PARAGUAY

Asuncion

After a 6 hour journey travelling through nice countryside and numerous small villages we arrived in the bus terminal
of Asuncion (around 5km from the city centre). Both feeling pretty tired and in need of a beer Jim and I decided that we would
get a taxi instead waiting around for another bus despite the obvious fact that it would be cheaper. It was around 7 o clock and just getting dark
but still it was very warm yet we and our bags were still slightly wet from the severe drenching that we received walking to the terminal. For some reason
Asuncion had a slightly Asian feel to it and when I mentioned this to Jim who had travelled all around Asia he agreed. One thing you notice when coming into
Asuncion is the fact that the majority of buildings are low, old and crumbling although there are a few modern bulidngs dotted around and some high risers.
It certainly had more of a real South AMerican feel to it with the old rickety buses and taxis that I had experienced in Ecuador with many bumps and unfinished roads
and buildings. It almost felt inimidating now being in the real developing world rather than Argentina and Brasil which are much more like Europe and more highly developed.
After a 15 minute taxi journey we arrived at the black cat hostel a hostel with a high rating and in a very central position. After getting settled a having a well earned beer we were joined by Lydia a somewhat extravert and energetic English girl from Southampton who was very chatty. After chatting a while, it turned out that all 3 of us had
been in Chile during the earthquake but they had both been very close, with Jim being in a bus near the epicentre and told us of the road being torn up all around them and the bus
bouncing up and down and coming very close to tipping and he was sure he was going to die! What a story! Lydia had been in bed in Santiago when it happened and had not even felt it!
SHe was also in the aftershock and just felt the earth quaking beneath her feet! After chatting with them for a while, it turns out that they have between them travelled most of the world! Jim actually travelled across Asia alone on his motorbike which sounded great until his back wheel bust and he couldnt get the part to fix it! After a couple of beers
Jim headed to bed but Lydia suggested we out out to the local bar and Bart, a nice Slovakian guy joined us. We headed to Britannia which was a really nice bar which made
me feel so at home with Union Jacks everywhere, English signs, pictures of the Queen, the Beatles and London everywhere. The best thing there was that they did these huge towers of beer
that had a tap so the 3 of us shared one of these.

The next day I decided to see a bit of the city so I went on one of my famous long walks to explore the place. Luckily the hostel was very close to everything and it didnt take long to get around the sites.
THere was a beautiful white domed church in Plaza de los Heroes, a lovely old colonial style cathedral right behind the hostel the bells of which we could hear in the courtyard. Little did I realise that we were also
on the banks of the river Parana which was a nice sight and I wondered if I could just go down and chill on the banks but on closer proximity
it turned out that the banks of the river were pretty much lined by favelas, a whole town of shacks and shanty houses which when I started walking through to try and get through to the river a man told me to turn back as it was peligroso (dangerous). I did so promptly and walked up towards the 1st of 2 palaces which was a beautiful old colonial building painted a pinkish colour with many arches going across the face of the building.

It turns out you can go inside as it's a museum and we went on the roof and took some nice pictures from up there. The next building I came to was a large white palace which was my favourite building in the city
and was really impressive to me. It was a fabulous old Spanish style palace with two wings and an almost turrett like part in the centre with the Paraguayan flag flying high from the top. It was a scorchingly hot day
and it really was gleaming and certainly made for some great photos.

