Phew. We just arrived in Rio de Janeiro after a record breaking 24 hr bus ride from Igauzu Falls. The first half wasn't so bad but the second day the bus driver had to pull over and use the onboard bathroom…for the remaining 8 hrs the bus literally smelled like an outhouse. Not good.

Last blog I left you off at Cordoba. Once there we toured around this University hub home to 200,000 students. First observation, Argentineans are beautiful. Coming from Bolivia made the transition shell shocking. After we wiped off our drool we inquired about skydiving because we heard prices were reasonable here relative to Canada. We found this outfit and they gave us the spiel about skydiving. We asked if they had any options the next day and the guy said…"well we don't know what the weather will be like tomorrow so how about in 20 minutes?" Who needs to mentally prepare for skydiving anyways! So we signed up and in 20 minutes we were getting briefed on how to jump out of a plane (Didn't hear much that was said other than shaping like a banana…maybe should have paid more attention). One at a time we flew up to 2500m (I drew the short straw and went first) with our tandem jumper and another diver who took the videos and pictures. On the way up I was sweating and quite nervous. That being said would there be a better time for the plane to malfunction with a parachute on your back? So I mentally prepared myself going up while the other two guys were catching some zzzz's before the jump (we didn't share the same level of comfort). The door of the plane opens and I edge my way to the door with my feet dangling out. This is definitely the scariest part of the whole thing. Next you jump off (more so the tandem jumper pushes you off) and we enjoyed a 10 second free fall and then a 4 minute descent down. I personally think everyone HAS to skydive at least once in their life. By far the most adrenaline packed 4 minutes of my life!

From Cordoba we headed to the nightlife capital of South America, Buenos Aires. The city itself is very modern and architecturally beautiful. Sticking to BA tradition we went out to the bars to check out the storied nightlife. The crazy thing is that the bars don't open till at least 12 and dinners don't start till 8 or 9. First night we went to some massive bar until 5 in the morning…lots of fun. The music wasn't great but the atmosphere was top notch.

The second thing we wanted to do in Argentina was eat lots of meat and drink lots of red wine. We found one steak house called Viga la Sica (Follow the Cow) for an all you can eat meat buffet. It turned out to be a great deal as they threw in a bottle of red wine and desert for only $25 USD. We made sure we got our money's worth and stayed for 4 hrs eating.

The next day we had an Argentinean wine tasting night. We bought 4 bottles of red (most Malbec which is the Argentina classic) prices ranging from $6AR to $30AR to see if we could taste the difference. We were accompanied by two girls from England as we all ranked our wines. Interestingly none of us picked the most expensive bottle as our favourite but all chose the cheapest one as the worst. Another fun night.

On the last day we boarded the subway with all of our travel gear. We heard the beeping sound of the train about to leave and ran to catch the train. Adam made it through and I quickly followed. As I was halfway through the doors, they closed between me and my big bag and pinned me there. I started to freak out and try to unbuckle my bag to detach myself from potential fatality. As I was frantically unbuckling, James was on the platform backing up like a bull and ran at me full speed. He body checked me in the back as hard as he could and I flew with my bag towards the other wall inside the subway. Problem solved! Onlookers were half laughing and half in shock. James waited for the next train on the platform and was notified by someone that usually the doors do not open and that usually bags are lost! That was our cue to leave BA.

After BA we took the Buquebus ferry to Montevideo the capital of Uruguay. This ferry motors at 50 knots or 60 mph making the journey very quick. Uruguay on the whole was a great country. Montevideo was quant and picturesque. The beaches we visited in Punta del Este and Punta del Diablo were awesome.

One night in Punta Del Este James and Adam did Edward 40 hands. For those that don't know, Edward 40 hands entails taping two 40 ounce beers (one in each hand) and drinking them. You cannot remove the tape until they are both empty. Other backpackers were quite amused. I think at this point in our travels it is safe to say Canadians know the most drinking games in the world.

Igauzu Falls was our next stop home to one of the 7 natural wonders of the world (the falls) and one of the 7 civil wonders of the world (Itaipu Dam). We saw the waterfalls from the Argentinean side for an entire day as it presents a closer look to view the falls. They were incredible. There were 30 different individual waterfalls cascading over lush bush and jungle. It also seemed like every waterfall had its own rainbow. We tossed a coin into the largest falls through a rainbow…if that wish doesn't come true my wishing days are over. Compared to Niagara falls, Igauzu was superior. Niagara falls has greater total flow, but isn't as majestic nor are the viewing platforms as close and personal as Igauzu.

The Itaipu dam tour filled up our next day. We went on a DAM tour, asked many DAM questions to the DAM tour guide, and overall had a DAM good time. It is the second largest dam in the world only behind China's Three Gorges, but can produce more electricity as the water levels are higher on a yearly basis. The capacity of the dam is 14,000MW (OPG's nuclear facility in Pickering is about 2,000MW). Construction of the dam took 15 years to build and the pace was outstanding. Every 55 minutes they poured enough concrete to make a 22 story building….every 55 minutes! Lots of concrete! The tour showed us views from above below and even inside the control room. Overall it was another phenomenal stop.

Now in Rio we plan to spend lots of time on the famous Copacabana beach, check out the Jesus Christ statue the Rio is known for, party at a favela, and maybe do some Brazilian Ju Jit Su! The Christmas spirit is upon us however looking at Christmas trees and lights and listening to 'White Christmas' is bizarre as its 30C outside. I guess white sand beaches could qualify as a white Christmas?