Day 236 - Pre-Carnival in Curitiba

Curitiba - San Martin Hotel

Today we were ready for the famed train ride through the jungle and the mountains having seen the amazing pictures of the trip and the breathtaking course the train takes on the side of the mountain.

Our carriage was full of holidaying Brazilians, the excellent and very attentive guide explained to us that as the Brazilian economy had started to grow locals were starting to travel more. By the excited behaviour of the family in front of us this was obviously a long anticipated trip for them. The trip was nice with a few good views, the guide was very helpful, explaining that there were jaguars, pumas and sloths in the very dense jungle we were travelling through - not that we were going to see any!

Unfortunately the trip was not as breathtaking as expected but this didn't stop the locals excitedly snapping up all the merchandise that was flogged throughout the carriage, the majority brought T- shirts for the whole family plus a pair of DVD's.

We arrived in the very pretty, tropical town of Morrettes for lunch and spent two hours wandering around (though we almost collapsed in the 40+ degree heat) before catching the bus back to Curitiba - a 4 hour train ride to get there, a 90 minute bus ride back.

As we had to get up early the next morning we thought we would head out and explore the town for a while before having an early drink and then dinner. We had just crossed the street near our hotel when a police car came around the corner (almost on two wheels) at top speed and missed a girl by a whisker as she jumped out of the way - quite unbelievable stuff, everyone who was watching thought she was a goner!

When we arrived at the square we walked to last night we were shocked to find thousands of people enjoying a big street party (five thousand or so we later learned) at Curitiba's Pre-Carnival celebration - once again the things you find when you go walking. As it seemed the only open restaurants in town were in the middle of this party, we headed back into the quieter part of town only to find once again that every single place was closed. We walked back to the party managing to get a table at a German restaurant until about 8.30pm when we walked back to our hotel.

Day 235 - We arrived in Brazil to find it was closed

Foz do Iguacu to Curitiba - San Martin Hotel

Mainly traveling today as we caught the plane into Curitiba and after checking into our hotel walked to the railway station to collect our tickets for the following day's trip on the Sierra Verde train.

We were really surprised to find the city basically all shuttered up, it was about 6pm on a Saturday night and everything we walked past was closed. We headed out to find somewhere for dinner and started getting a little desperate as restaurant after restaurant were all shut.

After inadvertently walking through what appeared to be the red light district we found a square in part of the old town with bars full of people and a few restaurants - the only area in town open. Walking home after dinner (back through the red light district where a strange fellow took a liking to K!) we came across a very amateurish breakdancing competition being held on the tiles on the footpath outside the shopping centre next to our hotel, it is amazing what you stumble across when walking in a strange city after dark.

Day 234 - A "lesson" in foreign exchange

Puerto Iguazu (Argentina) to Foz do Iguacu (Brazil) - Florenca Hotel

Our very helpful hotel owner had persuaded us to get a taxi across the border to Brazil (rather than take the bus), so we were picked up at 10am. It looked like it was going to work out well - the taxi driver took care of the interactions at each side of the border, all we had to do was relax in the back seat, we didn't need to leave the car or fill in any paperwork.

Once across the border, we needed to get some Brazilan cash, so even though we wanted to go to an ATM, the driver insisted on taking us to an exchange office, all the while telling us about the exchange rates, the differences between commercial and official rates, why we shouldn't use the banks, etc.

M changed his remaining Argentinian Pesos into Brazilian Reals, then we were driven to downtown Foz Do Iguacu (supposedly the closest ATM). After that we were taken to our hotel, we dropped off our luggage, and the driver took us the rest of the way to the falls, dropping us at the nearby bird park. We ended up paying for the original trip across the border (the price of which had miraculously increased over what our hotel told us), plus the trip into Foz and back again. We later found that there was an ATM at the entrance to
the falls ....!

The bird park was interesting, we were able to get up close to toucans and some huge macaws, it was a pleasant couple of hours spent. We then walked down to the entrance to the falls, the facilities on the Brazilian side of the falls were a lot more modern compared with the Argentinian side. Yesterday there was a slow old train to get into and around the park, today we had huge airconditioned buses, with recorded messages telling us abut all the other activities we could do in the park.