Shame I was no longer with anyone to take some of me! On return to the hostel I found out my friends were all leaving, Lydia and Bart were off to Santa Cruz
in Bolivia and Jim was heading up north to Filadelfia, both of which I fancied doing but due to my bad planning, I had booked the flight from Puerto Iguazu so I had to return there. Now I was a little sad as I was going to be left
in this hostel where I knew noone but that soon changed. I reserved the TV for the Chelsea v Portsmouth game which put me in a good mood as we won it 5-0 and many sat with me to watch it including this Australian
guy who was a Barcelona fan who I had a good chat about the footy with and then met the rest of his Aussie mates, 4 really good guys from Melbourne. Also there was this crazy character from Norway who I'll never
forget because although I think he has a screw loose, he still turned out to be a really nice guy, the type who will laugh at anything even if what was said wasnt funny and he also tends to say the most random things. He certainly
didnt seem like a Norwegian, certainly more Jewish than Norwegian as everyone agreed. I was beginning to realise that this was a hostel that was full of characters and very few women! During the game a couple of girls turned up to check in and it turns out they were the 2 lovely Belgian girls
I had met in Cordoba so we had a good chat and catch up although they were only staying a night as they were heading up to Mexico city for a little while. It was certainly nice to see some familiar faces. Another strange coiincidence happned that a guy from Croydon came in and asked my name and where I was from, when I said I was born in Croydon, he asked if it was New Addingtion and I said no but my cousins live there and he said what's your surname and when I said Baker he was like I know the Bakers
I know Dave, he works in the shop and I know Tom too although he said they were all rebels and drug dealers which made me doubt him but it was strange he knew their names! He was quite intimidating so I tried to steer clear of him as he was very intense and in your face, questions, questions, wont even let you finish your first answer before he fires another at you! I spoke to Jim about him and he said the same but I didnt see him again so I guess he must've left the next day or something.
Just as I was feeling low and alone, this Dutch guy checked in called Robin who seemed to be pretty crazy and very intense. Immediately he said hi, what can you see here, i showed him
my photos and he said theyre good but better with you in them so he told me we'd go again and he'd take some of me. So off We went round the sights again so I got some pictures with me in them which was nice to prove I was actually there
and then we went to the supermarket to get some lunch. Turns out he lives in BA and speaks fluent Spanish and was extremely cocky and confident and a real player saying hi to all the ladies in the street!
On return to the hostel we met this German guy called Axel who was a nice guy, pretty butch and also a mad hatter with alost a permanent smile on his face! Turns out he had been in the army, was very high up and then just quit and took all his money and
is now taking the chance to meet all the people from round the world he was in duty with. Hos next location is Quito where he'll stay with an Ecuadorean soldier he knows. He kept saying I love my life and I can see his point but never settling down
I'm not so sure about that! He and the Dutch guy immediately got on although I dont think the Aussies like Robin too much! During the day, a nice English guy called Paul from Portsmouth had arrived in my room who I got on very well with. He was
a pipefitter in Antarctica for the British Antrarctic Survey and travelled all round the world doing it and was actually moving to Australia with his trade. As well as Paul, we had another newcomer in our room, a very nice German guy
called Alex who was a dentist who was coming to live in El Chaco (the northern part of Paraguay) to help the natives and also turned out to be a real legend and someone I really got on well with. I was really starting to enjoy the whole travelling alone
as I was meeting so many great people! Since it was a Friday night and everyone was up for going out so we started off in Britannia and then ended up in a club just a little way out of town where we went but then headed to another where there were
for some reason many semi naked women prancing up and down on a cat walk! THis turned out to be a great night amongst great company even if they were all men!

The next day I woke up in time for the Chelsea v Villa game which was great again as we won 7-1 and again I met some nice guys, another English guy called Andy (turns out many Brits stay in this hostel) and a nice Irish guy called Noel. We all went out again on the saturday night,to see an
excellent Brazilian band in an Irish pub called Kilkenny in a very vibrant area with many bars pubs and clubs which was a great night. We also had a lady with us this time which was nice, a young German girl who had arrived from Bolivia but was also leaving the next day (seems that's generally what the girls do)
.Overall the hostel very much seemed like the place was all about sleep or watch tv during the day and then go partying at night as there really wasnt too much to do during the day, once you've seen the sites which takes about half a day then theres not much else to see or do and it gets so hot that it's
almost too hot to be outside anyway! One thing I noticed was that the streets are always very empty and pretty quiet both day and night although during the day you do have the street vendors with all sorts of arts, crafts and clothes etc which is worth seeing.

I was really beginning to love Asunsion, it wasnt the toursity beaten track that I had been used to although the locals seemed used to seeing gringos around, the people were great, natives and guys in my hostel the owner of the hostel was very nice, friendly and helpful who would always
help with any queries and the place was great with a good combination of history, modernity and enough charater to stand out from the more developed cities I had visited. I made some good friends in the hostel, perhaps lifelong friends as I intend to see Lydia and Bart again in La Paz, I would like
to take up Alex on his offer to stay with him in Bavaria and I would also like to visit Paul in Australia so I made sure I got everyones details so we could stay in touch.

Paraguay has been a breath of fresh air to me, I had a bad impression at first entering through the carnage that is Ciudad del Este and the torrential rain really didnt do much for my mood and certainly put me off having to return but luckily Andy and Noel, the nice English and Irish guys are also heading my way so it's nice to have friendly familiar faces travelling back with me, Andy seems like the type that is very knowledgable and sensible and Noel seems like your typcial very kind and very nice Irish man from Limerick. Both great chaps so I'm in good company.

My one regret is that I didnt see more of this great country, I wish I had had the time to go up north and see Filadelfia and the mennonite community, El Chaco and the Pantanal and the moonie community. Perhaps some other time I'll come and do it properly.

On the bus back now after having a great 5 days. Appreciating the beautiful countryside with lush forests, vast flat plains, small towns and villages and billowing cumulus clouds, it really is a quite beautiful country but I have to leave to get back for my flight so I'll go and sit by a pool
for a few days in Puerto Iguazu and just chill out there although I'm going to the Hostel Inn which is supposed to be party central so hopefully I'll meet some good people there too. THink Noel is coming too after seeing the Foz from the Brazil side so it'll be good to see him again.

