Rio de Janeiro - Pao de Acucar And Corcovado
Posted On Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at at 9:03 PM by Alvin
Millions of years of Earth movements, erosions and growth of vegetations produced the dramatic scenery and landscapes of this vibrant city - but all that was needed was tens of minutes of cable car rides up to the peaks of Pao de Acucar (Sugar Loaf) and Corcovado (The Hunch Back) for us to admire the marvel Nature had created for us. Like many wondrous sights in this world, no photos of Pao de Acucar and Corcovado could compare with the real-time and real-life encounters that would leave you with a heart-felt "wow" ! We arrived in Rio at night so we missed the opportunity of an aerial view of the city, but the plane (local Brazilian Azul Air) as well as many others actually having left the Rio Parana down South, and entered Rio city air space, would make a low sweep around Pao de Acucar. (See below)
The vistas of the surroundings on the peaks of Pao de Acucar and Corcovado were just stunning - we could spot the idyllic and spectacular Copacabana, Leblon, Flamenco, Santos Dumont and Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas as well as the quiet and leafy suburbs of Urca, Catete and Botafogo; Cristo Redentor atop Corcovado would literally have visitors on their knees as they lied on the ground and struggled to take a complete photo of The Big Man. These photos I hope would do this beautiful city justice.
Rio de Janeiro - Copacabana, Ipanema, Maracana ... And Catete ?
Posted On Sunday, March 20, 2011 at at 7:58 PM by Alvin
You thought of Rio de Janeiro, you would relate Copacabana Beach, The Girl From Ipanema, Maracana Futbol Stadium, but Catete ? Yep ! We landed at 7PM at Santos Dumont Airport and were advised not to walk to the nearest Metro (even only 10 minutes !); so we took the airport bus and headed to the nearest suburb Catete, before the sky got completely dark... Well, the sky got completely dark anyway and Catete (Car-Tet-Chi) turned out to be a friendly middle-class neighbourhood but the hotels were completely booked solid because of the suburb's proximity to the central business district; we found Hostel Leon in the shimmering lights where a clean 4-bed dormitory awaited us. Luckily, the following 6 days we found a decent hotel (also in Catete) which provided us a comfortable sojourn (such a nice man at the reception who gave us the best room in the hotel...) for the last leg of our journey.
We absolutely loved this city ! We walked for many hours and enjoyed the vista of the beach-scape of Ipanema, Leblon, Copacabana and Flamenco; ate our way through another "por Kilo" lunch; joined the Sunday crowds on their jogging/power-walking trails around the lake of Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas and ventured around the streets and hoods of Saara, Lapa, Escadaria Selaron, Sao Cristovao and Maracana. Rio was really a diverse city with different neighbourhoods showing-off their characters. Again, the energy, optimism, vibrancy and also the left-behind favela (slums) of this city reminded us of the similarities and consequences of the fast-pace growth of the cities in China. BTW, Rio was pronounced to us by the locals as HEE-O and the Brazilian currency the Real as he-OWL ... Now we know.
Entrar Brazil ! Foz do Iguacu And Itaipu Dam !
Posted On Tuesday, March 15, 2011 at at 9:58 PM by Alvin
We entered Brazil from Argentina on a clear morning with a blue blue sky and the "Entrar" was smooth and took the minimal of formalities. We stayed in the city of Foz do Iguacu where we would have the chance of seeing the Iguazu Falls from the Brazilian side. But having settled on our first day in this exciting country, we visited the Itaipu Dam on the Paraguay/Brazil borders. The Itaipu Dam was heavily guarded and the administration was very strict and no wonders, Itaipu provided Paraguay with 90% of the country's electricity ! The Dam was impressive and the imposing site reminded us of our visit to the Three Gorges Dam in China and it was clear to us that both countries were really up and coming of age in modernisation. We arrived back to Foz do Iguacu city after spending 3 hours at the Itaipu Dam and found a local "por Kilo" eatery that served decent Brazilian foods that rounded off a hot but rewarding day.
Next came the awsome Iguazu Falls (again !) where we would be viewing the falls from a more panoramic perspective; different from the Argentinian experience of actually criss-crossing the many water falls. The atmosphere and sheer beauty of the falls were no less impressive than on the Argentinian side; the time it took us to view the waterfalls on the main trail was however shorter (4 hours) as we were not interested in walking the other commercial hold-on-to-your-wallet "Tropical Natural Trails". We again enjoyed getting wet and happy from the water mist and the joy of getting close to these world-class wonders.
Funky Paraguayan Town - Ciudad del Este
Posted On Sunday, March 13, 2011 at at 6:47 PM by Alvin
We ventured into Paraguay by passing through the interesting border controls of Argentina (very proper and official, getting off the local bus, queued up at Immigration, stamped our passports with Salida/Entrada, getting back on the same waiting bus), Brazil (the same bus went straight through the Immigration of the Brazilian check point, with us scratching our heads thinking we had just become some illegal aliens) and then on to the Paraguayan boarders (the bus drivers just dumped us after we crossed the famous muggers' bridge where walking was not recommended and the stamping of our passports with Paraguayan officials seemed entirely voluntary !). At the end, we figured we had better have our Entrada (and later Salida) stamped properly by the very friendly Paraguayan officials.
