The Vagrant Gypsy Life

Day 74, Fri Nov 12 Valdivia

Goodbye to Germanic town Puerto Varas; hola Valdivia, another Germanic town! It is a nice little University town. Checked in to a hostel run by an American lady, who used to be in charge of PR and admissions at the Univ Austral de Chile, one of the prominent niversities in town. It is a very nice hostel and comes with good breakfast. Good breakfasts are hard to come by in hostels in Argentina and Chile and is a cause for cheer. The thing that makes the hostel stand out is that it has a pet duck!

Off to the beach Playa de la Moliñas, to sit in the warm sun. There is a bit of shade from the wind. Then it is off to see Castillo de Niebla, oe of the 3 fords within spitting distance (all the European invaders wanted a piece of Valdivia). A pleasant hour with some lovely views to be had. They have plaques in Spanish and English explaining the various parts of the ruins.

Chinese for dinner! They advertise themselves as having the best Chinese food in Chile. The food was pretty good, but I am not sure about such bold claims. It might welll be that it is not false advertisement and that they are the only one in the country!

I had a bad throat, but the spicy sweet and sour soup cleared up my sinuses and did my throat a world of good. Back to the hostel where we sit around chatting, over a very nice bottle of wine, with the manager and a couple of Chilean girls, who are in town for a conference at the UACh.

Day 75, Sat Nov 13 Valdivia

Breakfast and off to the famed fish market. The sea lions at the fish market is what brought me into town. They were in display, the lazy sods! Some of them were huge. They didnt even have to work for food. A sort of symbiosis between them and the fishermen. The sealions bring in the tourists, the fishermen feed them. The fishermen and the tourists threw scraps of fish their way. They had some competition from the birds, but not much.

Chinese left overs for lunch – yummy! A feeling of restlessness hounds me and I walk around town, working it off. Managed to see a lovely church, a very pleasing tiny plaza and a nice little cafe. The town seemed really quiet for a Saturday afternoon, as people seemed to spend time with family.

Day 71, Tue Nov 9 Castro/ Puerto Varas

Puerto Varas is a 4 hour bus ride from Castro. Sunny weather said goodbye as a fellow traveller and I boarded our bus. The island looked even more pretty in sunshine and sat glued to the scenery again. This time it was warm enough to head out of the bus onto the ferry during the crossing to the mainland.

Checked into a hostel run by a Frenchman in Puerto Varas. The hostel had a hippie vibe to it. The only thing I didn’t like about the hostel is that they let people smoke indoors at the dining table!

The town has a trail that takes you around to many old Germanic houses, where the initial German immigrants settled. The architecture is very German/ Swiss and the chocolate shops and the beers testify to the fact as well. The volcano Osorno presents a majestic sight over the Lake Llanquihue.

Being a lovely day, we walked around town a while. There is a huge garden at the top of the hill overlooking the lake and a couple of nice miradors. We disturbed a flock of school children making out and/or smoking cigarettes in the privacy offered by the wooded region.

Before dinner, the pub where we stopped to get a coffee for my poor cold self was full of foreigner. For some reason, the lady decided that my coffee was on the house. I shall put it down to my irresistible charm!

Dinner was sushi and a glass of heavenly red wine – something Carmeneres.

There were 4 Germans and an Israeli couple at the hostel and we all made plans to go on a 4 hour hike to the Parque Petrohue to observe the volano over the Lago Todo Los Santos.

Day 72, Wed Nov 10 Puerto Varas

The hostel was very cold in the morning and I rued the fact that I had woken up so early. The staff had forgotten to turn on the heater. Breakfast, and on the micro to Lago Todo Los Santos. The original group of 7 had split into a more manageable 3 and 4. For the first time in ages, I was with someone close to my age. Lamin is a German who lives in Switzerland and like I, was an engineer who ended up in a different profession. He dabbled in software before going into sales.

I fell asleep since it was cloudy and the views weren’t as impressive as the previous evening. I was woken up by sunlight as the day took on warmer tones!

The ride of 60 kms took 1.5 hours. The hike to the mirador was fairly easy. It was hot and I had to shorn my protective layers of coats as we bravely soldiered on in the heat. I had the foresigh to buy a 2 litre bottle of water and bring some food, but made huge inroads into both food and water and the sun beared on us without the benefit of any shade offered by trees. The volcanic sand probably also helped it be hotter than it might have been. The views the viewpoint was well worth it. However, I was starting to get burnt by the sun and we decided to climb down after spending about 30 – 45 minutes at the mirador.