Iguazu Falls, Argentina and Brasil

Iguazu Falls

On arrival in Iguazu, it seemed like a very small place and having travelled for 19 hours (shouldve been 17 but we had a puncture on the way which the driver didnt notice until smoke started pouring out from the side of the coach!) it was certainly a relief to arrive. For Lee especially it was a relief as that was his last bus journey of any length so he was pretty delighted when we finally got there. We were both starving as they had provided a couple of biscuits and a snadwich for the whole journey which was a joke since we had been given a hot meal for the relatively shorter journey from Cordoba to Rosario! Luckily our hostel (another Marcopolo Inn) was literally just across the road from the bus terminal which turned out to be quite a nice hostel with a swimming pool, table tennis, a large kitchen and a bar out front. At reception we booked our tickets to Iguazu and went to get some lunch which we got a 15% discount for at the place opposite next to the terminal which was a good thing since my money was certainly running low after paying for Iguazu plus 3 nights in the hostel! For the rest of the day since the weather was scorching we sat round the pool, working on our tans and when I say working I mean working as within 5 minutes the sweat was literally pouring off you! It was almost like being in a sauna!! After dinner and sharing a beer with a nice roomate of mine from Switzerland it was time for bed as we had to get the bus at 7.45 to the falls.

Thankfully the next morning the weather was perfect and off we headed in a minibus transfer to the falls. After reaching the main entrance, paying the 85 pesos and walking a short while we got our first glimpse of the falls. I was lost for words and breathtaken bu the sheer scale and beauty of it all. On walking a little more through the lush, thick jungle where we saw huge spiders on gigantic webs, some amazing birds, butterflies and plants, the biggest ants I’ve ever seen, loads of skunk like creatures and one very long green snake (I’m gutted I couldnt get a good shot of) we got to a clearing where the views of the falls were simply brathtaking. The most amazing sight I’d say I’ve ever seen! The huge force and velocity of the water was incredible and you really do have the utmost repsect for the force of nature and it’s sheer beauty had me saying wow every few minutes, I couldnt beleive my eyes!

We continued walking and went down the lower path where you could actually stand and the foot of one of the biggest waterfalls but you must be prepared to get very wet! Continuing down we headed to the speedboat navigational area as we had paid for the 12 minute boat ride which took you close up to the falls as part of the ticket price. This was super funwhizzing round at high speed between the waterfalls, going right up close and getting drenched. It wasnt a good idea to have your camera out but I was determined to get a few shots which I managed and while next to the falls I’d put it back in the waterproof bag provided. After this we headed to the high path which by walking it you can walk paths directly over the falls which was amazing as you could actually see the furosity and turbulence of the water right up close as it pluments over the sides allowing for some great shots of the falls from above loking down on the falls and the river below. I was pleased to find that there was an Adam and an Eve waterfall so took speciall care to get good shots of MY waterfall J

Next we headed to the most famous of all the waterfalls (there are over 20) called the Garganta del Diablo (the Devils Throat) which we had to get the train to and after walking over about a kilometre of walkways across the rivers and through various small islands on the river and seeing some more amazing wildlife including turtles, storks and some more exquisite birds and butterfiles we arrived at the falls. 

Words and pictures just do not do this place justice. It was simply phenomenal the most amazing sight of nature that I beleive anyone can ever see! Simply awe-inspiring I just couldnt beleive the power and force I was confronted with. It really was like something God had put there to show his power. I read that the mythical story was that God was in love with a woman who sailed off in a canoe down the Parana (the name of the river leading to the falls) and in his fury he split the river creating the Devils throat where the man and woman plummeted to their deaths! Not sure exactly how accurate this is but I’m sure you can find out about it on the web somewhere. The point is if you went over that waterfall I think the force of the water would shatter your bones into smithereens. It was just the most incredible sight I’d ever seen and I have seen a fair few sights! I was shocked to see that people were actually rafting nearby on walking back! They must be crazy being that close to the falls! I really did love it and would recommend it to anyone who can get there!! On return to the train station there were an accumulation of butterflies which on closer inspection was a group of a probably a few hundred of them, all different shapes, sizes and colours drinking from a large puddle and walking closer they became disturbed and begin flying around and literally thousands of them were flapping around me it was an amazing sight. I just wished I had more battery and space on my memory on my camera so I could get a nice video of them. I was actually quite jealous when I saw an English guys video on the train back of them all flying around! Still I got some good shots though. An excellent day it was turning out to be! On return to the entrance on the train, it turns out that we had about 2 hours until the bus was due to pick us up so I headed down the Macuco trail while Lee rested at the restaurant.

