From Paraty we drove to Angra Dos Reis, where boats depart for Ilha Grande. In Angra Dos Reis we had lunch at a 'per kilo' restaurant, which are popular in Brazil - customers serve themselves from a buffet and then pay according to the weight of their food - it's the same price regardless of the type of food. After lunch I hunted around town for a football to play with when we reached the island and then finally we were on our way... Ilha Grande is a very pretty...

Paraty is a small colonial town on the coast of Brazil, about halfway between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. It is quite cute with its cobble-stoned streets and old-fashioned buildings. There was a real buzz about it at night time - the streets were packed with people and there was music coming from every doorway, shops open late, market stalls and entertainers (there was one guy who seemed to be dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow, just standing around on the street...

We had just a couple of hours in São Paulo in between buses but Julio was able to take us for a very quick run around some of the sights, which was great. After negotiating the underground system, we visited the tall gothic-style Cathedral and saw the impressive mosaics and stained-glass windows. We wandered around some of the market stalls and shops near there and also saw the beautiful old theatre building (which was closed for refurbishment) before grabbing s...

There is a lot of hype about Iguazú Falls - before I arrived I was trying not to get caught up in it and to keep my expectations low because, after all, it's just a waterfall, how exciting could it really be? I had previously visited Victoria Falls in Africa but during the dry season so it was mostly just cliffs - it didn't quite live up to the postcard pictures of the waterfall. However, I was luckier with my timing at Iguazú and I had a fantastic, fun couple ...

We had an action-packed few days on the Panagea Ranch near Tacuarembó - a first-hand experience of the life of the gauchos (cowboys). The owner of the ranch, Juan Manuel, is undoubtedly one of the funniest men I have ever met and he made our stay very enjoyable. Despite his pains to stress how basic the accommodation was, it was perfectly comfortable and relaxing and the food that they served up was great. When we arrived we were a bunch of nervous horse-riding...