Rio de Janerio, Brazil

We had a day and a half to spend in Rio and lots to cram in. On first impressions it wasn't quite how I thought it would be. It wasn't hot and sunny and it also stank of rubbish and port a loos outside on the streets! I spent the first afternoon at the beaches of Copacapana and Ipanema because people watching there is classed as a “must do”. Copacapana was an impressive 4.5km long but it if you removed Sugarloaf mountain at the end of it we could have been in Spain with high rise hotels and cafes lining the front. Ipanema was slightly cleaner and had huge waves which made great viewing. Either way I wouldn't be doing any sun bathing or swimming on the beach as there was a huge amount of litter filling the sand. Didn't stop the locals though!

We had another cool and cloudy day two with most of us taking a tour of the Rocinha flavella (slum). It was very interesting to see the flavella and everyone was friendly along the way. The flavella houses between 69,000 and 72,000 people and is sprawled up the mountain side. Housing at the top of the mountain is more desirable due to cleaner air and the fact that everything drains down hill and when it really rains in Rio the houses nearer the coast flood. It was amazing to walk down the alleyways, watching where you put your feet (really shouldn't have worn my flip flops) and also minding your head on drain pipes and very dodgy low lying electric cables! The flavella is completely self contained and it's only necessary to leave in order to find work. There are shops, hospitals, schools, and daycare within the area and also a police presence in order to keep gangs under control. With samba being Brazil's national dance some of the young kids showed us their moves whilst a couple of older ones made a great racket with an empty plastic bucket and a tin box

Next stop was Christ the Redeemer, another “must do” in Rio and something else which it really would have been nice to have the sun out for. We got to the top but Jesus very much had his head in the clouds and we couldn't see an single bit of the view over Rio. Thankfully there is a viewing platform on the way down to the city so you can get a view below the clouds which was great. The statue has been seen in glimpse from sea level but the statue which is 38m high and sits at a height of 710m looks tiny! The statue was built in 1922 to mark 100 years since the independence from Portugal and Christ faces the sea to bless any visitors from the air or by ship

We also visited Santa Teresa and the Lapa steps. The 250 tiled steps were created on the street outside the Chilean artist Seleron's house. He spent 10 years covering the run down steps in tiles the colours of Brazil's flag- yellow, green and blue. When he had finished he created his steps into a changing work of art by asking people to send him decorative tiles from all over the world that he could include in the steps. As a result there are lots of odd tiles and it makes great viewing. Sadly Seleron was found dead 2 weeks ago on the Lapa steps. We also had a quick visit to the ugliest cathedral I'd ever seen. A concrete mess on the outside stands at nearly 100m, but on the inside it was beautiful. There were 4 huge panels of modern stained glass and some lovely statues. I'm glad I bothered to go through the door!

Our final stop of the day was Sugarloaf Mountain which we were going to go to for sunset (we hadn't seen the sun all day so everyone knew we wouldn't be seeing it set) and to get amazing views down the coast and inland towards Christ if he had his head out the cloud. You have to get 2 cable cars to Sugarloaf and despite being clear-ish when we queued for tickets it most definitely wasn't clear by the time we got to the car changeover and by the time we got to the top we were inside a rain cloud and couldn't see a single thing!! For me the saving grace of sugar loaf was the fact that we saw a tiny little monkey up close. It's a shame that we haven't seen Rio in all its glory but it's certainly an interesting city and a great stop to visit.

Paraty, Brazil

We had a very long 2 days drive to the coast. We clocked up over 28 driving hours and we had an last minute hotel stop in Aracatuba as there were no campsites or suitable bushcamps. It's a shame we weren't there long enough to enjoy it though as we were back on the road by 6am. Our journey was mainly on motorway so we have been stopping at the services which are amazing. There are restaurants, fast food places, truck repairs, pharmacies and even barbers.

We finally arrived in the coastal town of Paraty. It is a town with UNESCO status and has a lovely colonial feel- cobbled streets, white washed buildings, and coloured window frames. It was nice to have a mooch around the little shops and we went for a lovely thai meal finished off with fruit cocktails and live music in the main square. The campsites have been a bit eventful here though. First of all we stayed in a very compact site but just for one night as a huge group of campers decided that they were going to party all night and day which disturbed us more that we wanted. Que mass movement of the tents and the rest of camp into the truck and relocation to a quieter camp down the road. Our second day in Paraty was spent on a boat trip. It was lovely and I got to test out my newly purchased mask and snorkel but sadly the weather wasn't kind to us and we had torrential rain the whole day. Guess that's the tropics for you!

Southern Pantanal, Brazil

From Bonito we headed to the Southern Pantanal. The pantanal which is split in Brazil into the Northern and Southern halves is the biggest freshwater wetland in the world. The wetland really isn't that wet as the rains haven't arrived yet, but they were due last month. We stayed on a Fazenda (farm) on the edge of a river and were given the choice, to put tents up in what felt like a million degree heat or to tackle the art of sleeping in a hammock. I went with the hammock option which was great. The campsite fed, watered and entertained us. It's fantastic for wildlife viewing and we saw caymen, various birds and an iguana just from camp. Mikkel ventured down to the river bank after dark with just a stick, a pocket torch and the oven gloves. He came back with a caymen!! We did horse riding, a boat trip, pirahna fishing (I caught nothing), and a jeep and walking tour when we saw howler monkeys which was amazing when the guide howled to get them going. Highlight for sure was sunset with the caymens. We went to the edge of a water pool and the edges were so black it looked liked sand. It wasn't, it was caymen sandwiched all together! Pretty cool!!

