We caught a bus to a small town called Colonia del Sacramento on the west side of Uruguay. Situated on the sandy banks of the Rio de la Plata it was an important centre for smuggling British goods across the river into the Spanish colonies during the 17th century. Wreckers also used to light fires […]

The day of the Presidential elections seemed like any other Sunday until early evening. Around 6.00pm onwards the roads began to fill with cars adorned with flags of red, white and blue, passengers leaning out of the windows shouting, drivers leaning on the horn. Many cars were subsumed with flags of their party and of […]

After a plane trip via Buenos Aires, we touched down in Montevideo, Uruguay. Thankfully, the temperature is down the scale and so is the humidity meaning that my shirt does not stick to my back after five minutes walking. It certainly feels fresher. Uruguay is famous for winning the first World Cup in 1930 (in […]

To please me, Debbie has agreed to come to Iguazu Falls. Sitting on the border of Brazil and Argentina and only a stone’s throw from Paraguay, the mighty Iguazu Falls are the most overwhelmingly magnificent in all of South America. Even Debbie was impressed and had to admit to enjoying herself immensely. For those who […]

We have progressed to Curitiba, pronounced Curchiba for some reason. It is regarded as one of Brazil’s model cities for quality of life and has something of a European feel, with leafy squares and a street that is open 24 hours (except Sunday). It is also the start of one of the world’s most spectacular […]

Here we have been done like a kipper! Our Footprint South American handbook tells us how wonderful is the wildlife in the wetlands of the Pantanal that covers an area the size of Belgium, Holland, Portugal and Switzerland combined. In the same section on the Pantanal, it tells us how great a destination is a […]

We took 3 days out of Salvador to go inland to trek through the hills of Chapada Diamantina, enjoy waterfalls, go swimming and just get away from city life. This area wasn’t on our agenda originally but the Brazilian lady with whom we trekked Machu Picchu highly recommended the place. So we thought we’d try […]