Despite finishing up about 80% of the 2 lt bottle, I was staring to get dehydrated. An hour into the hike back, I could feel a migraine on its way, and I was drained. The last hour was walk, stop, look at the beautiful scenerey, then turn self into an automaton as I used muscle memory to keep walking when my body started shouting contrary instructions.

I split from my fellow travellers and decided to skip visiting the waterfalls as the headache manifested itself more clearly now. I was glad to get into the bus, but 2 minutes into the ride, realised my folly. A fellow country man, from Alaska, decided to make his affable presence felt; he didnt seem to realise that he is a bloody caricature of the “American abroad”. He must have thought himself the friendly American traveller as he bombarded a couple ( Russian guy with a Chilean girl) with questions, most of which I would ave deemed private and none of his business and all of them made me wish I had enough strength to lift his 250-odd lb frame out the moving bus. I am sure the objects of his Gestapo routine were fairly uncomfortable as well “How did you two meet?”, “Oh, what does your dad say about you dating a Russian guy?” “I think Russian girls are very pretty. Why arent you dating a Russian girl” “When you get married, will you live in Russia or Chile”. As one can tell, the questions are burnt into my head. I could almost bring myself to feel sympathy for his poor wife, if she had once opened her mouth to stop his misguided avuncular interest. He definitely will not be in my good book-

The migraine made the 2 hour journey back hell, as I writhed in my seat, struggling to get any kind of shut eye. The American, the crowd, the headache…. A journey that I would like to forget! It didn’t help that I felt like such a cad that I couldnt get up to offer my seat to a grey-haired lady, as she stood struggling with her bags. What had been a lovely day ended up as a ride from hell. Off to bed, but the much sought after oblivion was still hard to come by.

Day 73, Thu Nov 11 Puerto Varas

Decided to take a day off and rest the poor old body. Did my laundry, ate some pizza, wandered around a little. Sandra, who ran the laundromat, wanted me to write down her name in my mother tongue, Malayalam. Chileans are proving to be very friendly!

Had a nice dinner and talked to folks around the table. Also offered a Spanish lesson to a Eastern Europen from London. The Spanish – Colombian couple sitting across the table from us were amused at an Indian teaching Spanish to a Londoner. Luckily I didnt make any howlers in my lesson.

It was nice to practise my Span(gl)ish, as more people joined our conversation.

Day 68, Sat Nov 6 Puerto Montt/ Castro

Chiloe Island is beautiful and charming. The towns seemed very similiar to me with the layout, the architecture and the wooden churches.

It took 4 hour by bus to get to Castro from Puerto Montt. The bus got on a ferry! I had expected the passengers would get on the ferry and then get on another bus. I much preferred this, especially as it was pouring!

Checked into a hostel on the lake, called Palafito named after the style of the building, which is unique to the island or Castro – I cant remember!

Walked around town for a while and had a great dinner at Sacho. Salmon filled with cheese and sauage – Curanto, a Chilotean specialty! The highlight of the restaurant though was the old matron who gave travel tips. I felt as if I had a grandma in Chile!

Day 69, Sun Nov 7 Castro

Another rainy day! However, my culinary adventures continued in a great rein as the hostel provided the best breakfast I had eaten in a hostel in a while. Home baked multi-grain bread, fruits, yoghurt, oatflakes, coffee, tea, home-made jam. Oh, and eggs made to order too. It was quite filling.

Sunday is Feria artesanal in Delcahue, which draws tourists from Chile and elsewhere.

The weather has been weird. Rain for 15 minutes, followed by sunshine. Rain again before you had time to get used to the sunshine! They get 4-8 metres of rain every year! No wonder the island is so green and pretty!

The rain didn’t curb the enthusiasm of the street vendors. Fruits, veg, fish, woolen clothes, movies, books, food. An old couple broke off a piece of rhubarb when they saw us staring at the rhubarb trying to figure out what it is. Didnt look anything like rhubarb I had been used to in Seattle. They had quite a chuckle when they learned I am Indian. I am not quite sure why!

Lunch was at the local cocineria. I have no idea what I ate, but it was delicious! Back to Castro, walk around a bit more. Salad for dinner!

Day 70, Mon Nov 8 Castro

After another heavy breakfast, time to headprepare tuna sandwiches and head off to Parque Nacional Chiloe in Cucau. Having missed the 09:30 bus by 5 minutes, ended up going to the town of Chonchi to spend some time walking around there.

