hi everyone its ruth cazz has finally got me to sit down long enough to write one of these, they`re a little bit to much like home work, but any way i guess it about time you had a different perspective on things.

i think in the last blog cazz said we were about to get a bus to the falls, well we missed it (not my fault) we weren´t planing on the traffic being so heavy. Everything in southamerica runs about 3 hours late except the one bus we wanted which went on time. i know im rambling a bit but this was quite a dramatic experience and i think for you to appreciate what we have been thought i have to go into a bit more detail. We already knew we were running late when we were in the taxi and we also hadn´t picked up are proper tickets we only had the receipt, so we were planning on the usual delay, buy time we got to the bus station we knew things had gon badly wrong. First we were shown to the wrong bus, then cazz left me with the bag and went to validate the ticket only to come back with a taix driver telling us in spanish that the bus had gone but for 100 reals each (18 pounds) he could catch it up. we decided that this is our best and only option, so we get in his taxi, and then life goes a bit wierd even by my standards because we are suddenly in the middle of a car chase movie, the taxi man ,whose name i have forgotten but for quickness will call him mr taxi man, starts to run red lights, which isnt tha unusuall in Argentina but he wasn´t even waiting for a gap in the road, i even think he put a handbrake turn in there!! Eventually we joined a very big traffic jam which mr taxi man isn´t prepared to wait in as he has promised the pretty blonde girl and her dumpy side kick that he will catch the bus up, so he swings across the traffic on to a side track, cuts in to a building site and puts his foot down, superbly dodging walls and work trucks. He then swerves back onto the main road and proceeds to drive down the wrong side of the road as he can`t find a way back in to the traffic jam, it is at this point he started frantically pointing out the window (with both hands) we finally realise that he is pointing at are bus, which cazz then asks half jokingly if we are meant to jump on to from the moving taxi, he either didn´t understand or doesn´t get cazz`s humour - he just asks us if his driving was good, we didnt answer!! The journey was a bit boring after that but i did get in my head that we were being kidnapped, so i got my phone out and put it in my pocket so that i could take pictures of landmarks and send them home so the people at home would have a trail to follow - i`v seen it done on that missing people show. anyway we weren´t being kidnapped and he got us to the the next bus stop before our bus, and i forgot i had my phone in my pocket and now dont have a phone, im such an idiot. there wasn`t much more drama except we still haden´t had are ticket validated so thay almost didnt let us on. Once we were on the bus mr trolly dolly man was rude to us. I think he thought we hadn`t paid or something, anyway when the food came i got diabetic and cazz got veggie and when i pointed out that we weren`t diabetic or veggie and we wanted cake like everyone else he said we should have had a ticket. So i asked what the diabetic was eating and then when he left i said rude words under my breath, it looked like a really nice cake. The journey did get better though, they put Rocky 100 on and gave us the biggest glass of whiskey, its quite an emotional film if you really get in to it. Then i fell a sleep (do you want cazz back yet) oh and there was a really really really big thunder storm and i saw 3 different types of lightening.

The End buy ruth carolanne gazeley xxxxxx edited buy cazz ball x

cazz has told me off so im going to do a proper blog thing now.

so we got to Puerto Iguazu on the friday are hostee was very nice it had a really big pool but it was raining so we didn`t ues it we didn´t do much that day as we were very tired from our bus journy. oh there was this really wierd guy who kept bugging us and talking to us and i think he stole some of cazz´s pants.

on the saturday we went to the argentinian side of the falls it was a really hot day and we both caurt the sun a bit, we also made friends with corey from oz and lauren from the uk we bonded over a similar sort of humour. The falls were beautiful i haven`t seen anything like them and our pictures dont quite sum up how powerful they are. we spent a long time there and went on a boat that took us over the rapids then under one of the falls we got very wet, i was quiete scared on the boat as it went very fast but then i noticed there was ond peoele on it and a small child, but it did go very, very fast.

