December 7, 2008
Hola amigos y amigas! Our first entry on the update page. Made it safely to Buenos Aires despite the 14 hours of flying time. Brenda got BUSTED going thru customs and had to agree to a search. Very entertaining!? We were a little weary on arrival but the excitement level kept us going! Staying downtown, VERY cosmopolitan. Got the lay of the land quickly and have seen a few of the local sights. Tango (last pic, that's Brenda and I strutting our stuff...?), local performance art, mucho shopping, BIG beef steaks, the Obeilsk (a tribute to Argentinean independence), the statue of San Martin (the father of Argentinean independence), the Casa Rosada (from where Evita famously gave speeches from it's balcony), Cafe Tortoni (a 150 year old cafe), INCREDIBLE architecture. TOO much to to go into great detail.
Enjoy the pics and we'll update again on Wed. Dec. 10!
December 10, 2008
Bienvenidos! We were outta Buenos Aires on Monday and off to Puerto Iguazu, Argentina, home to one of the natural wonders of the world, the Cataratas del Iguazu. It is massive! Blows the doors off Niagara Falls! Sunny, +32 all day hiking amongst the falls, capped off with a speedboat ride UNDER the falls! WOW!
Entertaining dinner in town last night, great patio dining on the main drag. Children, dogs, local flavour and a trip by ambulance to the med clinic where I found out that I have a lung infection. All that was missing was a parade to cap off our day!
Back to Buenos Aires this afternoon for an overnight stay and then on to Rio tomorrow.
Tchau!
December 11, 2008
We've landed in Rio, so "Don't cry for me Argentina" (c'mon sing along, you know the tune!) Had a GREAT time in both Buenos Aires and Puerto Iguazu over the last five days. VERY impressed with the level of hospitality in Iguazu. People went WAY outta their way to be incredibly helpful, especially our local driver, Nicanor, and my personal physician, Dr. Nora.
The next update, with fresh pics, will be Friday December 12 from Copacabana Beach.
Boa noite!
My "taxi" to the med centre...
December 13, 2008
"Oi" from Rio de Janeiro! Spent the last coupla days sightseeing...Copacabana Beach, Sugarloaf mountain cablecars, Christ the Redeemer (new webpage for Him), tourist shopping, eating the local cuisine (mmm...Brazilian bbq on a skewer and dulce de leche were two GREAT discoveries!) Madonna is playing here on Sunday so there's a huge contingent camped out in front of the Copacabana Palace just a few blocks down. Just adds to the excitement of the neighbourhood!
Off to Lima tomorrow, bright and early and then on to Cuzco, high in the Andes, on Monday. We'll update then!
Boa noite!
The Copacabana Palace where Madonna is staying...the entire sixth floor @ $20,000 a night! (and she didn't even invite us over...!?)
Buenos noches from Cuzco, 10,000 feet above sea level in the Peruvian Andes! Bit of an adventure getting outta Rio...the airline bumped us and had to put us up in a Brazilian Super 8 motel for the night (so much for a night in Lima before carrying on) Made it out the next morning no problems!
No altitude sickness on arrival but I had to call el doctoro for some stronger meds to get me through!? Spent the day touring some of the local Inca archeological sites and some of the colonial heritage sites (this includes seeing the local cathedral which is just a MAGNIFICENT display of 16th and 17th century architecture)
We hit the local open air mercado for shopping adventures as well...they sell everything from live animals and local crops to the very latest in tourist stuff?!
We're off to Machu Picchu tomorrow so the next update will be Thurs. Dec. 18
Thursday December 18, 2008
Saved the best for the last update before we fly home tomorrow. Visited Machu Picchu yesterday and today and all I can say is...WOW!!!
This definately gets it's own webpage. Check for more pics there!
Took the train, 4 hours each way, and hit the hill right away. Wild switchback bus ride 20 minutes up and stepped right onto the site. Words and pics cannot do it justice...truly awe inspiring! A little sunshine but mostly a light rain the whole time we were up there. (raincoats are a fashion statement in this town) Our hotel was an adventure, quite funky and it looked as though it used to be a decent hotel, but it has faded. No hot water, no heat so we improvised! (our hair dryer was quite useful as a bed warmer and we spent this morning at the local hot springs to compensate for no hot shower)
Pretty beat after 2 weeks of constant go, go, go! Check the pics and I'll do a final update when we arrive home on Saturday.
Hasta luego!
December 20, 2008
Outta Machu Picchu and Cuzco after a bonus few hours while our flight was delayed. We spent our final 12 hours in Lima, Peru before departure. A little shopping, sightseeing and a great final dinner overlooking the Pacific sunset. Cathedrals and presidential palaces, between church and state, these two have a lock on the greatest architecture worth seeing!
Midnight flight out, 2 hour layover in Houston and arrived back in Calgary today at noon.
A few final pics and I'll wrap it up with a couple of final thoughts afterwards.
December 21, 2008
Well that's it, our South American 2008 adventure has come to an end. Another couple of the Seven Wonders of the World crossed off our list. (We're already thinking about where to go next but we need some rest first) It was a lot of territory to see in a short period of time (15 days and 28,000 total kilometers covered) and almost too much...almost. In the end it was DEFINATELY worth seeing what we've seen.
Thanks to all who followed our progress via this website. It was a lot of fun (and sometimes a bit of a challenge) keeping it up to date on our whirlwind blast through Argentina, Brazil and Peru. If this has served as an inspiration to anyone to make a similar trek, let me know, I'll be happy to share our experiences in greater depth.
No travel agents were harmed (or even consulted) during this making of this production. Through the Internet and a lot of research, we managed to put this adventure together at a SUBSTANTIAL savings over what a comparable organized travel tour would have cost.
Email me at sksnell@hotmail.com for more details on how we set it up and how it all worked out!
I'll make an attempt every once in while to freshen up the pics but for now, Ciao!
Feliz Navidad!
