Argentina to Uruguay

Hello,

I´m living the beach lifeat the moment in Uruguay! We found a gorgeous wee spot called La Paloma which has some good beaches and a few nice restaurants to stock up on the steak and red wine.

Since the last email we went from Isla Grande to the Argentinian side of the Iguacu falls which were amazing. We did a speed boat trip under the falls and a slow boat down the river then got posh and had lunch at the Sheraton which overlooked the huge waterfalls. The next day we left and took the 18 hour luxury bus (free champagne, food and films) to Beunos Aires the party capital of Argentina. Had a few good nights out there with some people we met in Isla Grande. Eveything was really quiet though because there had been a fire in one of the nightclubs 2 weeks earlier so all the other clubs closed for 3 weeks! It was a bit of a ghost town at the weekend which was weird but we found a few places to go. Tried to get to a party in a taxi with guys from the hostel but the taxi man stopped on the motorway and started going backwards so we jumped out and ended up playing cards in a service station until we could get another one back to the hostel - bit of a mad night!

Went to the football stadium of Boca Juniors in Beunos Aires (where Maradonna played) and got the tour which was really good. Also went into Boca district which was an area of cafes which had tango dancing so got a few good photos doing the tango with the Argentinian dancer!

After 4 days in Beunos Aires we decided to come to Uruguay. The plan was to stay longer in Argentina and go up to Bolivia but I couldnt change my flights to Costa Rica so we decided on a few days here then we fly from beunos aires to Lima on sunday for 2 days there, 4 days in Costa Rica then over to New York.

I´ll write more later - got to go and cycle to the beach on my 70´s bike to work on the tan!

Take care,
Love Karen xx

Beaches, Buses and Beer

Hello!

I´m now back in true traveller mode after the first week in rio with all my nice clean clothes and new toiletries! We´ve been hanging around Angra one of the port towns for a bus yesterday, followed by an 8 hour journey which got us in to sao paulo at 4am. Now we´re half way through an 11 hour wait then 16 hours on a bus, now I remember what it feels like again being a mingin backpacker!!

Anyway, it should all be worth it from what everyone has said about the Igacu falls and I cant wait to get to Argentina.

The last week we spent in Isla grande which is one of those places its hard to leave - the weather was el scorchio and we moved out of the mosquito infested hostel to a nice place with air con (what a luxury). Went on a boat trip to one of Brazil´s best beaches which was lovely but not quite thailand. Also bumped into one of jeff´s mates from home and his girlfriend the day we were due to leave so stayed for a couple of good nights out with them. Drank far too many of the local capirini´s and went to a few funny local bars.

So after the Igacu falls we´re heading down to Beunas Aires in Argentina for lots of steak and red wine that costs hardly anything. It makes the bus journeys all worth it!

Take care,
Love Karen xx

Isla Grand

Hello,

I´m still in Isla Grande at the moment but getting a boat over to the main land followed by buses to the Igazu falls. Its a bit of a marathon journey - about 20 hours but should be worth it from what we´ve heard. After that we go to Beunas Aires so I´ll call from there - the phones arent too good here.

We planned on leaving here a bit earlier in the week but bumped into Jeff´s friend from home (Eugene) and his girlfriend Michelle so we stayed a bit longer with them. We moved to a nicer place for last night rather than staying in the mosquito infested room at the hostel so it was nice to get the luxury of a comfy bed and air conditioning!

Its been a scorcher here the last 2 days and too hot to lie out really - I got a bit burnt just from walking around and sitting in the cafe so I dont have much of a tan. Its been really nice to be on an island and there are loads of lovely restaraunts and bars which we´ve made the most of!

Anyway, got to go and catch the boat.
Speak to you soon,

Love Karen xx

Rio!!!!!!!!!

Happy New Year!!

Hope you all had a good one! New year in Rio was excellent! We arrived here on 27th after the worst flight (Linzi and I thought we were going to die, the turbulence was so bad!) but it was all worth it when we arrived. We met Jeff at the airport and headed to our apartment which turned out to be lovely. The last week has flown by, lots of catching up, drinking and a bit of sight seeing crammed in. We went to the Maracana (football stadium in Brazil) and did the tour, went to see the huge Jesus statue (Louise thought it was God!), ate loads of steak and drank plenty of vodka.

For new year we went to the huge beach party with about 2 million other people. It was amazing, dancing around a packed beach with samba music and drinking with the locals. Linzi spent the night learning to salsa while Vicky got sandwiched between 2 men in tight trunks for half the night (the only clothes the Brazilian men seem to wear - the tighter the better!!) The night ended up in a local bar for more celebrations then spent new years day recovering in bed. Managed to leave the apt once to get a burger from Big Bobs, not quite the same as the old steak pie at home!!

Yesterday, Jeff and I got the bus to Angra dos reis then got the boat today to Isla Grande which is a gorgeous island. We´re staying in a really nice hostel on the beach which seems a great place so far. The girls got a flight to the Igazu falls from Rio today so we´ll hopefully catch up with them before we go. Until then though its relaxation, lying in hammocks, drinking beer, kayaking and boat trips - its a hard life getting back into the travelling mode!! I´ll give it a good try!!

Love Karen xx

Welcome to Karen's American Travel Blog

I'm Karen's big sister, Suzanne and I've decided to blog Karen's emails and photos as she travels through South America and the USA... Check back regularly for all the details & post your comments for her and everyone else to see!