The driver of the bus to the national park stopped every few meters to say hello to his friends. He greeted most people who got on and was extremely friendly! He also wanted me to tell him, in English, the price he quoted me for the bus ride in Spanish.

The park was very nice, but the rain stopped me from exploring it as much as I would have liked. I limited myself to a couple of hours of walking. You could, in warmer clime, walk up to the beach. But it was too wet to walk to the beach and had to be content with the views of the Pacific Ocean in all its glory from the viewpoint!

There was a lovely 1km + trail which took one around some of the flora that was unique to the region.

A very enjoyable day, bar for the occasional rain! I wrap up the day then by going to a free concert by an Argentine, Pedro Aznar. He was good and I had a nice time. I did, however, provide some entertainment to the locals as I managed to fall down while trying to manoeuvre my way to a seat. Friendly crowd, good music, nice night! Off to Germanic Puerto Varas on Monday!

Day 67, Fri Nov 5 Bariloche/ Puerto Montt

Woke up really early to take the 07:30 bus from Bariloche to Puerto Montt. Another border crssing. Having got used to the ARgentine officials, who stamped my passport without fuss, I hadnt taken the fruits and nuts out of my bag. The CHilean officials were thorough and I was quite miffed to have to give up my lmonds, walnuts and some dried fruits. I had to be content with eating chocolates on the trip.

The view was great the entire trip. The lake district on both sides of the border provide different sights. The CHilean side gets more rain and is extraordinarily green. It might well be Ireland or New Zealand, complete with sheep and lots of rain.

It was pouring when I got to Puerto Montt. Checked in and met up with my friend who had taken the ferry from Puerto Natales to P Montt. We had a pleasant dinner, swapping travel stories since the last time we met 7 or 8 weeks ago. Also made our plans to travel together for a week or so before I head off to Torres del Paine.

Day 65, Tue Nov 2 El Bolson / Bariloche

Time to say goodbye to El Bolson. My hosts at La Camorra treated me like family. Made me want to visit them again, if I make it to Patagonia in the future.

The two hour bus ride went by quickly again thanks to the view. I never seem to get tired of mountains and lakes!

After arriving in Bariloche, decided to take a lazy day; spent the afternoon eating ice cream at Jujau, which is reputed to have the best ice cream in Argentina, eating chocolates and watching RocknRolla.

Day 65, Wed Nov 3 Bariloche

The day was cloudy and I started the day thinnking I would have a lazy day, but was convinced by another traveller to join him on a 25 k bike ride (the ciruicto chico, small circuit). It is a ride along the Llao Llao peninsula, taking in some of the major sights. We spent a good afternoon cycling, doing a bit of hiking and being the proper tourists that we are, taking photographs from the miradors.

Once again, I spent all the money that I had budgeted for my meal on chocolates and made myself a tuna salad for dinner. I havent had a real sit down meal in Bariloche!

Day 66, Thu Nov 4 Bariloche

My last day in Bariloche was quite memorable. Gorgeous sunshine! I spent the day hiking to Refugio Grey. It was a 6.5 hour roundtrip to refugio grey. I had a great time, running into about just 4 people on my entire hike. The top of the mountain was still covered in snow. Hiking through snow wasnt all that fun, but worthwhile getting to the top to the refugio. The lake at the top was still frozen, and there was some gorgeous views!

Day 62, Sat Oct 30 El Bolson

The two hour bus ride that passed by very quickly! It had nothign to do with the rattling bus, but the views! Lakes and snow capped mountains, a feast for any eyes! I had taken out a book to read but didnt get through even a page after we left town!

El Bolson is a small town set in a picture-book setting, surrounded by mountains on all sides! The town is famous for the folks who live just outside town, making crafts and (organic) food, without the use of machines. The street fair on Saturdays draws tourists from all over. The street fair is in the main plaza, in a lovely setting. I sample vegetable empanadas and chocolate and am stuffed before I know it!

Head then to Cerro Amigo for panoramic views of the town.

I stay in a hostel run by a couple who are extremely welcoming and while they speak no English, it is no hardship having a conversation. Their son shared a flat with an Indian in Italy and they also have questions about India. They inform me that there is a big Hindu community living just outside El Bolson.

