It's almost the night before Christmas, but as we sit here in this internet café in Dolores (about 3 hours south of Buenos Aires in the Pampas) in shorts and T-shirts with the air-conditioning going, it really doesn't feel like it!

We have really enjoyed Buenos Aires. We spent our third day there hooking up with James again (who'd been staying in another hostel) and hiring bikes to cycle around the ecological reserve on the edge of the city and the Río Plato (hence the famous 'River Plate' football team...). If it wasn't for the skyscrapers peeping over the bushes in the distance we could have been in the middle of nowhere. It was lovely. It was close to where you catch the boat to Uruguay, although the estuary is too wide here to be able to see Montevideo on the other side...

The three of us went out that Saturday night in Palermo (in the heaviest rain I've ever seen!) - a very chic area of the city and where you can eat in beautiful restaurants (that we would walk past at home!) for the price of a Macky D's! Loving it! On Sunday we went to a tango show and saw exactly what all the fuss is about! Amazing! They were incredible dancers and 'nifty on their pins' to say the least! Simon refrained from showing them how nifty he is on his, although had made up for it the night before in Palermo....!

On Monday (18th) we had a nightmare overnight bus journey to Iguazu Falls in the northeast corner of Argentina on the border with Brazil and Paraguay... I didn't want to miss them, despite them being out of our way by this point... When the air-conditioning packed up on the bus (which had set off three hours late) as we headed into this very hot and humid region, we began to wonder if it had been worth it. Cynicism turned into bemusement as the driver and conductor took it upon themselves to smash out the emergency exit skylights for ventilation... Not unsurprisingly - this being the beginning of the rainy season in the subtropics - it began to rain.. to pour.. into the bus through the now non-existent skylights. The cardboard they then taped over the holes didn't really do it. Someone took out their guitar and made the most of our all not knowing whether to laugh or cry, and soon after we were piled onto another bus!

Twenty hours later, the rain still heavy and the streets muddy red rivers, we arrived in Igauzu. We spent the next two days exploring the Argentinian and Brazilian sides of the falls with Dean and Jemma, also from home... They are out of this world. I have seen Niagara and Victoria Falls, but neither were quite as impressive (- perhaps Victoria were for different reasons...). Iguazu Falls are huge and there are lots of them over a big area. The rain had really given them power, too, and the spray from the 'Gargantua del Diablo' (the Devil's Throat) rose three or four times as high as the height of the falls themselves! Spectacular...

We got the bus back to Buenos Aires on Thursday night (a much more relaxing journey!), spent last night in Palermo and today (Saturday 23rd) came here to Dolores. Tomorrow we are going to the estancia (an old colonial farmhouse) that we've booked three nights at over Christmas - a bit of luxury (I'm hoping a lot actually, given how much it's costing us!!) as a present to ourselves while without you lot...

So, have a great Christmas. It strange not to feel so Christmassy this year, but we'll be all right.. supping G&Ts by the pool, riding with the gauchos and their horses through the grasslands... stuff like that! But we'll miss you... and all the great telly!?

All our love, L & S xxx