Uruguay - 2018

After being dropped off early at the port, we boarded a ferry and crossed the River Plate bound for Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay. Uruguay was ruled by the Spanish until it gained it’s independence in 1828. 

The River Plate was the scene of a battle of the same name, where the German pocket battleship Graf Spee, hunted by British ships in WWII, did battle and finally scuttled itself.

During the trip to Uruguay, we had a great discussion with a local travelling with her mother, who voluntarily explained some of Uruguays' history to us.

Her mother was drinking something with a straw, whilst also holding a thermos full of hot water.  She was drinking ‘mate’ from a gourd (cup) with a silver nickel straw.

'Mum' drinking mate

The thermos of hot water is to make more ‘mate’ using the dried leaves of ground yerba mate regularly placed into the gourd and infused with hot water.  It is a caffeine rich drink and whilst consumed elsewhere in Sth America, Uruguay are the largest consumers per head of population.

After a 70 minute trip in a ferry, which was in need of plenty of maintenance, it was then onto a bus for a 2hr trip to the bus terminal of Montevideo, which was chaotic to say the least.

Trip to and within Uruguay

Finally we found a taxi rank and scored the smallest taxi we had ever taken, to go to our hotel.  It was a bit of a contortionist act to get out of it then rubric cube our bags out of the boot.

We spent the next few days walking the city and old town including the ‘beach’ with no sand and very brown water, buildings requiring lots of repair but others that were very elegant.

The beach

Bit of maintenance required

The palm lined mall was pleasant and there was a lot of history, like having the oldest church in the country, built in 1799 and then the Palace Salvo, meant to have a lighthouse on it but now a hotel and once the tallest building in Sth America.

The mall in Montevideo

The Palace Salvo seen through original gates to the city

Uruguayans like Argentineans LOVE their meat and Priscilla in Buenos told us about a location we had to visit… the Mercado del Puerto.

This essentially large hall is filled with Uruguayan grill restaurants, where you sit around a large fire that is cooking meat and vegies slowly roasted on a flat rotating grill in front of the fire.  Very delicious!

This is a still version of the 'barbeque'

This is how the barbecue works in reality - click on the link below:

Link to Uruguayan Barbeque

After a few days in Montevideo it was a re-run of the earlier transport modes taking us back to Colonia del Sacramento, founded in 1680 and one of the oldest towns in Uruguay, now with a population of ~27,000.

After an obstacle course walk down the footpath from the bus terminal to our old, comfortable but somewhat quirky hotel, we found this cobblestone rich town was one for walking.

Great old town to walk and explore

There are quite a few very old cars left around the old areas and are either ruined or with things in them as pieces of art, and the old historical section of the town is UNESCO world heritage.

Some of the old cars found around the old town

We happened on a great little coffee shop where the owner spent 2 yrs living in Port Douglas working as a sous chef, and is one of the best coffees so far in Sth America.

Nice location for a good coffee

We also learned the Uruguayan national dish is called a chivito.

One form of the national dish of 'chivito'

The rest of our time in this nice old town was spent slowly wandering along its cobblestone roads and lanes, quite often with large plane trees lining their length, before enjoying the sunset on our final night in Uruguay.

Lovely tree lined streets

Down around the port

Sunset in Colonia del Sacramento

Next morning it was simply a matter of catching the ferry back to Buenos Aires in preparation for our flight to a new country we had been waiting a long time to visit.

Until then… go well!

Argentina - Iguassu and Buenos Aires -2018

Iguassu Falls – Argentina side

There is a way to cross the border from Brazil into Argentina we had studied as part of researching, which involves catching a public bus to the Brazil border, getting off for immigration checks, waiting for another bus to take us to the Argentinean border and immigration, then wait for yet another bus to take us to Puerto Iguassu? then yet another bus to the entry of Iguassu National Park.

Whilst it’s hugely cheaper, the time taken we thought was way too long, so after talking to the hotel in Brazil, one of them came with us to negotiate a fixed rate for a taxi to take us through all the borders and to the National Park entry.

