Not so Gypsy-ish

If traveling has fostered anything negative in me then it's spotting a robbing opportunity. Not that I ever would of course but a stick up man could do a lot worse than to venture to the border between Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

Stepping off the bus, I felt like a celebrity. A group of 10-15 men with huge thick wads of cash, jostled for position outside the doors shouting "Cambio Cambio". Even louder when you made eye contact. Luckily for us our bus driver had picked up his mate 30 minutes prior and he had first dibs of the commuters. It looked like a tough trade between those picking up the remaining scraps.

We were back on the road again after a 4am rise and early good morning goodbyes to the Cawoods and Websters. Then caught a 5am bus from San Jose to Rivas, Nicaragua. Things were going so well but after dropping off a certain number of commuters that we must be near our destination, Rivas. At the next stop I asked how long to Rivas was and my heart sank when I was told we had past it half an hour back. Our best option now was now to stay aboard until the final destination and capital, Managua. Then take a chicken bus back to Rivas and taxi then on to San Juan del Sur. Caroline has the excuse of falling asleep whereas I was too engrossed in my ipad civilisation game to hear the call for Rivas. I'm pretty sure there wasn't one and those who knew, just got off when they knew to.

So when we eventually arrived in the sleepy town of San Juan del Sur, the sun was going down and made silhouettes of the many boats anchored in the bay. It was really picturesque. Our hostel was right across the road from the beach too so things where looking good.

Then another set back, good old hostel bookers hadn't sent any confirmation email and we were now holed up in our first dorm without Nikki and Rich. It was an awful nights "sleep" as one of our fellow roommates had a very loud yet consistent snore.

We were promised our original room the next day but even this was not as advertised. Sharing a bathroom instead of a private like we requested. The final straw came when I spotted a mouse creeping from under the bed. Without causing hysteria, I told Caz that we were leaving and when at a safe distance away, I told her why.

It wasn't long before we found our next home. It was a guesthouse and pretty basic but it was much better than the hostel so we made the move. It had been a toss between a more expensive hotel with breakfast or there with nothing but the room.

We were now able to explore San Juan which seemed sleepy at first but the more time we spent there, the more we really began to like it. A mimic Christ the Redeemer overlooked the town at one side of the bay so we ventured up the hill to get a good view of Nicaragua. It was nice to get a little exercise and see a wealthier side to the place. In comparison to Costa Rica, the standard of living had seemed to decrease. So had the prices. Beers were now firmly under a dollar per bottle and I was in heaven.

The beach on San Juan was pretty good but nothing amazing so the next day we took a trip over to another local beach. Coupled with the transport I soon added a days rental of a surfboard for $10.. Soon we were meandering through a wooded area with armed security at random points. There presence was to protect tourists as more and more frequently busses had been held up by opportunists. I wasn't sure if their presence was reassuring or not.

Along for the ride were some fellow brits who were very keen surfers. I was surprised to learn that people actually surfed in the UK never mind 4 of them. We exchanged travel stories in the back whilst Caz chatted to some Canadians in the car and before long we were at an incredibly wide and deserted beach. It was beautiful and it wasn't long before I was straight in to the water, keen to build on my lesson way back in Uruguay. Standing up still proved to be difficult and after most of the day being battered around by the waves, I was exhausted and it was time to go.

We partied that night with our new friends from the beach and ate some very nice but pricey (even for Nicaragua) sushi. To top it off I managed to indulge in my first taste of Japanese Mayo in months. Yum!

A little groggy the next day, we only ventured as far as San Juan's beach but it was still really nice to just kick back and drink pineapple juices whilst watching the sun disappear behind the boats as always..

I had the taste for the waves now and Caz was very engrossed in her new book, The Help. We ventured to a new beach and I again took the surf board along too. This time we were joined by two Aussies who shared the fare with us. The beach was smaller but much more interesting to look at. A series of small coves made up the coastline and high tide crept up on us fast.

I've never been in a washing machine but today I came out rinsed clean. The waves and my lacking technique meant that I was being flung from the board almost every time and when I was, it would be followed by another series of tumbleturns at which point I was certain that I would crack my head on the surf board. I didn't but my confidence was shaken somewhat.

