of visiting a sanctuary where they rescue and help animals from the jungle but when we looked at the flyer we realised it was just birds and decided that we were not as bothered about that, we were more hoping for pumas and monkeys lol! So we had a look around town and a breakfast of pasta of which I spilled down me and then had a cat trying to leap on me for the remainder of the meal. After we went and bought our bus tickets for Rio which were a staggering 315 pesos each, we almost paid more for a crap bus with no TV etc on it but realise in time the prices were in Brazilian Reales phew! Craig braved the freezing hostel pool in the afternoon which was quite funny! At night we sat and watched a film yet again lol and then the couple who owned the hostel asked us if we wanted to go to the bike rally with them so we thought why not and got in the car to go. I have to say at this point that even though we spoke to them all the time we still did not know their names even though I knew the dogs were called Raphael, Camilla, Antonio and Malena but it seemed like after all this time you couldn’t ask now. Anyway we got there and at one point I was a bit paranoid as I thought it was near and we drove along a dark country road and I thought I might be killed but as usual just being paranoid lol! When we got there it was nearly done and they wanted 20 pesos for each of us so we decided not to bother and then we thought we would just be going back but we ended up driving about a bit and they asked what we wanted to do and we didn’t know so we ended up going to the casino for a drink, it was quite cool they did free soft drinks too. I had a pisco sour (which I never knew they put raw egg white in) as I read in the guidebook that I was meant to have one in Bolivia so better late than never and also the woman paid which was very nice and wouldn’t take any money! After we just went back to the hostel to bed. I didn’t feel very well before bed and ended up with a few trips to the loo in the night which were not pleasant shall we say and when I woke in the morning the last thing I felt like doing was spending 25 hours on a bus so I went and paid 60 pesos to change them to the next day. Craig went out for some food for us and we spent the day watching dvds again lol! At night we went out for a bowl of soup and then Craig didn’t feel well so we headed back to the hostel and watched a film. I loved sitting at night in the hostel, al the dogs would play and come and sit up beside me when we were watching TV or on the laptop and they kept putting their noses on the keyboard and typing lol so cute.

Next day we woke up and felt much better so decided we were able to get the bus which we were glad about as earlier in the week when we saw the price o the bus tickets we wondered if we should just miss Rio but then decided that was dumb as it was one of the main places we wanted to see but then when I was ill if it had went on another day there would have been no time to go to Rio so we were glad we were better. The owners let us have an extra hour before check out then we wasted some time on the net and said goodbye which was actually quite sad we really loved this hostel we felt so at home and taken care of which was a vast improvement on most other places so far in South America. We headed to call the Rio hostel to tell them we were coming a day later and to get food for the journey as we were not sure if we would get fed on it. We got some empanadas which are kind of like bridies and they sell them everywhere and some munchies and waited on the bus which was an hour late. We had our favourite seats though, front row downstairs right in front of the TV with massive amounts of leg room, this bus had seats that went so far back it was so comfy! After a few minutes we stopped to get stamped out of Argentina, drove along a bit and then stamped into Brazil, our final border crossing! The Brazil side took ages we had to wait on some people for nearly an hour! At about 9pm we stopped and had dinner at a buffet place which was quite good then they ut on a film Man of the Year with Robin Williams which was pretty good then we had a good sleep. I woke briefly at about 5.30am in the Sao Paulo bus station and went back to sleep so it will all be new to me when I get there lol! 9 hours sleep on a bus is pretty good though!

Coming up to Rio the scenery was so nice, rain forested mountains and pretty skies, but once on the outskirts of the city it looked a bit of a hole! We got a cab to our hostel in Copacabana where we have been singing “Copa…Copacabana…” as that’s all the words we know lol! Anyway I’ll save Rio for next time!

Hope all is well at home!

Lots of Love

Eva and Craig xxx

PS Hope you had a good time in Corfu J and Leebs lol!