in the evening there was a bbq and a show at the hostel, which consisted of skinny girls danced in there underwear oh and the conga corey jouined in we politely declined. we then when on to a club the night had been organised by the hostel it cost 15 pesos (2 pounds 40p) to get in and then it was free beer all night we all got a little tipsy and played truth or dare which was fun.

on the sunday we all had hangovers

- we also went to the brazilian side of the falls. i personaly prefered the argentinian side but the brazil side was nice, you got moor of an over vew of it, but we didnt have much time there. in the evening we were still feeling a bit hungover so we didnt do much.

on the monday we went in to town to get some money cos we were told we needed to pay for are next hostel in advance which was a big fat lie and now we have a load of pesos which we cant spend untill we get to a exchange place errrrrrrr. we had abit of a wasted day cos we were getting a bus a 7 to Campo Grande, so we could go to the pantanal. we spent the day watching films on a English channel we watched 28 days (not 28 days later the othert one with sandre boolkues) and then we watch a really sad one about racism and a Jewish ladies fight against it and we both cried, i think we were still a bit hungover as we were both being a bit techey.

in the evening we went across the border in to brazil to get are bus making sure we were an hour early, we weren`t told about the hour time diference so we nearly missed anouther bus but didnt so it was ok, we also met some ozzy guys who we had seen in uruguay and it felt like that tv show i think its called the great chase anyway ive been told not to ramble. we had to change bus after two hours and were told it would be a ten minute wait. the bus came 6 hours later. we were both very glad that the ozzy boys were with us. as we were in the middle of nowhere next to a jail. and this strange lady kept talking to us even thought we told her we didnt speak spanish or portugease, so i left cazz with her, thay talked for over an hour cazz has no idea what their conversashion was about though!

after the longest coldest 6 hour wait we get on the bus a 3:30ish (AM) and got to Campo Grande later that tuesday. we were very tierd and i was felling a bit emotional. we didnt do much had a few drinks met a nice english girl had dinner then i went to bed.

on the wednesday we went to the pantanal with the ozzy boy thay do have name but i cant rember them cazz will know if that important that you know them (Dave, Danny and Adrian)! we got the bus on time yay but then had to wait 2 and a half hours in the baking sun cos thay didnt know we were coming. we went to a hut which had gaurds in it with guns and thay rang the place and mr myagie (guy from karate kid) came and picked us up, he looked just like him except he wasnt dead and he had lots of missing fingers. we were driven to the camp on this jeep thing that had no windows and benches along the middle. mr meaggie didnt speak english and he took us to the wrong place but at least we got a nice tour! the camp was erm campy. late face it me and cazz arent the most out doorsie of girls there were bugs and bugs and spiders and bugs and ants and spiders and flying bugs and flying spiders and wild pigs - well there were pigs until the ozzy boy chased them then they went away i called the smallest one squirral. i think we had him for lunch or dinner or breakfast it was all pretty much the same. we slept in hammocks which was like totlaly way cool cazz didnt like it as much (That was because everyone went to sleep and there was a bat flying round my face)!

as we had missed a day and a half due to stupid buses we had to cram a lot it. on the first night we went on a night safari and saw alot (including an oscillot) of night!. i then had a good nights sleep in a hammock and cazz stayed up all night listening to the resident bat and a calf being eaten by a puma or leopard or dinosaur - i think it was the wind!! Oh, the bat sounded to much like the raptors in Jurassic Park!

the next day we got up at actual 6 o´clock in the morning and had left over dinner for breakfast, we then went on a treck in the forest and saw monkey untils i scared them off because dave (one of the ozzy boys) but a big bug on me, to be fair he didnt know me that well he wasnt to know what would happen. after i calmed down we moved on and went further into the forest there was lots of bones from cows and horses that had died because the drought. we saw some red and blue mckaw (don`t know how to spell that) parots thay are very loud but really beautiful.

after the treck we went back to the camp and had dinner again for lunch and a nap. we then when on a hourse treck. cazz did really well considering she hates all animals, i had to be led round by the guide because my hourse hated me!! we trekked for 3 hours and had sore bums. it was a lot of fun we went thought lakes with gators in and in to the forest and we saw more parots and then one of the boys disturbed a wasp nest so we had to make a quick exit. the guide made a path through the trees with their machettes but cazzs hourse decided it would much rather go through the branches and she got stuc.k it was very amousing.