Feeling less tired than the last surf but really hungry, we went right back to the sushi restaurant again. Ever since Rio we had been craving it and it didn't disappoint except for our budget.

It was time to move on now yet we could have stayed longer. Next stop was Granada which we had been told was larger than San Juan and a nice place to stop. We took a taxi there as it was only an hour away. Upon entering the city, there seemed to be not much to it. A lot of bare faced, windowless buildings. We got in to our next hostel which wasn't great. Very dark and dingy. After San Juan we were a little fed up. We went exploring and had a keen eye for any other hostel or accommodation that looked half decent. We noted a few, full for that day but available the next.

The town had actually come alive somewhat and we were soon enjoying a pizza and more beer down the pedestrianised main restaurant strip complete with a pantomime show of young kids and drums.

Next morning we were thoroughly disappointed but not surprised by the poor hostel breakfast, we hastened our departure and set of for breakfast to a cafe that had been suggested to us. Soon after we were combing the town for a hostel again.

We had inquired the day before about the price for one hotel that looked exquisite. We laughed it off as way out of our range but I was still fed up so I ended up getting us a room there as a treat. What a treat it was.
The building was amazing. Opening up to a perfectly manicured courtyard with rooms all coming off that, we were led to the outdoor pool area where Caz immediately jumped in to. The bedroom was a dream too. 30ft ceilings, a fabric drenched four poster bed, stone flooring. We'd really outdone ourselves this time.

Speaking to a Californian women also staying there we leant that the owner was a rich Dutch man who had sold his business and bought the property. Not only that but half the room fee for the night was put in to the local community for education and sports. This made the cost somewhat more palatable, knowing it was for a good cause as well as our own.

During the same conversation we were told about the hotels spa facilities and before we knew it we were again splurging on an hours massage which included hot stones, cupping and reflexology. Afterwards we realised just how much we needed it. That night was we felt completely relaxed and unwound. An expensive stop but completely worth it.

Tomorrow we left for San Salvador so we took it easy and strolled about the city before retiring to our amazing four poster bed zzzzzzzz

Costa Ricacacacaaaa

So we're flying solo..

We arrived at the airport and was picked up by our mad costa rican/south african/alabama aussie. He had the most messed up accent ever but was a lovely guy. He drove us to the ferry port to cross to the Nicoya Peninsula but we arrived early so grabbed some food, where we met Andrea from Canada. She is a wrestler (arms of steel) who was meeting an ex boyfriend she hasn't seen for 3yrs and hasn't told anyone she's meeting him. So we've met two people so far.. Both a little crazy, but very nice.

It was late when we got to our hotel, but we hit the pool for some late night swimming and was in bed catching the zzzzz's pretty quickly.

We stayed by the pool for the first few days.. just relaxing and taking in the sun. It was so hot we couldn't be out the pool more than 30mins but it was a lovely place to be.

After a couple of days, we decided to venture out of Tambor to Montezuma. Known as Montefumar which means 'smoke' as the drug laws here are pretty relaxed. It was a really hippie town. Full of rasta's, old hippies with long grey wispy hair, everyone covered in tattoos. It had a really good chilled out vibe and the tiny town had one main street with jewelry stalls, cafe's and a few shops. We had a drink stop at the bakery cafe where we had our first close encounter with the monkeys. This cafe seemed to be their playground, jumping in he trees next to it, onto the roof and over. When one couple left, the monkey came and took the lid off the sugar jar and stole a handful of sugar sachets. They got a bit fierce when someone fed them (despite the do not feed signs) so we left and were off to the beach. It was an awesome beach - really rustic. Full of driftwood, hills in the sand, rocks in the sea. We found a spot under a tree which became our spot from then on. It was a great day, the waves were big and strong. We both got a few injuries from the rocks but one of our favorite beaches so far. We had to get the bus back which was a 40 min ride in tiny seats, very hot and sticky, and for some reason we had to get off and on again every time when they changed bus driver. It was so nice to get back and jump in the pool to cool down.