This was a kind of an ecological trail leading to a secluded waterfall in the jungle where you could swim but unfortunately I didnt see much wildlife (I was hoping to perhaps see monkeys or toucans but I mainly just saw more of those huge spiders). I was in a rush as it took around an hour to get to the waterfall so I didnt have time to go for a swim and I didnt have my trunks anyway. It was a nice sight though and walking up the path a little there was a nice mirador where you could get some good pictures. I practically ran back as I really didnt want to miss the bus so I made it back with about 10 minutes to spare which was a relief. Overall it was a superb trip and amazing place to see and I’d say even better than Nigara even though it’s slightly bigger as it is in the middle of the jungle so there is an awful lot of wildlife to be seen too.

Back at the hostel I met some nice people, two Dutch girls, a French guy and Norwegian girl and we decided to head out to club called Cuba Libra which turned out to be a pretty good club with 3 rooms and an upstairs vip lounge which I somehow got into. This was a good night although a little costly and tiring as we didnt get out til 6 but I enjoyed all the same. The next few days were mainly spent not doing much since the weather turned pretty grim and it rained most of the day so it turns out we picked the perfect day to see the falls in terms of the weather! I enjoyed another good night with the French guy and Norwegian girl and we shared a bottle of rum with coke between us and had some good laughs. We all exchanged details so perhaps I will meet them again at some point as I think they’re going north too. On our final evening at the hostel, we met an American who had been in my room on the first night but had to move to another hostel as there wasnt room for him to stay longer, his English girlfriend Amy and a German guy called Christian. Turns out Amy was a doctor which was amazing since she really didnt come across as a doctor, more a dumb blonde Essex girl but on further discussions (I have a little knowledge of medical matters having worked at a medical marketiing company) she seemed to know her stuff for sure! The German guy suggested we drank tequila which I said I would join him in doing and I remembered that I still had rum left from the previous night and the others had left so we eneded up doing some tequila shots (vanilla flavoured!) courtesy of the German followed by shots of rum. This probably wasnt a great plan as I was due to get up quite early at 7am to get he bus to Brasil with Lee but didnt feel so bad since Lee had done the shots too.

The next monring I woke to find Lee poking me saying I’m going so i quickly showered, dressed and packed and had some breakfast. Lee joined me for breakfast saying he was still drunk and felt absolutely rough but I felt ok. Perhaps it was an age thing although I did pour yoghurt into my cereal by accident but it actually tasted quite nice! So off we headed to cross into Brasil to go to Foz do Iguacu and see the falls from that side which was highly recommended too as from there you can see the whole lot and stand face to face with the Devils throat. After checking in at the hostel Bambu, we headed off to the falls. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t great but it cleared up a little as the day went on. It still didnt take away from the sheer beauty of the place and was well worth seeing from this side instead of seeing the falls close up, from the Brasil side you can see it all from a distance and allows for some amazing photos. It really did just illustrate the sheer scale and immensity of the place when you can see all the falls and the entire basin from afar, quite a sight! On walking down the path, you can get up close to face the devils throat although not quite as close as I’d hoped but it still allowed for some great photos and any closer and you’d probably drown in all the water vapour! Then walking up the path a little more you can take an elevator up and get a great view of the devils throat and the rest of the falls which was an amazing sight! It really was just a shame that it was so cloudy as there was a lot less definition between the sky and the water, it was all just white but still looked very impressive. Typically as we were leaving it began to brighten up and around an hour or two later it was clear blue and no clouds in the sky!

On return to the hostel, we stopped at the supermarket to get dinner and it dawned on me that this was my last night with Lee who was leaving for the airport at 7 so I decided that I would head into Paraguay and go to Asuncion in the morning. Just how I’d do this I wasnt sure but I’m sure I’d find out, I knew it was 6 hours from the border so a relatively short journey compared to others we had done although I had no idea what the roads would be like!

The next morning Lee woke me to say goodbye, we shook hands and he mentioned that he had 50 bed bug bites and left which made me immediately paranoid about bed bugs in my bed so I didnt stay in there much longer, just waited til breakfast started at 8. Luckily on inspection I had not been bitten. At breakfast on chatting to some of my roomates it turned out a few of them where headed to Paraguay too mainly for shopping at Ciudad del Este as electronic goods are very cheap there and then returning into Brasil but I and another English guy called Jim wanted to get to Asuncion so we all got the bus together. The rain was chucking down and I had all my possessions with me so I had a feeling that this was not going to be fun! At the border none of the others got off the bus, presumably because if you’re just going for an hour or two shopping there’s no point so Jim and I got off to get the stamps.

