Kristy & Adam - South America Adventures

Over our last few days in Rio we did some serious shopping - I bought a new bikini, some new tops, shoes and some hammocks. We went to a typical Brazillian restaurant last night to taste some of the finest cooked meats and vegetables and afterwards we went to a street party in Lapa.
It was 3 or 4 streets lined with street vendors selling seriously cheap drinks and lots of small shops pumping out loud music. Was great to see how the Brazillians enjoy their Friday night out, but was pretty hectic as the place was very crowded and loads of pickpocketing going on, Adam was frisked twice by guys trying to grab his wallet!

We´re off to Venezuela tomorrow for 5 days, then Cuba! Can´t wait.
Keep in touch
Kristy & Adam

Over the past few days we have been relaxing on the beaches Copacabana and Ipanema. They are both lovely, but Ipanema is a lot nice to swim at as its less crowded and less touristy.
We visited the top of Sugar loaf mountain, also at sunset and got some amazing view points of Rio and some great photos.
Yesterday one of Adams friends and his girlfriend arrived from London so we spent the day on the beach then wandering Rios biggest markets.
I think some shopping will be in order for me today in search of a new bikini!
Take care
Kristy & Adam

Hola from Rio de Janeiro!!!
WOW this place is FABULOUS!!! I love it!! Its 35-37 degrees and the middle of Winter! Funny how much we appreciate the warm weather and blue skies after living in London for the past two years! We arrived late yesterday so didnt do much last night, but today we went for a walk along the famous Copacabana beach front, then in the afternoon we went up the mountain to see the statue of Christ for sunset. What an amazing view! We are staying in a pretty big hostel only a few hundred metres from Copacabana beach so we have a great location! There is loads to do here, so have a pretty full week planned. Keep in touch
Kristy & Adam

Hola from Salvador!
We´re having a wonderful time here! We´ve been enjoying the sunshine and relaxing on the beach which is only a few metres away from our hostel.
We went to see a traditional focloric dancing & music the other night which included dances such as Samba, and the famous Capoeria,
The music was awesome it was lots of bongo drums and handmade guitar like instruments and singing.
We also went in to visit the old town & Peloriniho area. It reminds me a lot of a European city, lined with coloured buildings and cobblestone streets. The atmosphere where ever you go is great with lots of people doing Capoeria dancing on the streets or playing some form of music, its very cultural, I really like it here.
We visited some market stalls yesterday and went to the top of the fort to watch the sunset.
Heading to Rio tommorrow can´t wait.
Will put some photos online soon!
Kristy & Adam

Check out the bottom of the page for updated info on our travels...

Day 1
Hola!
We flew from Campo Grande to Natal, its on Brazils coastline. The weather is absolutely superb! Our hostel is 300mtrs from the beach. We went for a swim this morning and plan to relax by the pool with a few drinks in some hammocks this afternoon!!

Day 2
We went on a dune buggy ride today 56km up the Natal Coastline stopping at the beaches, lagoons, and dune parks. Our driver was mad, and our dune buggy was a heap of crap...everytime we stopped to take pictures the driver had his head under the bonet fixing it up! Oh well. Flying up and down the sand dunes was a blast...literally...got blasted with water and sand up the nose and in the ears!
We stopped at a restaurant on the sea side for lunch was lovely.
Had a great time!
Will try to put some pics online soon. Need to fill up a disk first.

Day 3
We just spent the rest of the time we had in Natal enjoying the sunshine inbetween lots of showers of rain throughout the day. Very tropical weather, but the beach water was really warm.

Day 4
Today we travelled to Praia da Pipa a beachside town south of Natal. We arrived after lunch and just roamed the streets lined with Pousadas (Hotels), Boutique shops, restaurants & bars.

For the four days we spent in Praia da Pipa we relaxed on the beach everyday soaking up the rays. The weather was beautiful. We saw dolphins in the water everyday, they were swimming very close to the shoreline. Now this is what I call Brazil!

After Praia da Pipa we travelled further south again to a small township called Olinda. Its horrible! Nothing to do - the place is full of churches and not a whole lot going on, Not to mention it has been raining the whole time. Nevermind you have to take the good with the bad while travelling I suppose.
We´re off to Salvador tommorrow for 4 days, then off to Rio!
Keep in touch
Kristy & Adam

Day 1
Long day of travel today. We travelled from Foz Iguacu to Campo Grande. We met everyone joining the 5 day Pantanal tour, then boarded a bus for a 3 hour ride to a small township called Miranda. We had a quick toilet break, then boarded 4X4 open top trucks for a further 4 hour ride into the centre of the jungle! It was a pretty rocky and bumpy ride, but we finally arrived around 7pm. We had dinner then sat around the camp fire for a while. It was absolutely freezing!! We slept in hammocks under the stars!

Day 2
We awoke to the sounds of lots of different birds and animals. Early start to the day. In the morning we went on a 3 hour hike. During the hike we saw lots of animals including large rodents (called Capivara) Howling Monkeys, amradillo´s, small ant eaters, wood peckers, toucans, macaws, parots, storks and lots of Crocs! (Caimans) For part of the hike we took our shoes off and walked through ankle deep water. We found an area which had a bank of crocs, we were able to get really close to them for pictures. It was so hard to believe they didn´t want to attack, but apparently they are not aggressive like the crocs we get in OZ!
After lunch we went on another 3 hour hike. This time we had to cross a lake and carry our bags above our heads as the water came up to our necks! It wasn´t too cold, quite refreshing. I crossed as quickly as I could though, knowing that there might be crocs beneath me!!!
In the evening we went for a night hike and spotted all the animals by night, all you could see were their beady eyes!