That night we got a bottle of red and downloaded Seven to watch as Mike discovered I'd never seen it. It was so nice to sit outside by the pool in the warm air with candles and wine. It really felt like travelling had stopped and we were on holiday.

Christmas day arrived, the first day we've felt home sick it was really weird being away. We skyp'd the Ralphs in the morning and watched them open pressies which was ace. We went for breakfast (splashed out on eggs benedict) then skyp'd the Cawoods. From there on we had a normal day. Mike had managed to track down a turkey dinner at the hotel, so 6pm we got dressed up excited to get a tast of the big day. It was surprisingly tasty..

The next day we headed to Montezuma again btu this time to the waterfall walk. We'd been told by our friend Fernando where to go, so off we go following the river from the sea. It took us quite a long way scrambling over rocks, climbing past huge tree roots. No easy feat but it was well worth it when we saw it. Bloody high, and gorgeous fresh cool water we were straight in. Some locals were jumping from almost the top. Looked insane, lonely planet said don't jump so we had no intentions. One guy was giving it a go for his first time and took him ages to work up the courage. The locals shouting at him to try get him in the right spot, one went up to show him exactly where to jump. He made it thank god and was pumped when he surfaced. It was a perfect spot.

A few more days left of us relaxing, soaking up the rays, lappin up the luxury, it was soon time for the Cawood's and Websters to join us. My mum has been so excited since we surprised her and I was ready to see my family. Especially nats ever growing tummy. They pulled up just as mike was complaining to the manager about his boots being stollen (he was useless and didn't help us at all). It was surreal to see them there.. flagging them down outside the hotel. We were soon being squeezed into the 4x4, all our bags taking over, stopping for lunch at a spot mike and I had seen on our waterfall walk. Dad and Jon about to eat their arms we sat at a beautiful beach restaurant, under the palm trees. We had fresh cerviche, yum, octopus, tuna meatballs, lamp cous cous. Delicious. The best meal mike and I had had since we arrived. Catching up with them all and meeting bump for the first time was amazing. I couldnt be happier. We found the villa pretty easily. The roads were so bumpy and steep it's a tough drive but the view when we got there was gorgeous. The villa was perfect, peaceful, above the jungle looking at the sea, I knew we would have a good week.

Straight in the pool, mike happy to see me in a different bikini after wearing the same one for weeks and weeks, the boys went to the supermarket. We planned to head out to Montezuma that night for tea but mum had brought mike and I a mini Christmas day. We both opened loads of pressies, mike getting new razors, tshirts, branston pickle! I got clothes too and top up essentials. It finally felt like Christmas! Nat also got mike loads of shorts vests and tshirts from work to replace all the ones he'd lost. He's been in denim shorts for weeks so he was so happy to get so much and it was all fab.

We had dinner out, and went to Puggos cafe. It was BYOB so we werent sure it would be good, but mike and I had it recommended by Fernando so we were hopefull. Luckily it was delicious. We all got food envy over nats pan seared tuna, it was huge and cooked perfect. Really tasty I know we'll
be back.

The next day we spent at the villa, waking up to a cup if yorkshire tea. Amazing!! The view was stunning ad so quiet (apart from us!) Nat and mike played bat and ball which ended in mike landsliding down the gardens to try retreave the ball, Jon found footy on the tv, dad cooked up a storm for lunch. I got to know baby who should have opened his/her eyes this week, which we tested by shining my head torch on the bump. It turned to see the light! It was so weird.. The first time I'd seen it move so much. Incredible. BBQ chicken and chips for dinner was yum.