Paraguay

Ciudad del Este

I had been warned by the Dutch girls and French guy in Iguazu, Argentina that Cidad del Este was absolute chaos and carnage with signs, people, cars, buses everywhere but nothing prepared me for this! Having run out of Brazilian reals and no Paraguayan guayranis, I need a bank urgently. After getting our stamps out of Brasil, we needed to cross the bridge to Paraguay but I had been warned that it had a reputation for being very dangerous with muggings and even shootings here as it is no mans land so I thought it best to catch another bus across. Luckily I still had Jim with me or I probably would’ve walked across the bridge but he advised against it. Once we got on the bus, the driver seemed to want to rip me off and even though I was short just 5 centavos, he said I still owed 1 real which was confusing. In the end I asked Jim who hadnt paid who lent me 2 reals although the driver still want happy, presumably because Jim hadnt paid so he was after both the fees. I was getting some evil glares off people and as my Portuguese wasnt great it was difficult understanding him. Eventually he just said go through the turnstile which I did but I left my big bag as it was going through. This clearly angered him some more so he got up from his seat and lifted it over and banged his head and everyone went ooohh. No I felt even worse but didnt really feel sympathy for him as he had clearly ripped me off for my ticket which he didnt even give me in the end anyway! After about 5 minutes it was time to get off anyway and we actaully had problems finding the immigration office to get our stamps in! I couldnt beleive how lax it all was and how much chaos there was, it didnt help that the rain was torential so huge mud puddles were running downhill. We easily could’ve gone on in the bus and not even got a stamp and when getting our stamps, the guy didnt even look at our photos, literally he just took it and put a stamp in it and handed it back! I said to Jim, imagine if it was like that in England we’d have no room to move there’d be so many people, he agreed and said they don’t really care in a country that noone wants to visit and I was beginning to see why! The next priority was money so we walked up the road in the pourning rain with all my belongings through the mud, clay, puddles, swathes of people trying to sell you things, market stalls with everything imaginable on sale, shops upon shops upon shops and yet more people. This really was chaos and I just wanted to get on the bus to Asuncion but to do this I needed money. There was me thinking it was going to be a small little border crossing, I’d imagined it to be similar to the Ecuador, Peru border crossing I had been to many years before but this was nothing like it, it was ridiculously busy and a pretty large city too with skyscrapers, shops and malls everywhere! Eventually we found a bank and I got a hunder dollars with my credit card as it wouldnt accept debit cards and I just needed something. I was glad I had Jim with me as I couldnt imagine doing all this alone and he talked alot of sense. We agreed that we were going to do no shopping and just head for the bus terminal. Foolishly we decided to walk the 2.5 kms to the place in the still pouring rain with our bags which nearly killed me but eventually we got there and Jim kindly bought my bus ticket as he had exchanged his dollars and off we headed on the 6 hour journey to Asuncion.

Rosario

We arrived late in Rosario late on a Saturday evening, both of us starving hungry, tired and irritable so priorities were to find the hostel, find food and then sleep. Arriving at the hostel, we dumped our bags and went out to find some food. On first impressions of the city I really didnt like it much, the buidlngs were tall old and shabby and all very close together, the poeple were all either ugly or drunk or both, people were urinating in the street and groups of young men singing in the street! To be honest it reminded me a little of Woking on a Saturday night just without the chavs! The most frustrating thing was that nothing was open for food, not even mcdonalds and we were starving! We ended up finding this almost warehouse like food place with high dirty walls and more ugly people and some nasty cheap fast food but anything would do we were so hungry! I longed to be back in Cordoba or Mendoza but I was still looking forward to exploring the city and finding out what if anything it had to offer! On return to the hostel we find that we are shatring with 2 other men, one of whom was a big fat bald guy who although nice offering me some of his beer on the roof terrace and telling me he loved Morissey and all British music (yes I know Morissey was Irish but you know what I mean), was at the same time rather scary and I wasnt looking forward to sharing a room with him! The beds were far from comfortable as well with blood stains on the sheets and awful pillows so the next day we decided that we’d change hostels from Louvre (the original) to Hostel Art de Rosario which was much better as we got a 2 person room with sky tv and air con for just 10 pesos more per night and nice fresh clean sheets and even 2 puffy pillows and wifi in the room with plenty of plug sockets made it all the more better.

Once checked in and settled, we headed out. For a little geography lesson, Rosario is not coastal but is situated on the banks of the Rio Parana, a large river and tributary to the Mar del Plata at the mouth of Atlantic so it has many beaches which are pleasant with artificially placed white sand. The sun was out so we walked around the city centre, down the pedestrian street and the main passage through the city called Cordoba. This had an impressive array of old historic buildings with classic old architecutre and many impressive domes and stone workings and as we walked we could see they possibly had to a larger extent more old historic buildings than any other city we had visited. The only trouble was that because they were so close together, the photos wouldnt do them justice as you had to take them close up and couldnt get the full extent of them. After a while walking around, we decided we’d go and watch Rosario as they were playing at home against San Lorenzo. This was a crunch match as Rosario hadnt won a game and San Lorenzo weren’t doing too well themsevles. The atmosphere was great and it was a nice ground. As the game wore on however it was 0-0 and people started getting frustrated. The away fans were the louder (well that’s how it seemed as we were right next to them) and there was this one guy who did not watch the match at all, he just stood at the fence winding up the home fans with hand signals and singing and dancing and just really enjoying himself. Lee and I found it very amusing to watch him as he was such a character and so highly animated that at times he was more entertatining than the actual game! As usual in Argentina, both sets of fans had their own bands and chants and the guys in the kop were literally bouncing up and down at both ends. After 90 minutes and 2 San Lorenzo players being sent off, the home fans were getting more and more annoyed that their team just couldnt break down 9 men but with what was almost the last kick of the game, a cross came in, the striker leapt and got a sweet head on the ball, it hit the bar, bounced down, back up again to the underside of the bar and in. The crowd went crazy, victory with the last kick of the game and their first win of the season! It was great fun being amongst that crowd then, with the stadium rocking, everyone singing and dancing around, the atmosphere was almost electric as Boca in the electric storm!