Ciudad del Este was a town full of heavily armed and bullet-proof-vested security guards, shopping plazas operated by Taiwanese, Chinese, Middle Eastern and Indian businessmen, casual local street vendors selling CDs, futbol shirts and balloons, wholesalers from Argentina and Brazil as well as tourists utterly bewildered by the odd surroundings which looked as if they were card boards put up temporarily from the night before. We nevertheless did not feel too much threat in the broad daylight and spent a few light-hearted hours exploring the plazas, the back streets, the only Burger King for a coffee and then caught up at the bus terminal back to Argentina with our German friends from Dusseldorf for a good-natured chat about the quirks of this funky Paraguayan city !
Northern Tip Of Argentina - San Ignacio And Iguazu !
Posted On Saturday, March 12, 2011 at at 3:02 AM by Alvin
We took the over night cama bus to San Ignacio, leaving Buenos Aires Estacion at 655PM. Cama meant we had fully reclining seats (think first class plane cabins), dinner and breakfast served on board, movie-on-the-road and what's more, we managed to reserve seats right up front and had a grand view of the red earth roads up north ! The northern parts of Argentina were sparsely populated with little towns dotted along the Rio Uruguay with inspiring names like Delicia, El Dorado, Wanda, Mineral etc., but the most notable feature was the red soils covering this part of Argentina (think Red Centre Australia).
We reached San Ignacio at 830AM after a relaxing night on the bus and the town was quiet and residents friendly. We stayed at a cabana and made use of the well-equipped kitchen and Mandy cooked ourselves a grand cheesy spaghetti. We visited the San Ignacio Mini - the ruins left behind by the Jesuits Missions and the indigenous tribes of Guranis. We enjoyed this restful sojourn after the grand metropolis that was Buenos Aires.
Next came the mighty Iguazu Falls (Gurani words for Big Waters) ! The experience of coming up-close to the un-forgiving power, gushing noises, volume, widths and heights of the many waterfalls, the tropical butterflies, rainbows, the excited visitors and the drenching by the waterfalls' out-sprays would forever etched in our memories and literally left us breathless when we stood close to one of the many cataratas ! I will just leave you with a few of the awesome photos !
Colonial Colonia - Taking The Ferry To Uruguay
Posted On Wednesday, March 9, 2011 at at 8:51 PM by Alvin
Taking the 3 hours' ferry across the Rio de La Plata from Buenos Aires, we arrived in Colonia in Uruguay in good spirits, as the weather was fine and we looked forward to visiting this peaceful colonial seaside UNESCO town away from the grandeur of BA. The ferry crossing was pleasant and we were entertained by a local band performing in the middle of the boarding deck; the journey was definitely made that much more interesting. But, hey nobody told us it was a holiday weekend and to our amazement, all the hotels were booked solid and there were only 4 beds left in the Hostel Espanol - so bunk beds or church yards ? Never mind, the joy of travelling... so we spent a memorable night in a 10-person dormitory and it was actually surprisingly quiet and clean. Colonia (full name - Colonia del Sacramento) was picturesque and peaceful as we had expected and the two days we spent here strolling along the cobble streets, sipping cafe in cosy bars by the pier, energised and prepared us for the long journey up to northern Argentina.
BTW, we found out that Uruguayans were even keener mate drinkers than Argentinians, every local would walk around carrying their mate kit which consisted of a hot water flask (held by left hand and pressed against left chest), mate cup with a straw and sieve called bombilla (held by right hand and taking frequent sips as one walked along the leafy streets). A photo of the kit below in case you were wondering.
Buenos Aires - Tango, Vino, Grill And Colorful Barrios
Posted On Saturday, March 5, 2011 at at 2:32 AM by Alvin
At long last, after 48 hours of buses, planes and transit lounges (taking the USA route via Detriot and Atlanta), we touched down in this famous city at 745AM and managed to find an apartment hotel in the Microcentro district. We ventured out to this huge city, blinded by the unfamiliar Southern Sun, we had a "Menu del Dia" that came with a generous glass of vino tintos and that helped us hit the sack at 3PM for an "early" night !
Still feeling dis-orientated from all the flying around, we managed in the following days to direct ourselves around BA and visited the majestic Plaza de Mayo, sprinted across the 12-lanes Avienida 9 de Juilo (before the lights turning red), braved the chaotic and buzzing traffic in Retiro as well as visiting the subdued but dignified Recoleta Cemetery. We watched the famous Tango danced by street performers near Galerias Pacificos along the pedestrianised Avienida Florida and of course visited the colorful La Boca and San Telmo Barrios via the famed La Bombonera Futbol Stadium (where Boca Juniors played at home); the buildings in La Boca was brightly colorful on the blue blue day and this Barrio had numerous Maradona statues - a tribute to this great futbol player !
We made numerous cafe stops and relaxed with an Espresso in this very curious European/Latin city, as well as digging in the unforgettable "Parrillas" with all the grilled meat we could eat for a few months...Vino from Mendoza was definitely a must-try here as the Malbec was smooth and strong and we washed down the grilled beef steaks and blood sausages with a satisfying sigh. Yeh, we felt settled in this interesting city rather quickly though we were thousand miles from home !