when we got back to the ranch there were two alligaters on the bank so we went to get photos the gied told us we could go closer and closer and closer he then smiled and said thay were plastic so i went to sit on it, only it wasnt plastic it was real and the guide nearly pooed himself and so did i.

when we got back to the camp we had last nights dinner for dinner and a camp fire, i went to bed early cos it had been a very long day and cazz stayed up and got drunk (tipsy). on one of the occasions in the night that cazz got up to be sick (I needed the toilet alright) she thought she heard a puma growling outside the toilet door, so she had to make the decision of sleeping with the bugs and vomit and (translucent frogs) or running back to the hammocks, i wish someone had filmed her as she ran for her life. when she told me about this the next day i pointed out that there were quite a few dogs there that night and lets face it she has quite an imagination. (That night the locals also read my palms and told me I was going to die young, nice)!

the friday was are last day and the most fun. we got up at 6 again and had two day old dinner fot breakfast. we then went on a drive and saw lots of alligaters (including a huge gator eating a baby because it was so hungry) and some wild giant killer otters, that made funny noises, the guide was making an even funnier sound to call them i think he was having a stroke. we then went on a boat ride. It was practically a boat made out of beer cans! the journey was very scenic and peacefull, until the boat got stuck in the river bed and the motor cut out. so we were stranded in pirahna infested water being circled by alligators its at this moment that cazz decides to point out a small bruise / dirt patch on her arm, i calmly explained to her that at that paticluar moment in time it was the least of our problems.

when we got the boat going agen we went pirahna fishing. i caught 3, cazz only manged one small one by herself (Actually it was 2 and one was a good size)!. pirahna are sneeky so and sos we were fishing with rancid cows heart and the pirahna would strip the hook before you could catch them, FACT: did you know that a pirahna can strip a human clean to the bone in under two minutes?! every time i caught one i spent more effort trying to keep it away from me, they have very sharp teeth.

cazz is going to take over ive been typing for 5days now. (You think she`s joking)!

OKay...so we had the pirahna for lunch, I`m not a fish eater but thought I`d give it a go. They tasted of chicken. Me and Ruth left the Pantanal with a henna tattoo each, bracelets and alligator teeth necklace, and I got Elias`s t-shirt (the giude). The loacls took a shine to us!

So on Saturday we headed off to Ascunsion in Paraguay, our bus was 5 hours delayed, suprise suprise. We travelled for 13 hours through the day, eugh. In Ascunsion we met Mags and Gwen (Gwen is Craig`s Aunty). They work as missionaries here. We kept them up late with our delayed bus journey but they met us at the bus station and we sped off into the night!!

On SUnday we made a start on our washing, with not a clean item of clothing to our names (other than Elias`s t shirt). In the afternoon Gwen and Mags took us round Ascunsion, we really think you guys should get jobs as tour giudes. The city was eerily quiet. That evening we went out for empanadas and ice cream, yum yum. But......Monday was a bad day. We were both struck down with dysentry and spent the day in bed and on the toilet!

We are still in Ascunsion and planning to leave tomo but are tempted to stay forever...hahaha! Just kidding guys! But its been lovely to have a home away from home, thank you so much for taking us hobos in and looking after us (sorry about the state of your toilet)!

So, tomorrow we plan to leave for Salta. I wanted to go to Bolivia but no time, aargh. We have to be in Santiago by the 4th of Nov for our flight, if you check the map thats quiet some distance, hope we make it!

If any of you have read through all this, congratulations, you`ve got stamina!! I now have to go edit the rest of Ruth`s, aargh!! And then we`re settling down to watch In Her Shoes. Lovely.

We miss you all, please write or send gifts! hehe. Check out Ruth`s pics and videos on facebook, we will put more on here soon (although we look quite wild in the pantanal ones).

With love,

Carolyn and Rufio xx

Spelling and italics by Cazza B xx