The next day we went to do the necessary, booking tickets for the bus etc and I went to see the famous monument I’d been told about which was pretty impressive, built in comemoration of the design and hoisting of the Argentine flag for the first time. It was a very high large concrete staute in front of a large concrete buidling with pillars a little like the Lincoln memorial but I’d been told it was better to see it at night so I decided I’d come back when it was dark. After that Lee and I decided we’d go to the park but he got rumbles and had to run back to the hostel so I went alone. The park was beautiful with lovely grassy areas, many different trees and birds and some lovely lakes with picturesque little bridges and Roman style pillars partially surrounding it. In the middle of all this was Newlands Old Boys (another Rosario football team and the bitter rivals of Rosario Centro who we had been to see). Dont think I’d ever know of a football stadium in such a nice place! After a stroll in the park I decided I’d walk down and see the plaza de Che Guevara which wasnt quite what I had imagined but there was a nice statue and plaque erected of him and some colourfully painted (I say painted but it could well have been grafitti) murals. That evening we decided to go to the monument and discovered that it really was worth seeing at night with beautiful ligting of both the monument and the statue in lovely blue and white refecting the colours of the flag and it was quite something to see it all lit up this way with a big burning flame in the centre. Certainly made for some good photos and looking on the back of the 10 peso note, you can see it. Now we’ve seen the monuments on the back of the 5 and 10 peso notes. Dont think there are monuments on any other notes but we’ve been to so many cities in Argentina, we’ve probably seen them if there are!

The next day we decided to head to the famous beaches (albeit arificial) at la florida, a place on the bank of the river to the north of the city. To get there we decided we’d hire some bikes and went on the long but picturesque ride along the river bank all the way from the monument in the south to the very north of the city towards it’s great big suspension bridge to the north of the city. The weather was very hot and it was quite a tiring ride even though it was all flat. Strangely at almost the same time, my chain came off which proved very difficult and messy to get back on and Lee got a puncture so we both had to stop for a good 10-15 minutes to sort of various problems out. Once back up and running, we finally got the beach and had a good lunch and got a good bit of sunbathing done until a big young group of English people came and sat next to us disturbing the peace. I dont normally slate my own kind but they were more annoying than loud mouthed americans! We’ve got to get a kayaks, where are the kayaks was repeated about 10 times by one of them, when am I going to get my Chinese was repated constantly by another and then they started singing (badly I might add)! After this Lee and I decided we’d had enough and headed back for the football. Chelsea v Inter in the champions league, Jose retuns! Unfortunately we played very badly and lost but the least said about that the better!

The next day we had time to kill as our bus wasnt til 5 in the afternoon so we decided we’d go to the modern art museum, an interesting looking building with towering colourful pillars but on arrival we found that it was closed due to some protest parade for the Docentes whoever they are so instead we thought we’d just go to the cinema. The film started at 1pm so we walked around Cordoba and actually ate in that terrible place we’d found the first night we’d arrived but the place was transformed, there were people everywhere, chairs and tables outside, beautiful sunshine and the food wasnt bad either! The place had definitely grown on both of us and Lee even ventured to say that it was his favourite city and he had seen the fittest birds yet here! I still wasnt in agreement although I was starting to apprecaite it as a nice city and would certainly take back the injustice of comapring it to Woking! The film was rather poor (predictable Mel Gibson film called the edge of darkness of something) although it did the job in passing a couple of hours. Still need to go and see Avatar!

So now we’re on the mammoth bus journey of around 18 hours to Iguazu falls, one of the worlds largest and most famous waterfalls! I can’t wait. This is where Lee and I will part so I’ll be alone in a hostel! How scary! I’m sure I’ll get used to it. Will be there for 16 days though which is a long time! Meeting my Dad in Cusco to climb Macchu Pichu which I can’t wait to do so flying to La Paz (the captial of Bolivia first to have a little time there and then got the bus from there to Cusco some way or other! All exciting but costly. Oh well, you only live once!