Another day by the pool we played with the huge ball, did water aerobics, dad made spaghetti carbonara. We wanted to go to Mal Pais to watch the sun set into the sea so set off about 4. We had to stop off at Cabano so mike and I could book our bus ticket to Nicaragua, so had to take a longer way round. It was rough roads, and we couldn't really find Mal Pais - there was small houses and hidden cafes but no real centre of town. We just kept going not sure if we'd passed it of not, and decided to get out in time to watch it set. Lovely red sky, we all sat on the beach watching it. Mums favourite time of the day. We found a quicker way back on the map, mike warring us it was marked as a red road (4x4's only). We had a 4x4 so we went for it. We turned on and 5 seconds in we were trying to get up this steep hill with massive pot holes. We thought maybe just the first part f the road would be like this but as we got to the top we saw the rest of the road was the same or looked worse, in the pitch black. We decided to take the main road again but got stuck trying to turn on the narrow path. We thought we were going to tip at one point it was hairy! Back on the main road we took another diversion on a shorter road back, but came to a part flooded with water. Unsure how deep it was we went for it anyway.. This was turning into the journey from hell. Nat was feeling sick..an hour later we made it to town all shaken up. We went to a place we'd spotted a few night earlier and sat out back in the garden. BYOB again (bring your own booze) we went to get wine and got our glasses from the waiter arrived about half an hour later. We all ordered and our starters came. Before we get a chance to eat anything our main courses came too! Hilarious.. Now a table full of food we all tucked in laughing at our night of drama. Luckily my food was delicious, which couldn't be said for everyone else.

Today we hit the beach. Mike and I had been many times on our own we were keen to get the same spot under the tree. The others were pleasantly surprised at how nice to beach was and we were in the waves straight away. Jon and dad jumping the huge waves with us, Nat and mum sitting in the wash. Mum tried to come in the sea but it was really strong at the break and she was knocked all over..loosing her bikini with one wave, just recovering then getting hit by with another. She was rolling about all over the place, much to the amusement of Nat and I, and a man walking by finding it hilarious. If only we'd had a camera. Mike and Jon got a record 247 with the bat and ball, then mum and dad took themselves off to the yoga bar for a beer while we all stayed playing games. When they got back we were ready for lunch so headed to Puggos again all wanting the seared tuna. I knew we'd be back :) another yum lunch and lemon and mint drinks we're divine. We bbq'd that night after a great day.

It was cloudy today so we lazed by the pool reading mags and snoozing. We headed to a restaurant recommended by the villa owner, only open fri sat and
Sunday. It was hidden in the jungle, tucked into the trees. A right find! It had a stone pizza oven so pizzas were on the menu, started with the best mozarella I've had for years, Parma ham and tasty tomatoes. The food was delicious.

In the morning mum dad Nat and I headed to the local organic market we'd read about. Mike and Jon stayed to watch sat footy games on the box. Luckily we didnt drag them there as the Market was pathetic..5 or 6 tables selling organic clothes and a few bits of food. The worst maket I've ever been to haha. Cheese and tomatoes on toast for lunch, mike cracked open the branston pickle. Ummmmm! Mike and Jon broke their bat and ball record getting to 609. I had a go when they'd finished and lost the ball.. Oops. We went for tea at the first place we had lunch on the beach. Its so gorgeous here. I had tuna carpaccio to start, then fillet mignon which was cooked perfect. We've had such good food here it's been amazing. Mike and I in heaven after weeks of 'it's fine'.

Leaving day.. We set off from our new home, sad to leave. We had to get to the port to catch the 2:00 ferry. It was another bumpy ride, but we made it in time and were crossing back before long. We got to Margaritas about 6pm, tired and sad to be saying bye. I was nervous about going back on the road after three weeks of staying still and doing nothing. We had a lovely little apartment, showered and ordered take away pizza. Mike as I had a 5:00am bus to catch so our taxi was coming at 4. We left in the middle of the night, feeling really sad to say bye, but now excited to be moving onto the final leg of our adventure. Nicaragua here we come.xx

Her name was..

Rio de Janerio. Our last stop as a four. We pull up at Books hostel recommended to Nikki by a fellow traveller and we instantly liked it. Its mural walls, chilled vibe, cocktails on tap at the make shift bar, it looked like we'd have fun here. It was already late so we tried a cocktails while arguing over the top bunk near the ceiling fan. It was another hot night threatening no sleep.

