Please, no more bus or border stories!

Well, it certainly was wonderful to have company on the long journey´s across the continent and to see a more relaxed attitude to travel. We always feel driven to keep moving, to see the highlights of the area and then move on. Our 2 companions were far more relaxed about ´seeing what happened´, and being open for the experiences to come to them. I wondered if this difference between us and many other travellers we meet is due to our time - we have a definate date by whích we will be back, and lots to see before then. Many of our fellow travellers are here until the money runs out, so they must do things cheaply, sometimes not do things in order to stay away from home or work for longer. Many travellers have also plaaned to see a more compact area - Mexico in 2 months for example, or just South America for 6 months, so they will get a far deeper nderstanding of the place than travellers who, like us, appear to be travelling through, always heading somewhere else! Time really is too short.

The Iguazu Falls seemed to be a 24 plus hour bus ride from Salta, and we were not impressed that bus prices were twice the price than even in the 2007 guide books. We shopped around, begged for a discount, as we were 4, but eventually just had to pay the price. We decided on a route that took us through southern Paragury on the way to the falls - perhaps it would be a cheaper or quicker route (depending on the 2 border crossings). During the long night Jim was re reading the guide book to check on the places of interest in the area, and noticed the vsa section. Irish are one of the few nationalities that need a visa for Paragury. We were all surprised, as surely they are also in the EU. But Aoife said she´d needed one for Columbia too. Very strange. So a quick change of route, and one less country to ´bag´. The countryside was really flat, but not unpleasant, the roads were striaght and long.

The Falls themselves were in a breath taking setting. It was the setting that impressed me the most. It was a dense jungle area with lush green vegetation, warm but humid. The air was absolutely thick with butterflies. We walked along a long board walk over a few sections of the main river, heading for a viewpoint of the longest drop, and as you stood still you could quickly have upwards of 6 butterflies landing on your arms.We counted about 15 different types, but 20 types are regularly seen, with 600 in total. pretty impressive.

The water was warm, and standing on the viewing platform was like taking a shower - not so good for the preservation of your camera though! The others went for a swim (below the falls) during the afternoon. - Very unusual for me to miss out on a swimmng opportinuty. Mustn´t have been feeling too well! We arrived on the first bus, and left on the last, with some areas that we´d still not quite seen. Yes, it was very commercial and busy, but the setting!

For keen waterfall watchers Iceland certainly has the edge for me. You get more of a feeling of the power of the water and the insignificance of man from standng near the glacial falls on the barren plains of Iceland.

After the falls, the following day we visited Brazil, but they weren´t interested in stamping our passports for the duration of the short visit! We took in a bird park, where nearly every bird for the South American continent is represented, with most free to fly arround in huge jungle enclosures rather than cages. An over night bus to the BA, a huge dirty city - we spent most of the day organising our transport onwards and replacing the stolen tickets (from the incident in Ecuador) You can only replace Quantas tickets at Quantas offices, in person. There are only 2 in the whole of South America!

That done, and ready for the mountains of the South.