Cordoba

Cordoba was certainly a mixture of highs and lows for me. On arrival were too early for checking in so it was necessary to wait around for a while until the room was ready. Once ready we dropped our stuff in the room to find that we were sharing with 4 Australian guys who all turned out to be great guys and good fun to get to know. I decided that since it was a nice day I’d go for a walk and explore the city a little and walking round I didnt like it so much compared to Mendoza. Many of the buildings were similar to those in Sao Paolo in that they were shabby, dirty, crmbling high rise builidngs although nothing could have prepared me for the fabulous churches and cathedrals in the central area of the city. Here there were many old colonial buildings and having the oldest university in the country meant that all the campus buidlngs were beautifuklly constructed and old style architecture and the cathdral near by was by far the best one Ive seen so far in South America which when lit up at night, along with the cathedral near the square were absolutely magnificent builkdings. I was soon in love with Cordoba and the beautiful ladies everywhere you turned definitely helped.

 It had such a young and studenty vibe and a fantastic night life so for me it was up there as one of the best places Ive been so far for sure. Lee and I visited a funky modern art museum (there were many museums in the city but unfortunately that was the only one I got to), then I walked to the park and went to the zoo which was enjoyable. There was one huge setback to my enjoyment of this great place and that came on day 2. I had heard from people in Mendoza that it was possible to go skydiving in Cordoba so with the you only live once feeling in my stomach I decided that it had to be done. After booking at the hostel, the guys there were party animals and one of them from Mexico was cooking Mexican food for the group as it was his last day before he left to go back home. Everyone decided that we would go to a club afterwards which we did and knowing I had to get up early for the skydive the next day was constantly playing on my mind so I headed back after a session of attempting salsa dancing with a local girl and laughing at the aussies all trying and failing so I headed back at the relatively early time of 4am all ready for skydiving at 8! Getting up the next day was obviously a struggle but I managed to get breakfast and then began the long long wait! If someone tells you a time in Argentina, they never mean literally that time, its always an hour or two later. When he told me 8.30 real time what he really meant was 12.30 in Argenitean time. Then you have to compensate for the fact that they are more than likely going to be late so I spent the majoirty of the day waiting. Eveytime I asked it was10 -15 minutes. As the hours passed I was getting more and more frustrated. Whilst waiting I decided to lock my computer and ipod in a locker and have it them charging. An Israeli couple arrived in our room but the girl didnt want to stay in there becuase she didnt like the shower (or lack of), one could say it was more just a shower head. Anyway so I chatted to the guy for a bit, he seemed like a nice and genuine guy and we laughed and joked about how dodgy the lockers were and how easy it would be to get into them even with a padlock. I locked up the computer thinking nothing of it and went downstrs in the hope that the guy might finally arrive. He finally arrived at around 3pm and off we went. He looked like he was in a bad mood and I was thinking to myself that I should be the one in the mood having waited all day for him so very few words were exchanged between us. We picked up 3 Israelis from another hostel and then off we went. On arrival, there were 4 or 5 others all also Israelis (dont know what it is about the Israleis but there are an awful lot of them here in South America now). Anyway so we got there and I find that we had to go one by one so we were going to have a long wait with so many people going up. Luckliy they had a ping pong table there so I enjoyed giving all the Israelis a good whipping. One even challenged me to a game to see who would go up first and I duly thrashed him. Just as it was coming up to my turn, typically the weather began to turn and a huge thunder cloud was forming on the horizon so that was the end of our hopes for doing it that day! After having waitied all day to do this jump when I could have slept in for a little longer or done another actvity we were sent back to the hostels in a taxi and told we could do it at 7.30am which obviously meant 9 at the earliest in Argie time. This made me very frustrated so on returning to the hostel I thought Id check my emails and facebook on my netbook. In the room, the first thing I noticed was the padlock combination had changed as I remembered what I had left it on for ease of reference to the code which I found very strange and somewhat worrying. On opening the locker I found nothing except the charger lead. The ipod lead had been placed on the knob of the locker below. Maldicion!! Where the hell were they!!

Someone had somehow got into my locker by cracking the code, it’s the only possible way they could have done it as there was nothing broken and no forced entry. This just turned my bad day into the worst day ever giving me a headache I really didnt need! After some time freaking out about what to do, I headed to the police with Willy (one of the staff at the hostel) and we gave a statement to a very nice young policwoman who spoke perfect English. Feeling gutted, depressed and just generally exhasusted I headed back to the hostel (even though I didnt want to as I felt that now I couldnt trust anyone)but still kept a brave face and actually had a good night with everyone in the end and got a relatively early night (still about 1am) in preparation for the early morning skydive.

Waking up the next day i looked at my watch and saw it was 10am but wasnt too worried as I knew they probably would be late and it was raining so it was more than likley not happening today so I just resigned to the fact that my skydive wasnt happening unless the rain cleared up. I decided that today Iwas going to go and buy a new replacement hopefully cheap netbook but after trapsing through what seemed like every electical store in the city (at least 15-20 stores) in the pouring rain, I realized that I was going to have to pay over the odds (actually more than i paid in the UK) and in the end bought exactly the same one without Windows 7 even, for more money but it was utterly necessary in my view, I couldnt live without it!!