My room-mate is a Russian who lives in Finland. He is pursuing his MS in Civil Engg. After a year in college in Buenos Aires, he got on his bike to explore Argentina. Took him 4.5 hours to ride from Bariloche to El Bolson, 130-odd kms!

Our hosts are amused by the combination of foreigners at his table and regale us with stories about some of the stranger tourists he had to deal with in his time running La Camorra.

Day 63, Sun Oct 31 El Bolson

My room-mate joins me for a 5 hour walk to Cabeza del Indio (yes, it didnt escape me that I should go seeking an Indian´s head when I could look into the mirror, ha ha – it is easy enough to make jokes when nobody can groan at them!) and Cascada Escondido. Another lovely day, which ends in a sumptuous meal cooked by Yevgeny and yours truly (well, I followed his directions). At the cost of 35 pesos, we have a lovely meal, with a lovely bottle of red wine. Dessert is a melon! A nice end to a nice day!

Day 64, Mon Nov 1 El Bolson

I had meant to wake up early to go hiking to El Cajon del Azul, which is a 10 hour hike. Sadly, a bad night’s sleep means that I wake up too late for the bus. I am extremely disappointed. After saying goodbye to Yevgeny, it is off to Lake Puelo for me. The best day I have had in the lake district so far, it is sunny and about 25 deg C.

The views are again fantastic. I think I might get used to such stunning surroundings soon and take them for granted. There is a hint of Washington in the scenery in the Lake District! Or maybe it is wishful thinking.

I get home after a 4 hour hike to the Lago and Passarella sobre Lago Azul.

Day 60, Thu Oct 28 Bariloche

My luck has run out. The weather is bad and it is pouring rain.

After breakfast, I head up to Cerro Otto, which is a 3 hour hike. I enjoy some lovely views before the clouds obscure my view. I enjoyed the hike, but it seemed pointless to continue. I turn back at a ski resort. I am a week late for the ski season.

Head back to the hostel, grab some lunch and off to Lake Gutierrez. A 6 km hike along the lake and in the forest (national park), with the inevitable waterfall, makes me happy that I decided to curtail my view-hunting-Cerro-Otto-related activities. Nice day in the end, but the weather does mean that my photos will not reflect the true allure of my surroundings.

Day 61, Fri Oct 29 Bariloche

Off to Llao llao peninsula to do some more hiking in the rain. The enjoyable hikes to Lago Escondido and the breathtaking (I am running out of adjectives) views from Cerro Llao Llao (pronounced Zhao Zhao) make trudging in the rain worthwhile.

I am mostly all alone on most of the trails! The only folks I run into is a pleasant Argentine couple in their 50s. They inform me that they run a business, named Gandhi, selling Indian goods – clothes, incense, etc.

The 5 hours in the rain tire me and I fall asleep on the bus back to the hostel from Llao Llao. I make a salad and treat myself to a glass of Malbec!

At 5 am, I am rudely awaken by the noise made by a young couple having sex in the bed next to me. I leave the room to give them a good 10 minutes to wrap up business. At least, they are saved the embarrassment of facing me as I am headed to El Bolson asap!

Day 58, Tue Oct 26 Buenos Aires/ bus ride

Spent the day with two of my roommates, Jorge and Hana. The 3 of us, whose mother tongues vary, try converse in Spanish. The result was probably hilarious to any Argentine, if he or she cared to eavesdrop on us!

We walked around town a little bit before heading to the museum of fine arts. I loved some of the paintings, and especially remember the Sala Argentina, where I was introduced to some South American painters of whom I knew little.

After a couple of hours, we have a picnic at the local park, as we dig into “torta”s and some apple juice.

Off to the hostel to shower and get ready for a marathon 20 hour bus ride. The cama proves to be absolutely worth the extra 50-60 pesos. I sleep well and am served supper, breakfast and lunch. It also comes with a choice of wine!

Day 59, Wed Oct 27 bus ride / Bariloche

The last two hours of the journey is through some beautiful scenery. Lakes surrounded by snow capped mountains! The most scenic bus ride I can remember for ages! The last bus ride that stands out (for the views) in memory was from Rio to Ilha Grande.

Bariloche is stunning! Lake Nahuel Huapi dominates the vista. It is sunny when I get in and I head to the lake to stare, tongue hanging out and take some photos of the lake and the mountains. There is a beautifl church in the city centre.