The next morning after a surprisingly good rest we went down and was greeted by an awesome breakie spread. We met Tow here, a cambodian guy living in London who decided to come slong with us to see Christ the Redeemer. First on our list to see. We found the bus stop and managed to get the right one to the tourist hotspot. We had to wait in line for a while, melting in the process, before getting the cable car up to the top. It wasnt the sunniest of days, but we still had a pretty good view over Rio, and were pretty impressed with the giant christ looking over the city. We stayed up there for a while, taking in the city. Later in the afternoon we made our way back to Books, for a mid afternoon shower in an attempt to cool down, before heading out again this time to Ipanema. We were looking for a sushi restaraunt recommended to us by a friend back in Cordoba. It took us a while to find, but the all you can eat got us very excited, ready to fill our boots. Our waitor helped us order, and plate after plate soon made its way to our table. Hot philadelphia a south america sushi special and it was delicious. We reordered and were stuffed within no time. Id say we had a good go at getting our moneys worth :-) After a long wait at the bus stop and no bus, we flagged down a taxi that would take 5 of us. He not only would take 5passe gers, but also completely disregarded all red lights and general rules of the road. We tipped him pretty well!

The next day we planned to go to sugar loaf mountain, but a gloomy overcast day steered us to a giant shopping mall. We killed a few hours here, meeting back at 6. Mike andi were determined to get into the christmas spirit and decided to go see the New Years Eve xmas movie. Nikki and Rich not keen they headed home. Lucky for them as the movie was terrible, so we rejoined them for drinks at Books.

Day three, we were set to go on a tour of the favelas. Famous for their rough reputation of guns drugs and violence we were a bit aprehensive. Leaving cameras behind except my point and shoot we were in a mini bus picking up others before geting to a line up of mopeds. Instructed to get on the back, they would take us to the top of the favela, amd we would walk back down. Ok sure, nothing to worry about here, at least they had helmets for us. I got on first, helmet only just secured amd he was off, nikki rich mike and all soon in the distance mounting their own motor taxis. Ducking and waeving through the streets, overtaking busses into oncoming cars, mounting curbs and generally making me fear for my life, we pulled up after what felt like forever, knuckles white. He left me on the pavement awaiting the other taxis amd i was releaved to see them all pull up equally amused by the start of our tour.

Next we see a police van drive into the favela armed with massive guns. Ok..this was pretty real. Our guide set off, heading off the main street into the dark alley. Feeling a bit on edge we follow him, taking it all in. He leads us up some stairs to a roof top. Here we got a look at the vast favela we were now stood in. Buildings scrambled together ontop of each other, colouful roof tops, junk everywhere, kids playing. Over a few roofs was a little boy flying a kite he was very skilled..it was so high you could hardly see it. Its sad to see such a happy little boy in such a hopeless environment. It was at this moment we looked down to the street below we'd just been on, and saw 10 - 15 police pointing their guns into the window of the building we were in! They moved on and we headed back to the narrow street. We bought cakes from a small bakery (not exactly skeltons but very delicious) then some kids played drums on plastic buckts and tins while a 3ish yr old boy danced for us. We tipped heavily, being watched by others in the favelas. Apparently them seeing the positive impact tourists have to their favela, encourages them to let the police into the favela and get them under control and not run by the drug lords. It was nice to feel we were helping them in a small way. It was shocking to see the sewers running under the streets, and the tiny kids with mucky faces wandering bare feet. We soon passed the same police this time at street level, still looking for their wanted man or woman. Next we saw houses that had collapsed, kids toys still visible in the rubble. One house was being pushed over by a growning tree and only connected to the ground on one corner. Due to collapse at any time, with a teenage girls bedroom in view to us, music blating out, posters on the wall. Children in the street below who will have no chance when this falls. Finally we saw a childs day care centre, funded by the company who was doing our tour. Its nice to see the money helping in a small way but felt very humbled by how little hope these people seem to have. Children 13 having children.

