Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil

There are many ways to tackle Iguazu falls, as it is split between Argentina and Brazil we have allowed 3 days in the schedule to cover both. The third day is just in case of bad weather but you can get a second consecutive day on the Argentinian side for half priced entrance fee so we decided as the weather looked good we would go to the Brazilian side today. After breakfast we walked into town to the central bus terminal, there are a couple of companies but the buses with Cruze de Norte looked better so we booked on the next bus. The bus travelled about 15km before approaching the Argentinian border where were were let off to get our stamp out of the country, the bus pulled through and we hopped back on. A further 1km on and the process was repeated to stamp Brazil into our passports. The park was not too much further on and as we approached I was think it looked like a theme park. Very slick operation as you picked the ticket up at the kiosk and caught a shuttle bus to the walk we wanted to take to the falls. You can hear them roaring before you see them but a short walk and we got our first view. These falls are made up of over 275 cattaratas (waterfalls) and from this side they are laid out in front of you. They are vast, I don’t think I managed to get them in one picture as they are so wide and the volume of water going over looks immense. As we take the path down (avoiding the American school group) you are walking parallel to the falls width and Argentinian side on the other side of the Iguazu river. There are big birds circling above, kites or hawks just gliding on the thermals. We get to the foot of the biggest falls and walk out onto the walkway, there are plenty of people in ponchos but in this weather I figure we will dry quick enough. It is an immense spray, deafening noise and really exhilarating just being this close. As you look over you realise there is more beneath, and a rainbow. We do get drenched but nothing too unrecoverable and make our way up in the ‘panoramic elevator’ (should have walked!) to get a view looking into the top of the falls. They really are massive and surging past. Whilst amazing panoramas, I was surprised at only being in the park for a few hours. We had read that there was a bird park nearby worth going to so we ventured across the road to the Parque das Aves. It was really well laid out, and you could go into some enclosures. The best were the tucans and the fabulous macaws. We went as they were fed and the squawking was loud as they swooped past you. Great couple of hours. We reversed the simple bus process back through the border and got off just down from the hotel. Managed steak and wine again for dinner.

Puerto Iguazú, Argentina

People do say that often it is the journey that is the most fun….today was an okay journey and given we were heading to Iguazu it was exciting. The journey: Walk to ferry terminal Ferry crossing from Colonia de Sacramento to Buenos Aires Taxi from ferry to domestic airport (guy was a nutter driver and we were ripped off!) Flight from BA to Puerto Iguazu Bus from airport to our hotel Whilst that feels extensive it went smoothly and was only around 7 hours. Our hotel is lovely and we are mostly just excited to see the falls tomorrow.

Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay

We enjoyed breakfast at Cafe Ubani, we had researched options and they did a decent eggs Benedict so it provided a nice change to have poached eggs. It was then back to the bus station for a trip to Colonia de Sacramento which is 3 hours away but then only a 1 hour ferry back to BA. We arrived about 2pm and after dumping our bags we went and explored the old city. I had read that it was built by the Portuguese in the 17th century and it was lovely strolling through cobbled streets. There are some original buildings and a lighthouse all within an easy stroll. We didn’t take as long as I thought in the area so managed to squeeze a beer in! We ate at Dos 22 this evening, which amused us given the Spanish pronunciation would be Dos dos dos. I had a Milanese which is a speciality in Uruguay and Argentina, delicious.

Montevideo, Uruguay

Today we have to leave our spacious suite (still peeved that they charge for coffee in the room!). I waddle with my excess Punta gained weight down to breakfast where my performance is below a Curle average, fruit and pastries only today. We checkout and stroll to the bus station to catch the COT bus back to Montevideo. We get into Tres Crosses bus station before 2pm and after much confusion, mainly due to my dodgy Spanish accent, get a taxi to the Holiday Inn. Thinking about our return to Montevideo, we felt we had explored the city well enough and as a Sunday much of the attractions are closed for the day so we planned to lose the rest of the day in some fine wine tasting. The Montevideo Wine Experience is run by a really friendly guy, and we decided to sample 3 premium wines. Los cerros de San juan- Mill Los nadies – Equilibrio Gimenez Mendez- premium tannat They are all Tannat wines with the first two being blended. The pure Tannat is a bit full bodied for me, tastes more like a French red which isn’t my thing. The other two blended, one with Cabinet Sauvignon and the other with merlot were fabulous really enjoyed both but if pushed would pick a bottle of Equilibrio. We sashayed back through the city enjoying the quiet Sunday. Dinner was at El Fogon, where I chose pork….should have had the steak as it was fab.

Punta del Este, Uruguay

Woke up to a fabulously sunny day, grazed the breakfast buffet and then strolled the beaches. Great to watch people and feel the warmth of the sun! Walked for a couple of hours before stopping for coffee, we then made ourselves comfortable by the pool in a nicely shaded spot for the afternoon. Dinner was by the harbour and we both enjoyed fish before a ‘freddo’ ice cream on the stroll back. Lovely easy day.

Punta del Este, Uruguay

Woke today to a cloudy day and a cool 19 degrees, which isn’t ideal for a beach resort. I knew I had a epic buffet breakfast to graze through though so settled in to try each station. After a few courses we were keen to explore and work off some of the pastries. Laundry was needed so we headed down to the peninsula with a bag to drop off. We strolled down one side taking in the yacht harbour where a dog seemed determined to pick a fight with a large seal. As we came round the peninsula we started seeing lots of different birds, all seeming to be preying on the shoreside spoils from the rougher weather. The two sides are very different with Playa Brava getting a lot more of the wind, so more dramatic. It took us a couple of hours to walk all the way round, laughed a lot at the point where justin got covered in sea foam! We found the concrete hand in Playa Brava, part of an art installation that is popular for selfies. Grabbed a coffee at Start up cafe before picking up laundry and heading back to the suite. I managed to find the spa to kill a couple of hours chilling out and then read my book for the rest of the day. We went to Capi bar for dinner, a brewhouse that turned its brew green to celebrate St Patrick’s day. Scrummy fish and chips finished a chilled day nicely.