The main street is lined with chocolate stores and ice-cream shops. Bariloche and El Bolson reputedly have the best chocolates and ice-cream in Argentina (and the Argentines mean the world, when they say that). Most of the shops and restaurants are closed till 20:00 due to a nationa census. Ex-president Kirchner had died that day as well, so the flags were lowered all around the city.

I met a couple of Argentine girls who were full of questions about India. I fielded their questions as much as I could before heading to the hostel, where a warm shower helps relieve the body of the stress of a (albeit a fairly luxurious) 20 hour bus ride.

Day 52, Wednesday Oct 20 Buenos Aires

We are late arriving in Buenos Aires. It probably didn’t help that we were stopped 3 times while the police entered the bus and asked for IDs. Once they got in with a dog, which was presumably sniffing for drugs! The traffic in the morning once we entered town was terrible, which added to the delay.

The Argentines seem to love their mate. I lost count of how many people had a flask of hot water and a mate jug in their hands. There was a moment when a man had a mate in one hand and a cigarette in another. I wish I had my camera handy then!

The metro here (subte) is, like in Mexico City, really cheap. It doesnt seem as extensive as Mexico City, but I have been walking everywhere and havent used the metro much!

Spent the first day wandering around the streets, gawking, gawping and taking photos. The architecture reminds me of Barcelona and Paris. It also has a New Yorky feeling to it. Quite the combination with a South American flavour!

Lunch at cafe Josephina´s in Recoleta. Nice food, but more importantly, a good cup of wine!

They had a free showing of an Argentine movie (Carancho) at Teatro Cervantes. I like Ricardo Darin, and thought he was really good in it. Managed to understand only about 30% of the conversations. Some parts of the story remain unclear to me.

People queue up in an orderly fashion to get on the bus. One of such queues I came across wound around one whole block!

Hope to pick up Spanish over the next 6 months in South America.

Day 53, Thursday Oct 21 Buenos Aires

Woke up with a bad throat and cold, so took it easy. Went for a walk for with my Brasilian roommate, Jorge. We walked aorund a couple of neighbourhoods! Florida Street, Plaza San Martin and the Cemetery at Recoleta were the main tourist spots. The cemetery is where a bunch of extremely famoous ARgentines are buried, including Eva Peron. There were cats wandering around the cemetery. They seemed at home!

Lunch at Napole’s, close to Plaza del Mayor. Really good food, wine, dessert and a pretty waitress. I started to fall in love with Buenos Aires. Only a month ago, I wanted to live in Rio. Now I would prefer to live in BA.

Day 54, Friday Oct 22 Buenos Aires

Purchased my ticket to Bariloche. Decided to spend a bit more money for a cama bus, which means that unlike the semi-cama, the seats will recline to almost 180 degree. They provide you with food, wine, champagne on board. The cama-suite is the most comfortable, where the seats recline all the way and you have your own TV. Didnt fancy spending another 20 hours in the semi-cama.

I walked a lot! Went to Palermo viejo by way of Recoleta. This time I stopped by Floralis Generica. It was given to BA by architect Eduardo Catalano. It has metallic petals, which open and close by means of a hydraulic device. They are closed at sunset and opened in the morning. Walked past a lot of plazas, gardens and the zoo to get to Palermo viejo, which is an old, pretty neighbourhood.

Had lunch at a restaurant called Krishna. Really good vegetarian food! There were quite a few vegetarian restaurants in the neighbouhood. I stopped at a local store to get some nuts and dry fruits, and was engaged in conversation by the shop owner. She wants to visit India some day soon and asked me questions about it.

Day 55, Saturday Oct 23 Buenos Aires

First order of the day was a visit to La Boca. It was the neighbourhood that the immigrants came to years ago. A working class neighboourhood and apparently the birthplace of Tango. Now, it is a poor neighbourhood and everyone advises against wandering away from the tourist spots. I have listened to stories of people getting mugged at gunpoint. My roommate witnessed a mugging while he visited La Boca.

Caminito is the street that tourists visit, and with good reason. It is extremely colourful! Photos of La Boca. A bunch of restaurants had tango shows; they event let us pedestrians watch without hassling us. There were also people dancing Tango on the streets.

I wandered away from the tourist spots just to get the vibe of the surroundings. Being a Saturday, there were plenty of locals on the street. I walked a couple of blocks around Caminito and felt very safe. Got some fruits at the local supermarket as I was extremely hunger. Apparently hunger can help overcome paranoia 🙂

After 3 hours in La Boca, I decided to head to the Palermo parks. I got to the boundary of Recoleta and Palermo. I stopped at a park to rest my feet, but ended up spending a couple of hours there! There were a lot of people out, playing football, sunning themselves, having picnics, playing music. I dont recall seeing a lot of that in Brasil. I sat next to the young folks playing music and read my book. A very pleasant evening.