Apart from being significantly shorter in time, it ended up being the quickest set of border crossings we had experienced in a long time.

From Brazil into Argentina

With all our bags soon stored in lockers, as we were only be visiting for a 4-5 hours before flying to Buenos Aires, we walked to the first of a number of railway stations, where we collected a free ticket to catch a small train to the next station.

Trains within Argentinian Iguassu Falls National Park

Our carriage was full of a large group of extremely happy tourists who sang very loudly as we rattled along the tracks. We were going all the way to the end so we collected yet another ticket and were soon off again.

From the next station, we had to make a 1.5km walk along a timber boardwalk above a very fast flowing river until we reached our objective… The Devil’s Throat.

Standing on walkway across river heading to The Devil's Throat

As we approached the end of the boardwalk and the deafening sound, we could also see we were in luck, the wind was blowing all the heavy mist away from us… we wouldn’t get soaked!

Nearing The Devil's Throat

In front of the railing was the fast flowing river coming towards us before  literally dropping over the curved falls in front of us and disappearing into the mist seemingly below our feet.

The Devil's Throat

It was staggeringly beautiful as we absorbed what we were looking at, the sheer power of this mass of water flowing over the falls.  It was simply mesmerising! 

It was truly hard to leave this spectacular place but we had limited hours so we made the return journey along the boardwalk and one train, where another circuit walk of ~2kms begins.

This time we were greeted with a walk following along the face of where multiple falls cascaded down long drops at viewing points very close to the flowing water.  The Argentinian falls seemed to be a more intimate experience because of how close we were to the spectacle that is Iguassu.

Standing near the edge of the falls

A boa approaching the falls below

With a palpable sense of elation and having collected our bags, we made our way to the airport for our early evening flight to Buenos.

Flight from Iguassu to Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires – Palermo

Having visited Buenos in 2014, we were only having a 2 night stay this time and had chosen to stay in the arty and hip district of Palermo, and as promised by Priscilla, our host during our stay, Roberto was waiting to transfer us from the airport.

Roberto, a very affable elderly gentleman, spoke no English but during our drive kept describing very loudly, well we think that is what he was doing, the various sights along the way.

Once in the hotel, he showed us up a flight of stairs, opened the door to our room, explained where everything was, pointed to some signs telling us when and where breakfast was, then said, “Priscilla morning” and left.

Rob leaving our boutique hotel in morning

Priscilla was a vibrant individual when we met her in the morning and paid for the room, constantly advising us on things we could do and see in Palermo, markets to visit, the best places for coffee and other things to see.

Artwork in great coffee shop in Palermo

She also told us we should consider trying the restaurant at street level directly below because they have good food and happy hour starting from 6:30pm.  She also told us the restaurant had been rated in the top 50 within Latin America.

Priscilla was very open about the current state of the Argentinian economy, which she described as going back into the GFC with very high inflation and a currency out of control.

More street art in Palermo

Enjoying a beer at a roof top bar

Well we took Priscilla’s advice and spent a delightful and relaxing day roaming extensively throughout Palermo until it was time for dinner, so elected to try out the restaurant below us.

We went downstairs at 6:20pm to enjoy happy hour to be met by a queue of people already waiting on the footpath… little odd we thought.  Right on 6:30pm, the doors opened and a man came out.

On hotel balcony with the restaurant below

He explained that happy hour wasn’t what we thought it was, happy hour was the opportunity to get a 40% discount on anything on the menu, so long as we had paid and left the restaurant by 8:00pm.

The Argentinians love their meat, so we both ordered a steak and one side each.  Next lesson about Argentina came when our meals arrived… they were huge, so large in fact that we couldn’t eat it all!

Promptly at 6am next morning, Roberto was again waiting for us to take us to the correct port to catch a ferry to our next destination across the River Plate.

Our route within a small part of Buenos Aires

Whilst our time in Buenos Aires may have been short is was most enjoyable indeed and until the next post… go well.