We got back and planned to go to the infamour Lappa street party that happens every friday. Mike and i went for sushi round the corner from Books which was delicious, then headed back to books to start the party. Strawbeery daquiris going down very well we were soon having a hostel party. We all headed to the streets later on about 11. It was mental. Rich, poor, white, black, everyone and anyone was out dancing like no one was watching. Brilliant. We got drinks from a street vendor which were 3/4 alcohol, toppped up with ice and a splash of mixer. Phew...they were like rocket fuel. It didnt take many before we noticed nikki and rich had disappeared. We stayed out with the others before heading back to the hostel to use the loo (festival portaloos a breeze compared to these) and finding rich and nikki already back. The rocket cocktails had taken their toll. Nikki puking in the loo, mike suddenly gushed on the stairs while rich and i stood amused at the garnetts lack of staying power. Finally i have beaten a the garnetts at drinking!

Next day we headed to Ilha grande. A hot spot island a few hours drive and boat from Rio. No cars allowed on the giant island, we had to walk to our hostel with our bags. It was a grueling trek, in mid day sun up hill. I had to stop and let the others go ahead while i had a word with myself to keep going. I eventually made it there, finding the others stripped to their unders bathing in the stream in the garden. It was a stunning settling of natural beauty. Our rooms was gorgeous with fresh white sheets and a hammock outside it had been worth the effort to get there. We went down to the beach to catch the last of the afternoon sun for half an hour. We passed a nice looking noodle bar on the way down which we returned to for dinner. It was delicious. Very happy we headed back to our haven. Nikki mike and i snuggled up in bed to watch One Day (nikki and i had recently finished the book) while rich read in the hammock outside. Our movie was disturbed a few times zapping mosquitoes (id become a bit obsessed at hunting them down) and a giant cockroach, killed by nikki with bug spray till it couldnt move for the coating it had of the white stuff on its back. Gross!

The next day we were pleased to see beautiful blue skies as it was forcast rain. We headed to the beach and managed to get free beach chairs. We flopped out all day, rich and mike under brollies, me and nik baking in the sun. Rich convinced we would burn telling us how sillywe were, we felt smug when it was mike who burnt his feet from his shadey seat. When we got back the heavens opened. Tropical rain, we had to leg it down to the village for tea. We went to a restaraunt Rich had seen the night before, and took refuge under cover. We had our first wi esince the lappa street party, just about recovered, and had a lovely meal.

The next day we got a local boat taxi to a beach further round the island. Lopez Mendez. It was a short 20 mins ride and we pulled up to a beach, then a short walk to get to Lopez Mendez. It was beautiful with a capital B. Ive never seen water so clear..you could see people through the waves, and fish swimming in the clear water. Ive never seen such amazing sea, and the long stretch of beach was equally as perfect. It was a scorching day, so we didnt last long in the sun before we kept going back to the water. Any excuse! If only we'd found it a few days before, a real hidden gem of the island we had fallen in love with.

We left about 5:30 as we'd arranged for the boat taxi to come back at 6:00. I started to feel a bit weird on the bus journey back, and when we arrived at our hostel i was feeling rough. We headed down for tea planning to go back for noodles, but it was closed so we found a pizza place with a wood burning oven. It was delicious, though we were all beaten by there size and took doggy bags home. I went straught to bed feeling rough, and the others chilled outside before hitting the sack.

The next day i was still off and opted to stay under cover at the hotel, while nik and rich headed to the near by beach, and mike staying out the sun with me. Late afternoon we headed back to catch the boat to the mainland amd back to Rio. So pleased we had visited Ilha Grande and fully recomending it to anyone who visits Rio. Its well worth it!

We arrived back at Rio, and had re booked into Books. Our first day back we set off to walk round Santa Teresa and Lappa. Two areas we'd been keen to see before and nt got round to. It was a scorching hot day and we started off walking to the lappa steps. Bright coloured and worth a see, we walked to the top amd were wet through with sweat when we got to the top. It wasnt a pretty sight. Jumping from shade to shade we continued to head uphill looking for Santa Teresa. It was very high above Rio, and an old looking area which didnt seem to have a centre. We stopped for a drink, and nikki read to us about Ipanema and Leblon which sounded nice, so we headed down to catch a bus. It was a much more commercial area with shops everywhere, and a really nice shopping mall we wandered around. We decided to split up for the afternoon, mike and i getting lost on the bus and ending up where we started after what felt like an hour on the bus. Nikki and rich made it to sugar loaf mountain for some good views and pics but got a little lost too on the way back and seemed to have walked half rio getting back.