For a change, I went out for dinner. Met up with a fellow traveller I had met in Foz.

Day 56, Sun Oct 24 Buenos Aires

I have had luck with weather in BA. Although the morning starts out a wee bit on the chilly side, it has warmed up during the day. More importantly, the rain has stayed away!

Met another co-traveller and walked around Puerto Madero, the port.
The neighbourhood is sparkling new, with some posh flats, businesses, restaurants.

Annesu is a South African living in Ireland, headed to Australia after 8 months in South America! She gifts me her jacket since I needed one and she is headed to Oz in summer. Very generous of her!

We made our way to the older San Telmo neighbourhood. San Telmo has a street fair and an antique market Sundays, and the streets were crowded with people. The highlight of the day was a flamenco show for lunch. The show was free and the was good! The artists put up a fantastic show. Free tango show on Saturday and Flamenco show on Sunday.

Day 57, Mon Oct 25 Buenos Aires

A day to do chores. Off to the laundromat, then the post office. Walked around aimlessly for most of the morning and afternoon.

Monday night was spent at Konex cultural centre, watching La Bomba del Tiempo. I love drums and the group was very good. A really good show. The only things that prevented the show from being perfect was the behaviour of the people around me. They ignored the no smoking signs, and started jumping around like they were in some mosh pit. I would have liked them to enjoy themselves, but not smoke around me or stamp my feet. Sigh; I must be getting old. My shirt & jacket smells of smoke now!

Buenos Aires has managed to capture my imagination. There is so much to do and see. I also feel extremely safe walking around. I didn’t do that in any of the big cities in Brasil. The places I felt safe to do that in Brasil were small enough that I could walk around the town in an hour 🙂

Off to Bariloche. The weather gods look to have turned against me. The forecast is rain, rain and more rain in Bariloche. The lake district is supposed to be beautiful and has a lot of hiking.

Day 50, Monday Oct 18 Puerto Iguazu

An ambivalent start to teh day! I am excited about Argentina, but it is time to say goodbye to my first love, Brasil. I had a wonderful time. Yes, there were some moments I would like to forget, but I reckon it is all part of the adventure.

I got a ride from the hostel folks to the hostel in ARgentina. It costs a bit more than the bus ride across, but it also meant that I didnt have to wait in queues and spend an hour or more waiting for buses! The immigration on both sides were a breeze! Neither of them had any questions for me. I cannot imagine such a thing happening at the US borders, where, to couch it in polite terms, the folk see themselves as guarding the fortress and let people know who holds the power, in no uncertain terms! Changing the money was a breeze as well, and the rates werent too bad, but one does always take a bit of a knock.

The Argentine side of the falls is where you get up close and personal with the waterfalls. The views are spectacular, and there are plenty of trails to keep you busy the entire day. I spent about 5 hours enjoying my first day in Argentina, drinking in the beauty that my pedestrian mastery of language cannot communicate. Ah, to be a poet! I had seen a tucan at close quarters and plenty of butterfiles on the Brasilian side. Even though the sign to one of the trails warned of dangerous animals one could encounter on the trails, I only saw more butterflies, some giant ants and a couple of iguanas, one of whom were molting. And a bunch of badger like creatures.

I got to a supermarket and was dumbfounded to see it closed. The hours of operation? 8 to 12:30 and then 16:30 to 21:00. A 4 hour break mid-day. The Argentines seem to take their siesta seriously. Wonder if it is just the small towns? I am looking forward to Buenos Aires, which is a 18 – hour bus ride away. But that is for tomorrow. FOr now, time to reflect on 6 weeks in Brasil, as I head back to the hostel for an early night.

Photos of Iguacu falls – Argentine side

Day 51, Tuesday Oct 19 Puerto Iguazu/ Bus ride to BA

Puerto Iguacu has a place where the three neighbouring countries meet at a location called the Tres Fronteras. Had time to kill, so went for a walk to the Tres Fronteras to strecth my legs.

The 22 hour bus ride was not much fun, but I got quite a bit of reading in. Almost done with another book! The seats are comfortable, but I didnt get much sleep.