I felt slightly appeased but at the same time depressed at having to spend all that money so I decided that I was going to drown my sorrows at Willy’s barbecue and afterwards go to Studio Teatro, the club that the Dutch girl had told me about. After the barbecue having met some great people, around me were French, Spanish, Australian, American, English, South African and Israeli (the thief couldve been amongst them for all i knew) we went to the club which was fantastic and highly recommendible especially getting in for free. This was the closest I’d heard to proper dance music I’d heard since being in SA and I thouroughly enjoyed the night, the music and the comapny although it wasnt til around 5am when we left and then we stayed up a little while back at the hostel just chatting. Finally getting to bed around 6.30 I thought I just have to get up to watch Chelsea at 12. Next thing I know it’s 11am and the cleaner is knocking on the door saying check out now. Nick (the aussie in our room) jumped up saying shit i have a bus to catch in half an hour so he and I were both frantically packing and gettin washed as I we should have both checked out an hour ago! Since most of the staff were with us the previous night I thought to myself that they should understand. Whilst pakcing up one of the staff memebers came up and told me that skydiving was on and they were coming for me in an hour so I was even more frantic thinking I can#t possibly I’m still drunk and have barely had sleep but foolishly simply nodded and agreed. Having packed quickly and watched the first half of Chelsea. The guy turned up and picked me and 3 Israeli girls up who I had got to know alittle so it was better than last time when I was with complete strnagers who I didnt evne know! Halfway there I relaised I just had flip flops on but the guy said Id be ok! When we arrived, I was still feeling like a zombie, god knows what the guys working there mustve thought! I was told that since I had to leave for the bus at 5 that I would be first!! So off I went to get ready, feeling out of it. I couldnt believe I was doing this, in the state I was in but perhaps it would be easier as it didnt feel real! I was really not in the mood or looking my besy for being filmed which they do from start to finsih of your jump for a DVD they give you at the end but I tried my best to smile and put on a brave face! Once all kitted up I was ready to go. It was a beautiful day and as we climbed I could clearly see the city of Cordoba in all its glory, the moutnains in the distance and fields for miles and miles! It was alot greener than I expected, they must get alot of rain or irrigate the place pretty well! After gaining height for around 15 minutes I began getting nervous, I knew the drill as Id been told it twice now since this was my second visit and I was just going over and over it in my mind, 5 mins before jump swivel round and put your bum upand sit on his lap while he connects you both together, then when the cameraman opens the door, shuffle towards it, hang your legs out to the right, do not grab anything in the plane, just dangle your legs and cross your arms and on 3 jump or prepare for him to jump. When in the air, arch your back and pull your legs up so your heels are to his arse and keep the arms crossed until he taps your shoulder! Easy peasy J. When he told me to swivel I started to get nervous but once in the air, I was ok, it was the craziest thing I;d ever done but I loved it and wasnt that scared. The freefall felt amazing and he told me that I did it very well, just as he’d explained which made me feel good but on watching the DVD afterwards I did look a little clumsy at times in my shorts, tshirt and bare feet! I loved the coming down slowly in the parachute most of all as it was sheer relief that I had made it and the parachute had opened properly. He even said look how well the parachute opened which made me wonder if it didnt open that well every time! The scenery below was beautiful and the weather just perfect with not a cloud in the sky and when he pulled on the parachute cord to direct us I loved the accelration into the warm wind. After a perfect landing I just couldnt stop smiling I was so pleased I had done it and it still felt like a dream. It was the most scary but exhilirating thing Id ever done and thoroughly worth while. I’d defintely do it again but from higher and with a group would be preferable next time. Oh and to be more prepared myself of course! On return to the hostel I find that Chelsea had won 4-1 and so I was extra happy although unfortunately in typical fashion, arsenal scored in the last minute in their game to beat Hull which wasnt so good. Now it was time to leave and head to our next desitnation, the city of Rosario which I hadnt heard much about apart from it was the birthplace of |Che Guevara and the place where the Argentine flag was designed and riased for the first time (and that there was a big monument put up to commemorate this).

I was going to miss Cordoba for sure, I did very much enjoy being in the city very much and met some great people and had some good times especially at night but obviously the theft of my belongings has somewhat tainted my view of the place but thats not the fault of the city, just an individual(s) who clearly have no respect for other people or their possesions. I just hope that there is such a thing as karma and they get what’;s coming to them!

Overall, Cordoba’s historic buidlings, nice young, friendly people and great nightlife made it one of my favourite cities so far and so after Mendoza and Cordoba, Rosario has a lot to live up to! Let’s hope it does!