Rio and Lima – 2 great South American Cities; Sarah and James

We seem to be non-stop through South America and we both feel that we need much longer on this continent to explore it properly but after our really busy time in Argentina we were looking forward to some chill out time in Rio on the beach.

Errrr……don’t think so. We arrived from Iguassu to our hostel in Leblon and actually the hostel was pretty nice but our room was right outside a nightclub which pretty much shook the bed until 6am every morning. Ohhhhhh and what was worse, the weather was seriously crap and rained every day during our stay in Rio.

But, we’re totally used to the rubbish weather now and rather than trying to sleep through the noise James and I decided just to join in.

After 2 weeks in Argentina we were slowly starting to get to grips with the language only to land in brazil and our Spanish being pretty useless as “we don’t speak no Portuguese” but luckily the Brazilians in Rio spoke pretty good English and also the locals are super friendly, in fact I don’t think I have met such friendly people.

We first experienced this on our 1st day. As it was tipping it down all day, whilst walking round Leblon we spotted a gym so we thought we’d get some exercise and do a work out. Basically from the moment we walked in to the moment we left we were totally looked after. We were hooked up with a personal trainer called Bruno who put us in a running class, then put us on a step machine (as we told him we were doing the Inca Trail) and then helped us out with some weights and not only that, gave us loads of recommendations for things to do in Rio. The gym was also amazing, 6 floors, with a spa at the top and an outside swimming pool where we swam in the rain.

After the gym, it was time to drink. We thought we’d drink and stay awake as long as possible (even though we were super tired) so we started off in the hostel bar. Unlike us stingy English, the measurements of rum that bar tender was serving us was ridiculous. We got talking to 3 English people who live in Jersey, Ryan and Julie and their friend Frankie. After a few drinks with them they persuaded us to go to an area in Rio called Lapa which is a famous night spot in Rio with great live music and a good samba scene. After getting a recommendation from the bar tender in the hostel, the 5 of us hopped in a taxi to a place called Rio Scenarium. We arrived there just as the heavens opened again after 1am and the live music was in full swing. The place had 3 floors and was decorated with antiques and movie set props, it was awesome. We got back about 4am and I can definitely say I slept amazingly.

The next morning I woke at 9am and I had the most horrendous hangover (a long time since I have had one) and I can safely say I spent all day in bed. Although James wasn’t as bad as me, he also spent all day in bed.

The next day we were lucky enough to move to a quieter room which was bliss as it meant we got some sleep. But, although it was cloudy the rain had stopped so we thought we had better do some of the touristy stuff. As we only had 1 day left we decided to go up the Pao de Azucar (the sugar loaf mountain) as the view was supposed to be better than the view from the Christ the Redeemer (the big famous statue) but before we did that we went for some breakfast round the corner from our hostel.  It was the best breakfast we ever had, loads of different breads, preserves, scrambled eggs, ham, cheese, orange juice, such a feast but not cheap, but worth it. It was also a great place to people watch as Leblon is a really nice neighbourhood; as it was a Sunday morning there were people everywhere walking their what I call “designer dogs”. Steph, your grooming business would do wonders here.

Anyway, we got a local bus to the sugar loaf mountain which was pretty easy and then went up the cable car to view Rio. Once we got to the very top, a thick fleece and a woolly hat would have gone a long way here as it was very windy and pretty cold but was worth it.

The following day there was good news and bad news. The good, the sun was out, the bad, we were going to be sitting on a bus for 7 hours heading to Sao Paulo for our flight to Lima. The bus was originally eventful as a lady was kicking off for some reason and we had the police on the bus, exciting. Then when we arrived in Sao Paulo we decided to stay in an airport hotel as our flight wasn’t until very early the next morning only to get in a taxi from the bus station where the driver got us completely lost and we couldn’t communicate to him which was so frustrating.  But after what took double the time the driver asked some locals for directions and we made it to our cheapo hotel.

After 6 hours on a plane to Lima we arrived at our hostel Inka Frog which was heavenly peaceful compared to Rio. We’re currrently in Lima now, and we’re staying in an area called Miraflores (which we were recommended) and we really like the area. There are loads of nice restaurants and fancy casinos but also loads of lovely parks and it’s right on the pacific ocean.

Miraflores has an open top bus sightseeing tour and considering neither of us had actually ever been on one (not even in London) we thought it would be fun. The bus took us round the area and it made James and I like it even more, especially on the sea front where there are some very posh hotels and also people paragliding off the cliffs.

We had met a girl in Cordoba who lives in Lima and told us to get in touch when we arrived and she would take us out. So I contacted Belka, and luckily she was free and so last night Belka took us to a restaurant which served great Peruvian food. At the restaurant Belka helped us with the best food to order and I had stuffed pepper filled with beef served with creamy potatoes and James had pork ribs with rice and beans (a proper Guesty dish). Belka gave us a taste of her dish which was what I thought was some sort of steak only to find out afterwards it was cows heart. Nice!!! I also tried the famous local cocktail, Pisco Sour, only made in Peru and made from local sour lemons. Yummy!