Bonito, Brazil

The journey to Bonito was supposed to be 2 days drive. We headed out on our merry way but by mid evening it was becoming clear that we would have to push on to Bonito due to a lack of proper campsites or bush camps. It was a long 15 or so hour day that saw us head west so we gained an hour to the day and have a truck tea on the go consisting of sandwiches and also a treat from home, a 'club' biscuit!

Bonito is a lovely little but touristy town. Our extra day was well spent with most of the group going to a built up section of the river outside of town to go snorkelling with some huge fish. The next day we headed to the Sucuri river where we paddled upstream to then float 1.5km downstream. We didn't see as many big fish but there was plenty of variety and it was very relaxing. Everyone has had a great time here. The fun continues as we head for a few more activities in the Southern Pantanal.

Iguassu Falls, Brazil

We had an easy border crossing into Brazil and lost and hour off our day with the time difference. We were only going down the road to the town of Foz do Iguacu so we could have another chance to see the falls from a different perspective. Most of the group weren't 'falls-ed out' so went to wander around the park, do a boat trip, a helicopter ride or visit an aviary or do everything! I started my day with a boat trip to see the falls from river level. It was no ordinary boat trip though- we powered through rapids to get as close to one of the waterfalls that we could. This happened to be right under it! It was great fun and we all ended up dripping wet which was refreshing for the next couple of hours plus it got the dust out my shorts and they've never looked cleaner!! The aviary was great too and it got us all familiar with the birds we will be seeing from now on in. We also got very close to some very friendly toucans

We had a spare day so some of the group nipped over to Paraguay which is full of tax free goods and also lots of fakes. I didn't really need anything so got the bus into town instead which has a few clothes shops and relaxed by the pool in the afternoon. Those who went to Paraguay had a good time and came back with bags of cigarettes, new cameras and lots of electronicary. Maybe it's a good job I didn't go!! I think that Brazil is going to be a great country to explore but I really wish they spoke Spanish! Guess I'm going to have to buy a phrasebook. Next stop Bonito, home to jungle, more waterfalls and the chance to snorkel with lots of fish. It really can't get much better!

Iguassu Falls, Argentina

Amazing!! Coatis, Toucans and lots and water!!

San Ignacio Mini, Argentina

We have been heading north towards the Brazilian border. This area is where lots of Jesuit missions were set up from 1609 to introduce Catholcsm into the local Gurana indian culture and to prevent from European exploitation within the slave market. We visited 2 missions, Santa Ana and San Ignacio Mini and had a guided tour around the latter. It was really interesting to hear what they were all about. At any one time San Ignacio Mini could have up to 4000 Gurana and 2 priests living on the site. They also had schools, cemeteries, veggie gardens and workshops. Next stop Iguassu Falls!!

Ibera Nature Reserve, Argentina

From Mendoza we spent a few nights heading towards Ibera Nature Reserve. This area of wetland is great for wildlife viewing on the huge lakes. Some of the group decided to do the full whack and go on 2 boat trips and a night walk. I decided that a day just sitting by the lake followed by the evening boat trip would be sufficient. The nature reserve is great for bird life, capybara (the worlds biggest rodent) and caymen (a mini croc). The boat trip was great and we saw lots but sadly I just don't have the camera for taking photos of small birds so I'm lacking in photos. I have to admit though the highlight was getting within a metre of a capybara near the park gates and a caymen just on the lake shore. Resident wildlife catcher Mikkel came back to camp holding a snake and also a massive toad. It's been a great detour and everyone had a good time in the reserve.

Mendoza, Argentina

We had an amazing drive over the Andes from Santiago, into Argentina again to stop in Mendoza for 3 nights. The road coming up to the border had 20 odd switch backs in it which was pretty spectacular but with all traffic headed to the border it was a long wait to get into Chile.

We rolled into Mendoza late at about 9pm and with the campsite mucking Kirsten's booking around we split ourselves between 2 hotels which was actually a nice break as its got very hot so a bit of air con has been great. Mendoza is a very dry city, it hasn't rained in 5 months here. We had a day exploring the cities parks and squares and an afternoon tasting Mendoza's wine. 70% of Argentinan wine is produced in Mendoza and 70% of all Arg wine is exported. It was a lovely afternoon that most of the group took part in. We also visited a place that made olive oil. They bought in the olives and made the oil on site. It was very interesting was a nice addition to the day. Another thing that we did in Mendoza is eat at local times. We went for a few drinks first and headed to dinner at gone 11 and were still eating into the next morning getting to bed as late as if you'd been out partying for the night.

From Mendoza we have changed our route so that instead of heading further north we are headed east, stopping on the way to Ibera Nature Reserve for a spot more relaxation and wildlife watching. On the way we passed through the town of Mercedes which, on the 8th of January had a celebration of Gaucito Gil. This guy is the Robin Hood of Argentina. He deserted the army and was sentenced to execution for his crimes. Upon the day of his execution he told his executioner that his son was ill and that he should be spared death in order to help heal him. His throat was cut anyway and he is remembered today through shrines at the side of the roads flying red flags representing the blood soaked cloth around his neck. It's said that tooting the horn when passing through the town gives safe passage through South America so that's what we did.