Iguazu Falls

Took an overnight bus (very comfortable with airline service) to Iguazu to see the falls.

Spent the first afternoon indoors because it was very wet.

Next day our tour of the falls was still very wet. We travelled through the Argentinian jungle reserve to get there. Travelling through the jungle when it´s raining is an experience in itself. The falls were spectacular and it took all day to see them completely. They have lots of metal boardwalks so that you can get right into the area. Some of the up close and personal views were a bit damp to say the least. At one stage we got drenched. There is so much power in the water that it causes lots of rising mist and it blocks out the view of the bottom of the falls.

We had a BBQ in our hotel for dinner that night. We just jagged it in for this wonderful Argentinian/Brasilian experience (came on the right day I think).

I missed the photo of a lifetime (forgot to take my camera to dinner).
They had a Samba cabaret performance that we did not expect.

There was a lot of audience participation and to start it off they picked people out to be part of the cabaret performance before the dancing. Ray was selected with three other guys. The very well endowed dancing girls with next to nothing on except a fancy headdress and spangly G-strings, gave them the thrilling experience of a life time. Ray had to wipe the steam from his glasses to see what was happening to him.

This will be dinner conversation fodder for many months to come.

Ray thought he had got away without being noticed too much, until we checked out next morning and the girl at reception, recognizing him, greeted him with "Oh the Dancer!!" - sprung!! - the famous Samba dancer extraordinaire.

The dancing was fun too. Pity about my camera, I could have had the proof.

Buenos Aires

After many flights we have at last arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

We are going to take a few days just chilling out, staying in the San Telmo area, the older part of the city, where most of the action happens. Turns out the weather is chilly too. A bit like Melbourne weather in the winter.

San Telmo is in the old section, lots of antique book shops and we have found a lovely cafe/wine bar that favours literary academics and is dedicated to a local writer Jorges Borges. It is called La Poesias (The Poet) and has a warm cosy atmosphere and just right for coffee or drinks before dinner after long touristy walks in the afternoons. We have also found the restaurant with, we think, the best Argentinian steaks in town. They are very big on steaks here.

We are going to take a different section each day.

Sunday morning is the time for the outdoor antique markets in San Telmo square. The whole place is given over to these small antique markets and there is tango music and dancing demonstrations happening all over. Also lots of antique shops in and around this area.

La Boca. This working class area originally populated by Italian dock workers is a colourful center of art and tango restaurants. The brightly coloured metal houses were inspired by the painter Benito Quinquela Martin after he painted his own home which has now become an arts museum in the area. It has a lovely party atmosphere even in the afternoon.

The Puerto Madero or port area with the four diques (dikes pronounced here deeks) is reminiscent of our Southbank area; very trendy restaurants and tango clubs overlooking the waterfront and has a much more modern commercial look than the rest of the city with its new high rise buildings dominating the area.

Recoleta Cemetery Area is one of the great cemeteries of the world. Many of Argentina's notables are buried here in this city of mausoleums including Eva Peron and her family. Pretty spooky to walk around these streets of mini buildings. You can look through the glass and wrought iron doors of the individual family crypts at the coffins sitting on shelves. Huge amounts of money would have been spent on these structures.

We have worked out how to use the Subt (the underground subway). It costs p$1.10 (26 cents Australian) per viaje (voyage) anywhere in the city and is very efficient.

Plaza San Martin is a nice shady plaza in the heart of the city dominated by a huge 300 year old Morton Bay Fig tree. Apparently Borges lived near here. We sat on the grass and watched a World Cup futbol match between Uraquay and Spain on a huge screen next to the plaza. Then we walked back via the Calle Florida the 'Paris of the South' with its exquisit leather shops, international fashion boutiques and fabulous old mansions. Nice place for window shopping.

This afternoon we attended the Madres de Plaza de Mayo. On thursday afternoons at 3.30 pm the mothers of the disappeared still march every week, after 10 years, in the Plaza de Mayo. There is a short speech afterwards and the long list of names of the missing is read out in memory of those who mysteriously disappeared during those turbulent times. I was very emotionally affected by the sad plight of these mothers. Ten years ago it would have been dangerous just to have been seen in the plaza with them.

Went to a Tango show tonight. Starts with a Milonga, Salza classes then tango classes, then the show comes on at 2 am (too late for us). The classes were great though. Ray has decided it`s not his thing.

Getting ready for our trip to Venezuela.

Amazon Jungle

Day 1.

Arrived at the Resort. All the buildings are on stilts and made of wood. No glass windows just fly screens over very large open areas. Apparently the whole area is under 6 feet of water during the wet season. The stilts are supposed to keep out the snakes. (I hope it works.)