On the Argentinean side you are much closer to most of the falls and Devil's Throat, on the Brazilian side you get a good panoramic view of multiple falls at once, and a different perspective of the Devil's Throat. We think the Argentinian side was better, but you do need to visit both sides to get a full appreciation.

Back to the hotel, which wasn't far from the falls, but a long way from town, where we relaxed by the pool for the rest of the day.

Day 233 - Jungle, heat and waterfalls

Buenos Aires to Puerto Iguazu - Royal Iguazu Hotel

We flew out very early this morning, our destination was Puerto Iguazu, where we were to visit the Argentinean side of Iguazu Falls. The weather was very humid, and very very hot. We caught the public bus to the falls, hopped on the rickety old train that to take us into the park, and then headed straight to the boat ride, wanting to do that first. It was a great choice, it was extremely hot, so the drenching we received when we were taken under some of the falls was just what we needed to cool down.

We then walked the lower and upper trails to the various vantage points along the falls, our wet clothing keeping us cooler. We did both the upper and lower trails, which covered views from the top and the base of the falls. After that another train ride to Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat), the most amazing part of the falls
where tons of water rushes into what appears to be a giant hole - truly an amazing sight.

It took us while to get back to our hotel between the return train trips and bus rides. We were pretty hot by the time we got back, so we had a swim in the pool to cool down, then headed out to a a parilla for more steak!

Day 233 - Last look around

Final day in Buenos Aires, so this morning we visited the neighborhood of San Telmo, one of the oldest parts of town and known for its antique shops. It was pretty warm by the time we arrived, not all of the shops had opened (a good thing according to M). Interesting selection of antiques, and strangely a lot of Chinese and Japanese figurines, not what we expected.

Another short visit to La Boca and El Camino, then a walk back through town to our hotel, visiting some more bookshops and trying some of the famous Argentinean helado (ice cream) on the way.

Day 232 - BsAs: City of book shops

After a sweet breakfast where M filled up on medialuna (basically croissants with a sweet glaze), alfahores (shortbread with sweet caramel filling, sometimes coated with chocolate), and coffee, we headed out for the day. Another overcast rainy day, but this time we were prepared, even with the rain it is much better walking and sight seeing weather than the heat of Sunday.

First stop was El Ateneo, a famous bookshop that was originally an old theatre. It is a beautiful building and very interesting with the balconies all being used to house books. K bought 3 novels in Spanish for $30, a bargain compared to books back home. BA has bookshops everywhere, very noticeable since they are so thin on the ground in Australia. We wandered around the famous Florida Street and had lunch by the river (some Argentinean delicacies - K had an empanada, M had ice cream!).

Dinner that evening was steak once more - we'll see how many steaks we can eat in a row before we need a change (not many Indian or Thai restaurants here), at the moment we're pretty happy with the national dishes of this country!

Day 231 - "Free" walking tour day

Buenos Aires - Icaro Suites

After enjoying the free walking tours in Europe, this morning we joined a large group to learn more about the history of Buenos Aires. The city of Monday was nothing like the Sunday city, incredibly noisy, lots of traffic and bustling with people. The weather had also changed, we had expected another very warm day and dressed accordingly, but instead the rain came down. This is the rainy season so hopefully we have learnt our lesson and won't venture out without an umbrella again. The walking tour was ok, maybe not the best we have been on, but still worth going on. We toured the central area of the city, visiting the various squares, monuments and other places of interest, getting a feel for Argentinian history and culture along the way.

At 5pm we joined the afternoon tour. As they explained it we would call it an evening tour but they do things differently in Argentina!. This tour covered an area on the edge of the city centre, starting near the Falklands War Memorial and then through some of the more affluent areas of the city with its old palaces, grand houses and embassies. On this tour the guide was excellent, she explained lots of political history and information about BsAs and its people, she was very informative and entertaining, a tour well worth taking. They work on a tips only basis and it is a good way to learn about the city you are visiting.