Day 3
Early start again. Boarded the 4X4 for 3 hours of 4WD and animal spotting. Saw lots of toucans, parrots, monkeys and were able to get right up close to a giant ant eater. In the afternoon we went horse riding. I think it has to be possibly the most amazing ride I´ve ever done. We took the horses overland and through the jungle, but probably the best part of the afternoon was taking them through a large lake. My horse was a bit nasty, kept bucking other horses when they got too close! I almost fell off! But survived!

Day 4
Up early to jump on some small fishing boats. We sailed down the Paraguay river for a few hours spotting many animals. We saw lots of different birds, seals, crocs and lizards. We stopped for a while to do some Pirahna fishing. Between 4 in our group we caught about 10. Was quite scary reeling them in, we were a bit worried we´d lose a toe or two! When we went back for lunch we ate them. Quite tasty
Our group left after lunch, so Adam and I went for another boat ride with our guide, then relaxed with a few drinks and watched the sunset.

Day 5
Today was our last day in the jungle. We just had a relaxing morning, then had the long trip back in the 4X4´s and bus again.

We left the Argentine side of the falls early in the morning, it was pouring with rain! Arrived in Brazil just after lunch and it was pouring with rain there too and bitterly cold we decided not to visit the Brazil side off the falls. Bit upsetting really after it was such an amazing day yesterday! But we didn´t see any point going out in the rain and freezing cold and getting sick. Apparently the Argentine side is far better anyway so thank god we had such a good day yesterday.
Just one night here, then off to do our 5 day jungle trek in the Pantanl.

Keep the travel log comments coming in! Hope you´re all well!
Kristy & Adam

DAY 1
On our first day in Puerto Iguazu we arrived after lunch, so we decided to have a relaxing afternoon, and visit the local bird sanctary.
The weather was absolutely amazing!! It is so warm compared to Buenos Airies!
The bird park was just outside the township and quite small, its like an RSPCA for birds, they take in injured birds and look after them until they are ready to be relased into the wild again. We joined a small tour and were guided around the park and told information about the park and birds.
We saw some Red Chested Macaws, Owls, Eagles, and best of all TOUCANS!!
It was so amazing to see them, even if they were in cages. They are so beautiful. Got some amazing shots! Adam was a bit daring and put his lens through the fence to get some close up shots!!

DAY 2
Got up early and made our way to see the Iguazu falls Argentine side.
We booked a full day tour which included rubber boat rafting, jet boat and 4x4 truck through the jungle and trekking.
Firstly we did the Rubber boat trip. It was a trip down a fairly quiet stream for about 25 minutes stopping occasionally to look at animals along the way, we saw some baby caimans, some different species of birds and a turtle, afterwards we walked through the different circuits in the park to see the falls. They are honestly the most amazing natural thing I have ever seen! Its definitely a photographers dream! I took so many photos! After having lunch in front of the falls we walked down to the jet boat ride. We watched a few other boats going in before we boarded, and that was probably not the best idea because it just made me more scared! Nevertheless with boarded the boat with our life jackets ready to go. The jet boat flawed it over to the falls gave you about 10 seconds to take in the amazing view then went straight into the middle of the biggest fall!!!! I think I almost broke Adams hand I was holding it so tight!!! It was so UNREAL to be soaked and ´baptised´as they described it to us by the waterfall, I was really petrified before we went in, but soon changed my mind afterwards. The boat came out of the falls, and we were thinking great that was fun back to the shore now, NO think again he speeds off and goes straight into another fall!! After several mouth fulls of water and just catching your breath back a 3RD time!!!! It was such a laugh!! After being completely drenched the boat picks up speed again and flaws it down some rapids for about 15 minutes!!
We had such a great day. Then to top it all off went to the most amazing restaurant for dinner. We ordered a mixed grill brochette (Which was with Chicken, Beef, Chorizo and Vegetables) It came out to the table on a skewer about 3 metres long!! They put it in the middle of the table on a block and keep serving it to you until its finished!
What an amazing day!!

DAY 1
Today we left Buenos Aires to take a ferry over to neighbouring Uruguay.
We arrived in Montevideo the countries Capital just after lunch.
We just roamed around the city today for a few hours.

DAY 2
Took an early bus to the small township of Colonia del Sacramento. Walked around the old cities cobble stone streets and shops, saw lots of very old cars in the streets and got some great photos. Very quiet town, but it is Winter so there aren´t many tourists around.
Stopped in a typical ´Parilla´ (Grill) style restaurant for lunch and had grilled t-bone steak and chicken UNBELIEVABLE food! And so cheap!! (About 2 pounds each for lunch)
After lunch we were wandering around and Adam got approached and interviewd by some guys from a production company based in Argentina, they were making a story for a tourism show on Uruguay how funny!

DAY 3
Took an early bus again, but this time to the township of Punta de Este. Very small beachside city. Absolutely no-one there! Obviously they rely on the tourism industry during the Summer time. We just walked along the beach for a few hours then looked around the small town.

DAY 4
Today we looked around Uruguays capital Montevideo. Nothing highly exciting really, just another big city.
We went to the Telecomunications Centre and up to the 26th floor as there is a good view of the city. Then we visited the Palace. There were some school children doing a tour so we joined them. They all kept starring at us, and they were all asking us questions, what our names were and where we were from, how old we were it was quite funny being surrounded by about 40 kids constantly asking you questions in broken english.
Well we´re off back to Buenos Aires tommorrow, then we begin our journey to Iguazu falls and to the Pantanal in Brazil to do a 5 day jungle trip! Will keep you all posted!

Kristy & Adam