Brazil Iguassu Falls - 2018

After leaving the Pantanal we headed to one of the worlds natural wonders, located on the borders of Brazil and Argentina by flying into Foz Do Iguacu in Brazil.  After checking into the hotel, we found the local bus terminal and headed for a late afternoon rendezvous with Iguassu Falls.

Flight from Cuiaba to For Do Iguacu, Brazil

Public bus trip from For Do Iguacu to the falls on Brazilian side

After reaching the National Park entrance and buying tickets, you then catch a double decker bus at an allocated time and it takes you to various other attractions before stopping at the start of a 1.5km multi-stair walk down to the face of the falls on the Brazilian side.

The first views of it were stunning… along with the amazing roar of the water and plumes of spray going everywhere!

First sight of the falls we saw at the beginning of the walk

These falls are huge in terms of physical size, for example a few 'falls facts'.  There are 275 individual falls along 2.7kms of the Iguazu River and they average about 64m in height but a few are 82m high.  That wasn't too bad was it.

Shows only a small number of the total falls which make Iguassu

One of the walks you can take is along a boardwalk out towards the middle of the river, just above the surging water flowing away from the falls.

Rob standing on the walkway out towards the base of the falls

We walked out separately so one of us could look after backpacks and stop them getting soaked and soaked we both got but it was exhilarating. Trying to get any photographs was tough because of water constantly falling on camera lenses.

View from the end of walkway

We continued on our walk up to an area directly opposite the falls face, so close you could almost reach the water, our eyes constantly being dragged back to the amazing scene laid out in front of us.

No matter where we walked, we were not only kept company by LOTS of other tourists but also by the cute looking Coatis running around between people or climbing up onto handrails, their mission… food.

Rob and coati 'friend'

There were warning signs everywhere to not try to pet or feed the Coatis because they can bite and do a lot of damage.

With the sun setting and the park drawing close to closing time, we caught a bus back to the park’s entrance and then caught a local bus back into town and ready ourselves for a return visit next day.

We followed the same routine to find ourselves back on exactly the same buses and walking tracks, but this time much earlier in the day, so the sun shone differently onto the falls.

With more time available we slowed ourselves down and took more time simply watching in awe the spectacle that lay in front of us… truly breathtaking!

Truly stunning

With many more photos under our belts and many hours, we reluctantly left the Brazilian side of the falls, a storm forming on the horizon.

A short walk from the Park’s entrance is a bird park, highly recommended to us, so with the storm heading towards us, we found ourselves standing in front of many very exotic birds, some of which we hope to see in the wild later in this trip.

Here are just a few photos of what we saw…

The very majestic Harpy Eagle

With rumbling sounds directly above us, we boarded yet another local bus back into town and made it back to the hotel just as the rain came pouring down and continued into the night.

Our enjoyable time in Brazil had come to an end as we prepared to cross the border into Argentina next morning.

Go well!

Brazil Pantanal – 2018

For a few years we had been keen to try and see one of the more elusive large cats on the planet, jaguars.

This desire motivated us to include a trip to a more remote area in Brazil called the Pantanal; it is the world’s largest tropical wetland, covering over 181,300 square kms— right in the centre of South America.

Blue section on map is The Pantanal

Brazil can lay claim to most of the region, but the Pantanal spills into neighbouring Paraguay and Bolivia and though the Amazon rain forest to its north is more well known, the Pantanal quietly boasts the highest concentration of wildlife on the continent.

After the wet season (Dec to early April), the Pantanal becomes a massive wetland filled with lots of wildlife and as the waters drain the bird numbers reduce through migration and the numbers of marsupials and mammals increase, including jaguars.  The Pantanal is also home to the green anaconda… the largest snake in the world.

Our original itinerary was planned in conjunction with a local company Wild Pantanal Safaris had us travelling deeper into the Pantanal along the mainly dirt Transpantaneira Highway.

Start of the Transpantaneira Highway into the Pantanal

We were meant to stay at a more rustic lodge at the end of the highway for 4 days/3 nights, specifically to search for jaguars.

Jaguars are the dominant predator weighing up to 136 kg in weight and whose prey includes caiman, which are similar to but smaller than crocodiles, captured by leaping off the bank into the water, crushing their throat or skulls and dragging them back out onto land.