Belka had then booked us tickets to see a traditional Peruvian dance show. It was so spectacular. The dancers performed lots of different routines that represented different regional dances throughout Peru, and it was all danced to a live band. The costumes were so colourful and for each dance there was a completely different costume and theme. My favourite dance was the Marinera which is a romantic dance between a couple and involves much waving of a handkerchief. It was so good, the crowd wanted more. Belka was great and told us about all the different dances and she herself performs these dances, in particular the Marinera. In between each Act, the audience were given chance to dance to the live band. Many people were doing the Salsa and I was very tempted to get up and join in but though my lack of Salsa experience would make me look like a right fool.

We felt so privileged to be taken to something that was so local and so cultural and it was also great to have Belka with us, who speaks the language and also speaks English perfectly. In particular when getting a taxi to the venue and back again as even Belka wouldn’t get in the local taxis as they are so dodgy here.

We fly to Cuzco tomorrow where it is one of the highest cities in the world, sitting at nearly 4km above sea level so we have our fingers crossed than neither of us are effected by the altitude.

Speak soon

Sarah and James xxxxxxxxxx

Che Guevara, Salta and Iguazu Falls; Sarah and James’ Travel Blog

As sarah mentioned at the end of our last blog we were about to set off on another bus journey from Cordoba to Salta as we made our way north through Argentina. The bus set out late in the evening from Cordoba so we took the opportunity to head to nearby Alta Gracia for the day. Alta Gracia is a pretty town about an hour from Cordoba, but the main attraction for tourists here is that it was home to Ernesto “Che” Guevara during his more formative years. After being dropped at the bus station in Alta Gracia with no map or any idea where we were, we eventually found a map in a very poorly signposted tourist office and set out to find “El Che’s” old house. On the way we stumbled across Alta Gracia Golf Course, and as it was lunch time, and we had been recommended the restaurant as a place to eat so we dived in. After a lot of pointing and grunting (as the waiter didn’t seem to understand our poor Spanglish) we received what is probably the best meal that we have had in Argentina to date. Sarah had a spinach stuffed chicken breast with roast veg which looked amazing, and I had peppered steak with potato gratin. I actually got two huge fillet steaks which had more flavour than any steak I have ever had in my life, and the view over the golf course topped lunch off brilliantly. At first we were slightly apprehensive about the cost of the meal as we realised that there had been no prices on the menu, but when the bill came we were astounded to see that it cost £10 each, but I guess that is quite an expensive meal here.

After lunch we headed to Che’s house which was just around the corner, and had a good look around. Unfortunately everything was in Spanish so we did not learn much about his life. We both agree that if Argentina is to attract more English speaking tourists they do need to improve the bi-lingual signage and information at attractions such as this. After this we have a walk through the town before heading back to Cordoba to get the overnight bus to Salta.

We arrived in Salta after a reasonably comfortable 11 hour ride. We arrived at the hostel at 7.30 am and it took quite a lot to rouse the staff again, the Argentinians just don’t seem to be early risers! We checked into what we thought was a hostel as we had booked via Hostelworld, but Posada de las Nubes turned out to be more like a hotel as we had a en-suite room which was really nice. After catching up on some sleep we headed out to explore the town and quickly realised that it was going to be our favourite town in Argentina. There are lots of nice squares and cobbled pedestrianised streets lined with bars cafes and restaurants. Our first day was, as ever just spent recovering from the journey really, but the next day we set off early to head up the small mountain at the edge of town which provides a fantastic vista over the plains which stretch for miles. We opted to walk up the mountain, rather than take the cable car as we need the exercise to prepare us for the Inca Trail. We had lunch with a fantastic view at the top before exploring a little and looking at the various christian statues that adorn the peak. After getting the cable car back down we headed to the office of MTB Salta to book our mountain bike tour for the following day. After a bit of a rest back at base (well we had climbed a mountain) we headed out to the very cool street lined with bars for some dinner. We headed out at about 8pm expecting things to be livening up, but soon realised that we were the only ones about. We chose a restaurant and ordered our food and Sarah was delighted to find that they served Singapore Slings! There was a stage set up with a band at the end of the bar and we asked the waiter what time the band would start. When he replied that things started at 1am we realised that we really did not fit with the Argentinian timetable! As we had an early start for our mountain bike tour of the area the next day we decided we had best not try to stay out until things started to get more lively!

