98% DEET, 100% Amazon
Sunday, June 8th, 2008
Getting to La Selva Lodge (www.laselvajunglelodge.com) isn´t easy: the journey begins with a flight from Quito, followed by a 2.5 hour ride in a motorized dug-out canoe along the Napo River, a 30 minute hike through the dense Amazon rainforest, and finally, a paddled canoe ride across a lagoon.
Just a few hours into our stay, we knew it had all been worthwhile. We´d already spotted 4 kinds of monkeys, seen a toe-toed sloth up close, and added the hoatzin to our birding life lists-a proud feat by any birder´s standards.
While neither of us were thrilled with the 5:30 am wake-up calls, the early morning nature viewing and night paddles were incredible: 57 new birds identified including 6 owls (Mel has been trying to see owls for 5 months now); 7 types of new monkey species; tarantulas, frogs, mariposas, lizards…..
We´ve clearly made significant progress on Operation Bird Discovery, Phase 3, and predict this may be our most successful venture yet.
Our lodge, an “upmarket rainforest eco-resort” felt like home – that is, if home was a groovy palapa and bamboo hut set amidst the wild and unpredictable Amazon rainforest.
Note to Mel´s parents: You´ll be pleased to know that Brendan made me wear a lifejacket all the time. But I´m pretty sure the piranha would have got me first. And no, I didn´t get malaria.
No visit to Ecuador would be complete without a visit to the place where the middle of the world was declared, in 1736 . The equator, the widest part of the world, crosses only 7 countries.
The museum at ... 
It´s high time Brel spent some time apart. And with Brendan writing away and working hard to meet deadlines, I ventured into the Ecuadorian cloudforest for the weekend. Two hours from Quito (the capital and largest city ... 
With over 1,000 wineries, Mendoza really is a wine lovers´paradise. And with only one week to explore, you can imagine the pressure Brel was feeling to sample as many as possible. While our livers may ... 
“Wine tasting is the sensory examination and evaluation of wine. There are five basic steps in tasting wine: color, swirl, smell, taste, and savour. Essentially, a taster is looking for clarity, varietal character, integration, expressiveness, ... 
Don´t cry for me Argentina
The truth is, I never left you
All through Puerto Varas
And Santiago
I kept my promise
You knew I´d be back....Sorry Chile...our hearts are still in Argentina, so we´ve returned to spend some time in Mendoza, a.k.a. ... 
Moments We´d Rather Forget...
This is a bad time of year to visit Santiago. Surrounded by the Andes, it's kind of like a cesspool of pollution. The air is thick and nasty and you can't actually see the ... 
We´ve crossed the Andes and entered Chile at a most interesting time - the Chaiten volcano is erupting for the first time in over 9,000 years and it´s all over the international news. The smoke and ... 
By The Numbers
Bariloche, in northern Patagonia, Argentina, is home to more than 50 artesan chocolate shops and over a dozen microbreweries.
How do you spell Brel heaven? B-A-R-I-L-O-C-H-E.
Set amidst the Andes, Bariloche is also a world-reknowned ... 
You know Mel is the one writing this blog when this photo actually makes it onto the site. I just can´t help laughing out loud every time I see it...do I actually date this person?
Of course this ... 
Gaining an understanding of Argentina means more than just hanging out in trendy restaurants and binging on beef and wine in Buenos Aires. (Not that there´s anything wrong with that.)
And so we journeyed to the province of Salta, ... 
Since the City Slickers movies of the early 90’s, Mel has dreamed of staying at a working dude ranch – learning to ride while living the cowboy life. (Surely this is ... 
While it may seem like our trip is all fun and games (and it is, mostly), Mel has been taking private Spanish lessons (3 hours/day) for the past few weeks. Well beyond telling time and ... 
With two years of dating behind us, and this many months of intensive dating via travelling, it was only a matter of time before we would start to ... 
We find ourselves in La Cumbre, a posh town in the northern part of the province of Cordoba, about 800 km from Buenos Aires. Known as a groovy, artsy town, La Cumbre is ... 
1. Unpacking your bags once and settling down for a month: brilliant.
2. Don’t mess with the farmers. See previous blogs on beef strike and field burning.
3. You can never buy too many leather coats, ... 
The literal translation of Buenos Aires is Good Airs, which is kind of ironic given what’s going on right now. The farmers, having recently given up their plight to restrict beef in Buenos Aires, have taken to ... 
I realize that as an animal lover, I’m supposed to be anti-zoo. But I'm not afraid to admit it: I normally really, really like them.
The Buenos Aires Zoo, located in the heart of the ... 
We interrupt your regularly scheduled blog reading to bring you an important beef bulletin.
We’re not sure why, but there’s some sort of reprieve going on with the whole beef strike. No need to lose ... 
Some of you may have noticed the repeat appearances of two scruffy and dishevelled 18 year olds in our photos over the last few months. ... 
Buenos Aires is a vain city by any standards: 1 in 10 women have an eating disorder; 1 in 30 people (that’s people, not women) have had plastic surgery; stylishly dressed and perfectly preened people ... 
Tango is the soundtrack to Buenos Aires – whether it’s old school tango dancing in the streets, or the sounds of pop/rock songs that have been tango-ized, tango is everywhere. At once both seductive and ... 
At long last (sorry Brazil and Uruguay), we have arrived in Buenos Aires, the Paris of the Americas; the land of beef and wine, where history meets style and where thanks to a ... 
With 275 separate waterfalls and 23 kilometres of foaming water, Iguassu Falls is about as spectacular as it gets. The falls lie on the border of Argentina and Brazil, ... 
Cachaca – Ever indulged in a caipirinha? Well it ain’t a capairinha without cachaca. Brazil’s answer to rum, cachaca is a sugar-cane liquor that basically goes down like burning gasoline – even ... 
...from the world's largest Catholic country.
Brel 
As we live it up in beautiful Rio, the reality of how much of the population here lives is never far away.
Favelas, the slum areas of Brazil, dot the countryside – ... 
Although this blog had started primarily as a way to chronicle our trip, stay in touch with our friends and family, and keep Mel occupied when Brendan was doing work, it has grown ... 
Note to Mel’s parents: don’t worry, we come out of this alive and well.
Ok, we’ve officially lost all sense of reason (if B ever had any….)
Today we ... 
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