Joze, our personal guide, was at our beck and call for the whole stay.

We walked through the jungle to a reserve for injured animals. The animals are free to roam as they please but seem to like it there so they stay around. We saw anteaters, monkeys, sloth, anaconda, boa constrictor, macaw, toucan and caimen all very close up. The little monkeys were very playful and ran up your leg to sit on you shoulder looking for the bananas we held.

On the way back we called into the nearby village to watch the end of a game of soccer being played by the villagers. The whole village was out to watch - a big day for them and partying at night.

Later that evening we had dinner with the only other people at the resort Nienka and Martin from Holland. There is only enough rooms for 4 couples at the resort.



Day 2.

Took a 5 hour long hike through the secondary jungle looking for medicine plants and bird watching. Joze is very knowledgeable about these things. The area was very swampy and our guide had to hack away the path as we progressed through the jungle. It was very spooky. The swampy areas were quite deep and we had to be careful not to let the water go over the top of our jungle boots (gumboots we bought in Iquitos before we left). He would cut a long stick with his machete and lay it across the swamp which we had to try to balance on as we went along. I was exhausted at the end of it.

In the afternoon we took a boat ride to see the pink and grey freshwater dolphins. We went swimming and watched the sunset over the Amazon from the boat - very theraputic.

We played cards with Nienka and Martin and the guides in the evening for entertainment.

The only power is when they run the generator at night for lighting.



Day 3.

We got up early for bird watching before breakfast.

The morning was spent fishing for piranha. Between us we caught 22 fish, only 3 of them being piranhas. It was great fun and a very relaxing way to spend the morning. We spotted more dolphins too. Out on the boat is the only relatively cool spot to be found.

In the afternoon we went canoeing up the Black river to the primary jungle (untouched jungle because no one lives here and it is left pristine. There are huge trees with buttress roots and lots of vines hanging down, which you have to avoid as you walk.

In the evening we went out night watching for toads, huge spiders, snakes and caimen.
Really good stuff just before you go to bed.



Day 4.

Boated over the Amazon to see the giant water lilies.
In the afternoon we trekked deep into the jungle to a native village. Native drums warned of our approach. We watched the native dancing and saw a blowgun demonstration. They are very good shots. Jose had explained on one of our previus walks how they poison the darts with the sap from certain trees and the skin of a toad.

Iquitos on the Amazon

We arrived in the afternoon to a very hot tropical atmosphere - same temperature day and night - constant sweating is the norm.



The only way into this city is by plane or by boat. There are no roads into this city, therefore there are not many cars here. Most of the vehicles are either motor bikes or motorbike rickshaws called MotoKars. They have the same attitude to lanes as in Cusco - namely they ignore them and pedestrians definitely do not have right of way.



On the first afternoon we went for a walk around the town and had dinner at the Explorers Club on the Esplanade overlooking the Amazon. It was very relaxing and nice to have some time to ourselves for a change.



We met our guide Joze Diaz, a very friendly person, so much so that initially we were a bit nervous of him. Eventually we got used to the very friendly service when we noticed it was common with all the people here, even in the hotels.

It is a very relaxing atmosphere, everything happens slowly.

There is a house here in the plaza de amas (the Iron House) which was designed and built by Mr. Eifel of the Eifel Tower of Paris Eifel. It was bought and transported to Iquitos during the great rubber rich era.

Our last week in the Volunteer House

Spent the last weekend shopping at the red craft market on Avenue de Sol and walking around Cusco. Had a last coffee on the terrace of the Roof Top Cafe overlooking Cusco and the surrounding mountains. On Sunday we went to the black market to buy watches and shoes for Ray.


Monday and Tuesday we tried to complete some of the construction work we have been involved in during our stay here. Ray is fretting about how the garden will fare, especially as every time he needs it the water is not running.


Wednesday was farewell Day.
It happens every month, but it still made me cry. There were lots of speaches - the Director (Head Master), Pip and the children - mostly Espanol. The children sang songs, accompanied by the Head Master on the guitar and this time they requested we dance with them.


We (the volunteers) sat on a bench in front of the assembly and the children presented us with cards and flowers then the whole school filed by and each child gave us a big hug. There is no end to their affection. The ones we have a special rapport with wanted special hugs and photos. My special favourites to name a few are Cynthis, Baylis, Erica, Rosemary, Maria, Yenny, Carlos, Christian, Sebastion and Marcelano.

Everyone was emotional on our last bus trip back down the hill with the children waving goodbye.