The following morning we were picked up from the hotel by Francisco, our guide for the day and headed out into the national park in his 4×4 with the mountain bikes strapped to the roof. After a short journey we got kitted up and headed out to explore. Francisco had great english and was very knowledgeable about the area. We navigated our way along the tracks, competing for space with the wild horses and a number of cows before returning to the car. On the way back to Salta the car broke down 4 times, a loose wire under the bonnet that Francisco seemed to know how to fix, but on the outskirts of the town unfortunately it gave up the ghost. We now know why he had a for sale sign on the 4×4 and was telling us that he was looking for a new one! Francisco offered to get us a taxi but as it was a nice day, and I knew how to get back I said it was fine and that we would walk, which was a bit of a mistake as we were both starving after the tour! We eventually got back and had great lunch in the restaurant across from our hotel. In the afternoon we chose to rest as we knew what was coming the next day; we were booked on a 26 hour journey by bus from Salta to Puerto Iguazu on the border with Brazil.

We got settled into our seats on the bus, and made ourselves as comfortable as possible and the 26 hours passed a lot easier than we had expected and we both got a lot more sleep than we were expecting. We arrived in Iguazu and found our hostel with no problems before heading out to find some real food (after the stuff that we had been served on the bus). Puerto Iguazu reminds Sarah and I of Kerala in India, the landscape is very similar, and there are just as many dogs roaming the place. In general the dogs are quite friendly and don’t seem to bother with you, but when we were heading to get food one seemed to take a disliking to us and ran along yapping at us until he was happy we were off his territory, which I found more annoying than anything but Sarah didn’t like it at all! Obviously our reason for visiting Iguazu was to see the world famous waterfalls, which we were going to spend 2 days doing as you have to see it from both the Argentinian and Brazilian sides of the river.

After a leisurely start we decided to see the falls from the Brazilian side on Tuesday. We took the bus across the border and got our stamp out of Argentina and into Brazil. As soon as we entered the national park that surrounds the falls we were struck by how much wildlife there was! Firstly there were butterflies everywhere, you could not walk around without them flying into you, and they were all sorts of different sizes and colours. As we walked along the paths that lead to the falls there were also all sorts of insects, including lizards and stick insects. But by far the most interesting animal we saw was the Quatis, which is a large racoon with a big bushy tail like a ringtail Lima. While they were very cute to look at and definitely not afraid of people we were constantly reminded not to touch or approach them as they can apparently be aggressive and are known to carry rabies. We could walk directly up to the falls on the Brazilian side but realised that they are not as spectacular here as on the Argentinian side. After a few photos we got back on the bus and returned to Argentina, looking forward to visiting the Argentinian side the next day as we could tell it was going to be a much more up close experience. That evening we headed to a restaurant that we had spotted from the bus, and after we sat down we were astonished as in walked a couple that we had met in Vietnam back in January! They did not notice us and I did not recognise them at first but Sarah was adamant, so I approached them and sure enough it was the same couple. What a small world!

The following day we set out earlier to visit the Argentinian side of the falls as we knew that this was a full day and there was more to see and do. We got to the park, and got on the little narrow gage train that ferries you through the park to the different parts of the falls. We immediately headed to the area from which you can catch a boat that takes you on the river and up to the falls. Sarah and I had taken our rain coats with us expecting that they would shield us from the spray, but I soon saw people walking in the opposite direction who looked like they had just stepped out of the shower, fully clothed! I suddenly realised that my waterproof may not be so useful. We were provided with dry bays for any stuff we didn’t want to get wet. We boarded the boat with our coats on under our lifejackets and set out on the boat. It headed up one section of the river and had a good look at the falls, and got a little wet fro the spray, at which point I was thinking that this wasn’t so bad. Then the driver said ‘Are you ready?!’, ready for what? I thought. Then we headed for another section of the falls and the driver took the boat right up to the falls, all I can say is that it was like being hit full on by a water canon. I could not keep my eyes open for the intense spray and despite my waterproof jacket there was not a dry patch on me! Sarah and I could not stop laughing, it was hilarious! When the boat docked again, and I stood up, water was pouring down the inside of the arms of my jacket.

We headed to a cafe to sit in the sun and dry off, but Sarah was wearing denim shorts and there was no way she was drying off very quickly. After half an hour or so in the sun we got back on the train and headed for the main attraction, “The Devils Throat” is the point at which the most waterfalls converge. There is a walkway across the top of the falls and a platform overlooking the edge of this immense spectacle. The volume of water cascading over the falls is just unbelievable and although the drop is hundreds of feet, the spray that is thrown up reaches high into the air above the lip of the falls. It is one of those things that just makes you stand and stare! We caught the last train back to the park entrance and returned to the hostel, where we cooked in for the first time in ages!

We are now in a hostel in Rio having flown up from the Brazilian side of Iguazu (we have now crossed this border 3 times in the last 48 hours and have lots of stamps in the passports), and after 2 weeks getting used to the language we have no idea what is going on again as it is all Portuguese now!

It is now only 2 months and 2 days until we are back but we still have 6 countries to visit. Its going to be a busy few weeks!