We met back at the hostel - this was our last night, and there was a Jazz street party happening we had to go see. We decided to have another trip to mine and mikes favourite sushi bar 'Lappamaki' for the third time. It was delicious as always, getting backto the hostel to find everyone had already go e to the jazz. We headed off after them, finding the party full of locals in a hidden square down the back streets of Rio. It was a funky find, guys with plastic bags full of ice and beer wandering selling it to everyone, jugglers practicing their skills. Great way to spend our last night.

We headed back to Books while nik and rich crashed and mike and I packed to leave. The end of three months together is the end of an era. Amazing memories we will remember forever and very sad to say goodbye. We woke them for a quick kiss and cuddle bye before we headed off teary eyed off to our next chapter. Farewell Nik and Rich..we miss you already.xx

Iguazu Falls

Iguazu falls...a must see to anyone visiting this area and the one place just about everyone we had met was visiting. We had heard the Argentinian side of the falls was more spectacular, so we got a bus from Brazil back to Atgentina, dumping our bags at the hostel and heading back out. It was an expensive ticket in so made the most of it by getting the free train to the top of the falls. Devils gorge. It was pretty impressive, the sound, the spray, the vast amount of water being pushed through the rocks - we couldnt see the bottom. It was imense, but not yet as amazing as we'd thought. This moment came when we headed away from the falls to the lower and upper decks. It was here you could see how enormous it is and why its the eigth wonder of the world. An incredibly beautiful site.

So we've seen them from the top and afar, nikki and rich persuaded us to get the speed boat ride that took us up close to the bottom of the falls. I stripped to my bikini prepared to get soaked. A short wait we were on the boat full speed into the falls, we couldnt see a thing, such loud noise and drenched to the bone, it was so nice with the cool water (it was another blooming stinky hot day).

We headed back late on to the hostel, i skypd vic while nik skypd home as we chilled by the pool. We headed out later for tea at a nice looking restaraunt. Steak was on our agenda,.last chance for argentina to proove to us they could do a good steak. It was average again, but a lovely night. We bumped into some friends from Florianopolis and had a drink with them before heading back.

The next day we decided we'd seen the falls from every possible angle and opted not to see them from the brazilian side too. We made egg sarnies instead and got ready for another bus journey, this time inland Brazil to the pantanal and Bonito.

Inland Brazil

The pantanal and Bonito - Brazil...our long awaited highly anticipated stop in Brazil. I know not many people know where this is so here is a link to see where we've been so far, including our lastest destination.

We arrived in the pantanal by a hot sweaty mini bus journey, meeting Bob our kiwi friend of the way. He was on the same trip as us, so we all arrived together at our hotel (dirty dancing style cabins) and met our guide for the next few days, Sandro. We have 8 trips over three days, starting with a night boat trip. It was 6pm and tropical heavens had opened up just in time as we boarded what i would describe as a large canoe with a motor. 10 seconds after stepping into the rain we were soaked through to the skin, but we were doing this boat trip regardless so lucky it was warm. Laughing at our rainy situation we set off. Sandro steering us downstream stopping every so often pointing out the wildlife. The Caimen were everywhere and pretty scary at first and plenty of birds gave us loads to look at. The definite highlight being two jaguar spottings! Very lucky to see one, never mind two. Non of us had our cameras seen as it was chucking it down, and bob who took his anyway only managed a blurry shot but evidence enough of our amazing sighting. We got back, dried off and had dinner, then they turned everyting off early and sent us to bed. An early night!