This evening we were up for a nice big Argentinean steak, we had plenty of restaurants to choose from close to our hotel.

Day 230 - Hop on, hop off, hop on, hop off

Buenos Aires - Icaro Suites

We woke up to a hot Sunday in Buenos Aires and decided to do something that in all our travels we had never done before - take one of those hop on, hop off double decker tourist buses. We first disembarked at Caminito in La Boca, the well known brightly painted section of town. It is quite a small area of only a couple of blocks and obviously all about the tourists. It was full of tourist shops, restaurants with tango dancers out the front and tourist stalls. It didn't take us long to decide we had seen enough and time to jump on the bus again, M tried to persuade K to demonstrate her tango skills but without success.

Next stop was the Puerto Madero which was a very new area quite like our Docklands in Melbourne - new buildings, expensive restaurants, and very quiet. After lunch and a long wait for the next bus we headed to Recoleta for our next stop. It was very busy with a weekend crafts market and by now the temperature had soared. After taking in the second oldest church in Buenos Aires we found the famous Recoleta cemetery - there aren't many cities in the world where the number one tourist attraction is the local cemetery! However this isn't any normal cemetery, as well as being the place where Eva Peron is buried it is a still working cemetery with amazing, massive, ornate mausoleums.

Then back on the bus to complete the circuit, this managed to take up the whole day. As it was Sunday the city was very quiet all day, nearly everything was closed and there was hardly any traffic. We had read that no one goes out for dinner before 8.30pm so we headed back to the hotel for a while, however jet lag caught up with us and the next thing we knew it was morning, that Argentinian steak will have to wait another night!

Day 229 - To a new continent

Dubai to Buenos Aires - Icaro Suites

The only thing that can be said about today is it is a very long trip! Getting out of bed at 4.30am in Dubai and reaching our hotel in Buenos Aires at 10.30pm equals 26 hours of traveling. Breaking the trip in Dubai was a good idea, it would have been tough traveling straight through without a stopover.

A side note regarding the map - we've only included destinations that are part of our holiday, so even though the map shows us going from Paris to Dubai, we really went Paris to home (via Abu Dhabi) to Dubai.

Day 228 - The final stretch begins

Dubai - Premier Inn

You may be wondering .... why hasn't this blog been updated for so long? (though we're sure you're not, after all only one person contacted us to find out why we stopped at Paris back in October!). Without going into too much detail, we unexpectedly had to head back home for a while, but we're now back into traveling mode to end our trip as originally planned by traveling to South America and the grand finale at Carnival in Rio.

We're going the long way round to and from Sth America via Dubai, with a short stopover to rest and do some sightseeing. We arrived in Dubai early Friday morning, had a few hours rest at our hotel then caught the metro in see the sights.

Dubai seems to be a city of malls - so that's where we headed first. First stop was Emirates Mall, a look around didn't reveal much of note - just another huge collections of shops really. The indoor skiing centre was interesting to look at from the outside, but we didn't think it was worth a visit inside.

We wanted to visit the beach and see the Burj Al Arab (the sail shaped building) so we left the mall and walked down towards the beach. It was another one of those deceptive map situations - it didn't look that far on the map, but ended up taking a while, fortunately it was a pleasant sunny day.

We made it to the entry gate of the building, but weren't allowed in as you need a reservation to eat there, so we walked further along to the public beach, where we saw a mix of girls in bikinis, and fully clothed people in muslim attire, quite a combination.

We caught a taxi from a nearby hotel back to the mall, hopped on the metro and headed to the Dubai Mall (site of the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa). We spent a little while there, then decided to head to our next destination before it got too late. Getting off at a nearby metro stop, we managed to find our way through the very Indian neighbourhood to reach the very quiet Bastakiya district. By this time it was dark, so although we were a little dubious about entering as it seemed deserted, we found some beautifully lit buildings amongst the few open restuarants and stalls.

Back to the Dubai Mall for dinner, after which we saw the entertaining fountain show in the outdoor waterfront area, with Burj Khalifi in the background. Back on a very crowded metro to our hotel, to get some sleep before our early flight the next morning.