Cataratas del Iguazu

Garganta del Diablo

going under...

funny cheeky animal!

not such a friendly one...

We arrived in this small town called Puerto Iguazu on the Argentinian side of the Waterfalls. From there you can visit the famous Parque Nacional de Iguazu with 270 falls in total. The highest one, Garganta del Diablo is 80m high and lies between Argentina and Brazil. They were pretty impressive to see from far, but I decided to go on a speedboat to get under them. Nothing for John, since he´s not keen on boats or getting wet(LOL).

It was a lot of fun and of course I got completely soaked, but a great experience to get so close to the falls. Then we had a wonderful lunch buffet at the Sheraton in the Parque Nacional de Iguazu with a view over the falls, Argentina on one side, Brazil on the other (sometimes you have to treat yourself!).

This area has got a subtropical climate which means very hot and humid and I also spotted my first (what I thought) huge hairy spider in our hotel kitchen. YUCK!

The park is very beautiful and very big and you can spend all day there just walking around enjoying the flora and fauna. You can see a variety of Butterflies, Birds, Lizards, Crocodiles, Snakes (although we didnt spot one) and a weird but cute animal which I don´t remember the name of.

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Stay tuned for full Carnival in Rio report

Uruguay - Colonia del Sacramento

It is very easy to pop over to Uruguay from Buenos Aires, just a 1-hour speedboat trip over the Rio de la Plata. John wanted to go to Montevideo and I decided to join him in the last minute, since I spent enough time in B.A. and was ready for beach time. But Montevideo was another big city and even a boring one. The beach was ok, but nothing special. After a 2 1/2 hour bus ride I arrived in a town called Colonia del Sacramento since I heard it was really nice. It was invaded by the Portuguese and the character and influence remained. You can see beautiful coloured houses and cobblestoned streets. Very pretty and relaxed town and some nice beaches just on the outskirts. Here some photos....

Buenos Aires is...

La Boca

Tango, Tango and more Tango!

typical San Telmo cafe

nice parks

Obelisk on 9 de Julio

Evita in Recoleta

German culture in B.A.

and partying...

Yerba Mate - A piece of Argentine culture

On street corners, at home, in the car, in shops, in the bus or bus station – no matter if old or young, everywhere you see people in Argentina holding a little pot in their hand and sipping some strange stuff from a metal straw, passing the same pot from one to another while holding a flask of hot water in the other hand. One might think: that looks very dodgy, what are grandpa and grandma over there up to? It is far from what you think! ;-)

Glossary:
Yerba (read: sherba): is a herbal plant that grows in subtropical South America, in Argentina, southern Paraguay, western Uruguay and southern Brazil.
It has a very bitter taste at first, but the more you drink of it the better it gets. It has definitely an acquired taste. There are of course different manufacturers and you have to find your favourite one. It is supposed to have a slightly uplifting effect, like caffeine but not as strong and is much gentler to the stomach and also has several other benefits like cancer-fighting abilities. (basically it¨s good for you!)
The Mate (read: maté): A Mate pot is a hollow gourd and can be made of calabassa, wood, metal or plastic. There are many varieties and types of mate, some are left natural, some painted, some have leather around, some are made from a cow¨s hoof etc etc.
Bombilla (read: bombisha): The bombilla (straw) is usually made from stainless steel or alpaca and acts as a sieve which filters the herbs so you don´t get any pieces in your mouth.

What got me into it was the whole ceremonial and social aspect of it. To prepare a good mate, you do the following: you put the yerba in the pot, but only fill it up half-way. Turn it around in your hand so that the powder gets to the top. Then you heat up water in a kettle (it is not supposed to boil, the perfect temperature is about 80 degrees) and put it in a flask to keep warm. Then you insert the bombilla into the dry yerba, pour some water little by little until the pot is more or less filled. Then you sip your mate, and you finish all the water that is in the mate. Then you fill it up again and pass it on to your friend or people who are sitting near you.
It is a very sociable ceremony and gets people talking. If an Argentinian ever offers you to share mate, I suggest not to refuse!

John thinks: this is better than beer!


yerba, mate with bombilla and flask

take your pick...