Punta del Este, Uruguay

We had on the list for Montevideo a visit to the Palacio Legislativo and figured out that catching the 10.30 tour this morning was the best way of fitting it in. Check out took a while so we then resolved to find breakfast on route, which was actually trickier than we expected but stumbled into a run down restaurant that served great coffee and a croissant much to my surprise. We ended up just making the tour as we rushed into the building. There were four of us on the tour, one Estonian lady much to the amusement of our guide, who had never heard of the country, thought a smaller country population made her feel big and loved the fact that this was the first Estonian who had toured the building and they would need to setup a new country in the database to record her visit! The building was constructed in 1925 using only materials from Uruguay, 17 different types of granite and 52 types of marble. It is a very grand and ornate building, fantastic to have been allowed to move freely into both house chambers and to see the constitution in the old library. It really was a worthwhile tour, great fun. We then retraced our steps to the hotel so we could collect our bags and catch a taxi to the bus station. Our planned bus was full but they are fairly frequent to Punta del Este so by 3pm we were on our way meaning we arrived around 5pm. It was great watching the huge waves on the long beach as we came into town. Justin had managed to use hotel points to secure tonight’s accommodation at the Conrad hotel, I was very excited to be in such plush surroundings. On arrival we were upgraded to a suite on the 16th floor. Magic to be so high overlooking the ocean whilst enjoying the 2 rooms and 1.5 bathrooms! I didn’t really want to leave for dinner but managed it for sushi on the seafront, it is really blowing a gale tonight.

Montevideo, Uruguay

We stopped at Orin de Cafe for breakfast this morning, more traditional cafe that serves simple breakfast. I manage to work out enough Spanish to order a apple pastry and coffee. I am sure it wasn’t the pick of the pastry list but it went down fine. Today is a bit windy and cloudy with the promise of rain later so we elected to cycle along the ‘Ramblas’. This is essentially a promenade along the seafront joining beaches for a 26km stretch. We hired bikes from the Orange bike rental company and set off towards Playa Ramirez, we were shouted down at one point by two Americans looking to find out where to rent bikes from. The coast is lovely and we enjoyed winding our way along the shore. At about 15km we elected to turn back, having passed four beaches and when we reached Player Marvin we stopped for lunch. Picked a spot on the beach and sat out enjoying a cheese salad. Once we had returned the bikes we had a quieter afternoon reading as the rain passed. The restaurant I found for dinner was closed, so we ate at Jacinto which was in a great high ceiling building. Lovely pasta and chilled white wine.

Montevideo, Uruguay

New city means new walking tour! Headed to Cafe Brasilio (est 1877) for scrambled eggs and coffee. Good eggs, again poor coffee…. Walking tour started in Plaza Independencia, where Palacio Salvo is located and the presidential palace. The Palacio Salvo is the twin building of the Palacio Barolo we visited in Buenos Aires, looks similar but we have been told the interior is not as interesting. Valentino was our guide, the other guy was ‘Uruguayan sick’ so he took the English and Spanish tour together, this was amazing as he would complete a single sentence and then repeat in Spanish almost seamlessly. He was very entertaining with a good joke at his people whilst being patriotic. Facts I learnt: Uruguayan consume 60kg of beef a year There are 3.3million people and 18million cows Uruguay has no natives as they were slaughtered, so they are a country built on immigrants. They currently have open immigration to become a resident. Extremely laid back country who are passionate about football and mate (herbal drink) The president works in a huge glass building on Independencia plaza, little security threat apparently. There is also a large statue of Artigas on horseback. He fought for independence for Uruguay but they exciled him over English demand to. As the dictatorship of the 1970/80s took hold they presented him as a hero and had his ashes returned to be honoured. The weird tomb was just steps under the statute, under guard but a very strange location for the shrine (and accessible). The tour led us through several Plazas, past lovely buildings and we learnt about the economy and customs. It ended in the mercado de Puerto to salvia over the parillos. We grabbed a couple of empanadas for lunch and strolled around the old city for the afternoon. I had read about great sunsets in Montevideo and apparently the best view was from a beach about an hours walk, Playa Ramirez. The beach had beautiful white sand, surprisingly as a ‘city’ beach. We watched people strolling or playing volleyball as the sun performed a lovely orange sunset. Spotted a craft beer place, Montevideo Brewing House for a quick beer and then had steak with too much wine at La Orta steakhouse.

Montevideo, Uruguay

Today is a travel day as we head to Uruguay, specifically Montevideo. Time to say goodbye to our little apartment with a lovely scrambled eggs breakfast. We catch a Uber to the port and enter the Buquebus terminal. Immigration is completed on this side, you are stamped out of Argentina and they then slide your passport across the desk to the Uruguay person to stamp us in – all very friendly. Our ticket includes a ferry across to Colonia and then a bus to Montevideo. Disappointingly the ferry didn’t have an outside deck so had to settle for a seat facing the fast food kiosk. 1hr ferry followed by 2 hour bus and we’re in Montevideo, caught a taxi down to the Holiday Inn (free stay with Justin’s points!). I had been trying to secure a apartment in BA for a month to take Spanish classes and on connecting to wifi received an email saying it had gone -damn it! Took some time on airbnb to find another, more expensive but everything is starting to fill for Easter so I have booked it and can now relax on that front. Stroll to dinner at Dueto I have a really nice grilled fish which makes a change from steak.