Unfortunately for us, late and unseasonal heavy rains flooded the rougher and final sections of the road and areas around the lodge and leading to the jaguars moving north and away from this area.

This meant a rapid change of itinerary only a week out from our arrival.  We were naturally disappointed, but the Pantanal had plenty of other wildlife to search for.

We had to reach a city called Cuiabá and after travelling from Rio via Sao Paulo where whilst waiting for the flight to Cuiabá, Rob decided to use the airport toilet, only for its door to fall off its hinges.  She caught and handed it to the attendant as she left, much to that lady’s bemusement.

Flights from Rio to Cuiabá

At 7am next morning we were heading into the Pantanal with Jon our driver and guide Flavio, an indigenous Amazon Brazilian with a lot of stories to share and things to teach us.

The new itinerary had us staying in one lodge for 2 nights and another, deeper into the Pantanal for 1 and over the next 4 days it was non stop wildlife searching, including during our drive along the ‘highway’ to and from lodges.

There was an upside to the late rains… birds, lots and lots of birds and it wasn’t long before we were seeing some familiar ones like the kingfishers but also a mass of new ones.

Kingfisher flying across a river

Spoonbills at sunrise

Snail kite eating a crab

It was both hot and humid in the Pantanal, but that didn’t deter Flavio having us out searching for wildlife within 30 mins of checking into the first lodge and soon found ourselves standing right next to a 2m caiman sunning itself on land.

First caiman we saw

So for our entire time in the Pantanal we were either doing pre-sunrise walks into the forest, day and night drives or boat drives and there was plenty to see as the photos that follow will show.

At both lodges there was also plenty of evidence of the presence of our elusive quarry in the form of very fresh tracks of jaguars, at the first lodge a mother and cubs and at the second lodge a large male.

Fresh jaguar paw prints but alas no sighting of one

Flavio constantly amazed us by both his shared stories and his ability to spot animals either during the day or night, for example during our pre-dawn walk in the jungle and just after the sunrise, he found a porcupine sleeping at the top of a tree!

Tree climbing porcupine... who would have thought

The staff in both lodges were very warm, friendly and despite our lack of Portuguese, made us feel very welcomed indeed. The food was plentiful and good, especially the piranha soup.

We really enjoyed our multiple boat rides where we experienced a few new things like…

...birds

Hyacinth Macaw

Small toucan

...monkeys

Black & gold howler monkey

Brown capuchin

...agouti

Azaria's agouti

...capybaras

Patiently waiting to enter the 'capybara cafe'

...marsh deer

Marsh deer

...caiman

Caiman in the wetlands at sunset

...snakes

...parrots

Click on this link - More photos in the Pantanal

During one boat ride we even went fishing for piranha and yes I did take one off the hook, much to Flavio’s concern, especially when you see their teeth.

Me hanging onto a piranha

The business end of a piranha

A jumping caiman called Lucy who swam up so close to our boat Rob was warned to keep her hands away from the side.  The fish she jumped for was piranha!

Lucy the caiman jumping for a piranha

Another piranha was thrown into the water for a hawk to swoop down and grab, which was another surprise for us.

Hawk making off with its piranha

During 2 night drives Flavio found pygmy owls hiding in trees, crab eating foxes, including 2 young ones following and harassing a caiman walking down the highway, something Flavio had not seen before.

Pygmy owl at night

Crab eating fox

2  young crab eating foxes pestering a caiman on the main highway

We also managed to see 2 giant anteaters that appeared out of the bushes on to the road briefly before again returning.

Giant anteater appears out of the bushes one night

In only 4 days and despite only seeing jaguar tracks, we achieved much during our time in the Pantanal, again due to the skills and attention of both Flavio and Jon.

Map of our route within the Pantanal

Sunset over the Pantanal's wetlands whilst in boat

Thank you Wild Pantanal Safaris for a fabulous time and perhaps one day we will return to the Pantanal to finally see the elusive jaguar.