From Rio to Iguazu Falls and living the Gauco life in Uruguay

I've just spent the last week travelling from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Montevideo, Uruguay via Iguazu Falls and a ranch in northern Uruguay, in the middle of practically nowhere.

What an awesome week it has been.

First stops were on the coast south of Rio at Ilha Grande and Paraty. Unfortunately, the weather conspired to make these incredible beach side destinations a bit of a dud. I had been to Ilha Grande about 4 years ago and rate it as one of the best islands in the world, but in pouring rain? Ho hum. Unfortunate for my fellow travellers who had not been there previously.

Paraty was a nice stop and quite a unique colonial town with streets existing as they did in the 1600s. Silly really, they obviously didn't have a spirit level invented at that point.

Just on leaving the beaches of Brazil the skies opened up and the sun shone as we headed to Foz do Iguazu.

Iguazu Falls is simply awe inspiring. While not the highest or mightiest, it's overall setting is simply spectacular. As a singlular vista, up there with the Grand Canyon I suppose. Hard to beat.

On the borders of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, almost 300 separate falls cascade across a kilometer or so.

None of my pictures really do it justice, so one from the web, and one I took of a nice section....





After spending three days at Foz we overnight bussed it to northern Uruguay and spent three days living on a ranch (farm), with the gauchos (stockman/cowboy) rounding up cows and sheep on horseback. The ranch is named Panagea and caters for backpackers and Intrepid use it as an integral part of their Rio to BA trips. The ranch is set on about 2000 acres and is an hour and a half from the nearest town. The prairie land in this region is similar to parts of central Victoria, but green.

Check their website/blog for more detail....

Sean on a horse and assisting the drenching of a sheep...




With no television, newspapers, or internet, it was the first time I have been 'unplugged' for so long I can hardly remember - Perhaps the last liveaboard dive trip I did in May 07. We were so busy that I actually managed to forget about the stockmarket for most of the time, although the thoughts of impending doom were still somewhere in the background.

The country does something to me. My greatest early memories are of camping on the Delatite River on a family friend's farm in Merrijig (pop 15) at the base of Mt Buller. Oh the serenity!!!! They were my first experiences of country life and horse riding in the mountains and I wish I could relive them. Reminds me not to forget to live this day. Also made me wonder why we keep ourselves so wired in that we forget to appreciate the things that really matter in life. A nice reality check in the face of potential global security and financal disaster.

Currently in the capital of Uruguay - Montevideo just hanging out and drinking a few Uruguayan vinos. Much underrated....or my tastebuds have dropped off.

Next stop Colonia and Buenas Aires....

Rio and the favelas

I went on an organised favela tour today and it was quite an eye opener.

Favela is a uniquely Brazilian word, taken from a Brazilian plant that grows to the north. Soldiers involved in a Civil War in the late 1800s in Bahai ended up defeating the rebels and made their camp on a hill covered in these bushes. On return to Rio (the then capital) they settled on unclaimed public land on the side of a hill called Morro da Providência, because the government failed to provide any housing that was promised to them after the war. There, the former soldiers named their new settlement Morro da Favela. Over the years, poor people migrated to the cities, especially blacks after being released from slavery, tutning these small communities into massive slums sprawling up the hills from the city lining the beaches. They are now in integral part of the Rio landscape, and the Gov has only just started to impliment projects to improve the squalid conditions.

The favelas are all controlled by gangs, with Rio now having just three main gangs controlling the drug and arms trade. At the moment, there is NO violence inside these favelas (unlike what you may have seen in the movie City of God) because the gangs have absolute full control, and they do not permit any violence, or crime, as this would bring police attention. In fact, the police donṫ even go into the favelas at the moment as there is no need, and they would probably not get out anyway. The gangs apparently have much better and well equipped armories.

The amazing thing about these places is that there are no roads running through them, just small walkways. Walkways no wider than 2 people. All the houses are quite small, mostly one bedroom and a living area, although there are much larger ones. Originally, these houses were built on government land, so it was free to build anything you liked, but now thereś some law that if you have sat on a piece of dirt for over 5 years, itś yours! So, these things can be bought, sold and rented.

We visited two favelas and a school today and one of them had a population of about 60,000. With no roads, just steps. Most of the electricity is stolen off the grid, and they have plumbing. Deep inside these rabbit warrens are stores selling everything anyone would need. Thereś even computer stores, and I saw a little shack with a plasma TV! Perhaps drug money...

Anyway, a great local experience, and highly recommended to anyone next time you pop in to Rio.


Wiki has more info for anyone interested.

Rio de Janeiro

We arrived in Rio this morning after a stupidly early flight from Sao Paulo, requiring us to get up at 4. I had thought that when I left the Army I wouldn't need to be out of bed before the armory was open on a CFA day, ever again. (sorry, Army in joke)

It's cool here in Rio now, forgot that we were in the southern hemisphere and a fair way from the equator. Funny, but I was here in Sept last time and it was steaming hot...

This is the first time Rach has been to Rio, so on the way to our hotel in Copacabana she did the usual thing you would do in a brand new city, claimed to be one of the most beautiful in the world, and slept the whole way. lol. Rachy and busses....

I woke her up a couple of times to point out The Sugarloaf and Christ the Redeemer (one of the New Seven Wonders of the World – what a joke), but he was shrouded in clouds.

Slight drizzle at the moment, but hope it clears this afternoon so we can go for a walk along the esplanade to Ipanema beach and try not to get mugged on the way.

Rach just has a couple of days here before flying back to Quito for a 3 day conference but I am staying in Rio to .... ummm, not sure?? I’m just going to hang out for a bit, and visit some things I haven’t seen. Or, just drink myself silly for 3 days.. Option two more likely. Eeeeek!

Photos to follow, if I'm game to risk taking the camera out.... lol

South East South America Adventure

.
Well, a break from God, a change of pace, and on to travel. Whoooohooo!!

For the next four weeks my wife and I are touring around the south east of South America visiting parts of Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina.

Journey as follows:


The leg from Rio to BA is part of an Intrepid Travel tour which is described as follows:

Venture off the tourist track on this extraordinary adventure through Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. From the buzzing hub of Rio to the vibrant city of Buenos Aires, explore the tropical beaches of southern Brazil, see the towering might of Iguazu Falls and meet the locals in Uruguay's laid-back capital Montevideo. From samba to tango and crowded steak houses, experience the exciting culture of these three fascinating countries.

Sounds OK. :-)

We've spent the past two days in Sao Paulo which has been a surprise. While it's the 3rd largest city in the world, with a reputation for danger; so far it's been easy to get around, has some great architecture, well organised traffic (if not like peak hour 24/7), an amazing underground Metro system to rival Hong Kong, and we haven't even been mugged yet.

We're staying in a great hotel while here, on the outskirts of Centro, as it's close ish to where the better half is attending a conference for 3 days.

While she's attending the conference I'm just cruising about, trying not to get mugged, and while we've already done a brief city tour, I'm joining in an organised tour tomorrow to see what I've missed. I haven't stepped in to any museums or art galleries yet, so must pencil that in for the next few days.