The next day we had an early start and set off on in our amazing leopard print truck to have a walk through the jungle. We saw much the same as we had on the night before but it was good to get a closer look and be dry! Our walk through the woods showed us loads of parrots and monkeys. Cool to see them in the wild. We stopped at a farm on the way back, and our driver picked us all a mango off the tree. It was the most amazing fruit i'd ever had. Not a big mango eater at home, this was a revelation and we soon stuffed our faces into them sucking the stone to get every bit off it. Sticky mango all round our faces we were so happy :-)

That afternoon we were going tubing. Now in our heads, we're picturing inflatable donuts and a nice clear river. That will teach us for 'picturing' without asking. I was a bit mortified when i found out we were tubing down the same river we'd been on the last two days. Brown murkey water with Caimen in was a scary concept. There were so many i had to keep telling myself they didnt want to eat me. And there was no inflatable tube, instead it was spagetti foam tubes which meant we werent floating in the river, but fully imersed. Argh! Just as we pulled up to the river bank a family of capabara's got into the river right next to us. Capabaras are the world biggest rodents, and look like small hippos. Just as i was about to question this insantiy, Rich was in, quickly followed by Nikki. No backing out we followed suit, and nikki quickly shreaked at something nibbling her finger. This was pretty scary but also really nice to be in cool water when its been such a sweaty sticky few days. Sandro decided to tell us a little story about a group the week before, who got in at the same spot, and a guy who had a cut on his toe got attacked by Piranas. Confused by this, we doubled checked with what he was saying. Oh yes,..we were also swimming with Piranas! Strangely by this point we were all already floating on spagetti down stream and despite this potentially unnerving relevation we all chilled out and thoroughly enjoyed floating down to the hotel. I cant believe we did it in hindsight but an amazing experience.

We got back to the hotel, and were joined by a truck of new arrivals. We were all going to our next stop..pirana fishing! Back in the boat we went up river to where it was shallower. Pirana heaven. A quick lesson, a stick of bamboo with wire, a hook and some meat, we were all trying to catch our first one. I got one straight away, and soon realised it wasnt a skill i had newly posessed but in fact piranas are very greedy and nibble within seconds at everyones line. We were catching loads, some thrown back because they were too small, others not so lucky and were threaded onto a stick to take back for tea. It was ace fun, a highlight for us all.

The next morning was our final trip..horse riding. Nik and i very excited, Rich not so much! We pulled up to the farm and were given builders hats and a horse. No measurements or weights taken into account. Just hop on! We set off following the cowboys into the woods and fields. My horse refused to be at the back and trotted to the front, while rich's plodder was bringing up the rear. Mike kept causing havock by trying to get to the front, and a few horses that didnt seem to like each other tried biting each other stirring things with the rest. Needless to say it was an eventfull ride we all really enjoyed..even rich was a convert at the end.

We ended our time at the Pantanal and got a mini bus to Bonito. Excited to be here our hostel was lush..a good size pool (with volley ball net) and rooms nice. Our first day we rented bikes and set off on a long sweaty 6km ride to go tubing. This time it would be proper tubing on beautiful clear water in an inflatable ring. Perfect. It was brilliant. It was mini rapids which we all came off on the first one, and tried to tip each other the rest of the way down. It was so nice to be in this gorgeous water. We could see the fish under us swimming along and it was so nice to cool off as we floated down. That night we made a huge bowl of guacamole and crisps, followed by a veg stir fry and late night volley ball match. So far loving Bonito.

The next day we were doing the famous Rio de Prata snorkelling trip. 50m visability in a gorgeous fresh water river in the jungle. We were kitted out and set off on a walk through the woods. We eventually got to this river that wound through the trees. It was a gorgeous clear blue - idylic. We didnt even need to swim most of it, just let the river take us along. We got some amazing pics with an underwater camera we had rented. Passing through shoals of fish, they were oblivious to our presence. We got back to base and tucked into the buffet laid on for us which was delicious. Unfortunately the night ended with Nikki and i being sick...maybe not so delicious after all.

We extended our stay in Bonito looking forward to a few days to just chill. We've been non stop for a week and wanted to enjoy the pool for a bit before we head to Rio. Mike and i Skyp'd my mum early morning, her 60th birthday. We surprised her with a trip to Costa Rica to meet us in January..Nat, Jon and dad all coming too. She was exstatic and we cant wait to see them all out here. The rest of the day we chilled out, nikki and rich sorting xmas presents on the wifi, and just geneally relaxing.

We left Bonito on a mini bus to Campo Grande. We found it Margianally more to get a plane to Rio instead of a bus and much quicker, so we head the airport ready for our final stop together. Rio de Janerio.