Day Trip to Uruguay

Tuesday, 23 April, 2013

This is the view from my hotel window in Buenos Aires and today I sailed past here in a giant ferry on my way to Uruguay.   The tour originally had a day trip to Uruguay as an optional excursion, but it was cancelled - something to do with an argument between the operator and the Argentine government over additional taxes. Arlene, from Fort Collins, Colorado, was keen to go and we discovered that we could  book an identical trip from the ferry terminal - so off we went.  Another beautiful day, a fully loaded ferry (the roll-on-roll-off car ferry type) and us sitting in first class because there were no seats left in tourist.  We departed at 9 am and being a "rapido" ferry, we docked at Colonia de Sacramento, Uruguay an hour later.   The crossing of the Rio de la Plata (River Plate) was very smooth and there was nothing to see except for the vast, shallow river.  It is not the widest part (140 km) of the river here but it is still like being at sea rather than being on a river.

                                           Arriving at the port of Colonia de Sacramento

 With some relief we watched most of the passengers board buses to Montevideo - for a while it seemed like half of Buenos Aires was on the excursion with us.  Fortunately only a handful of tourist type people got on the bus for downtown Colonia - in other words the historic area of this town of 20,000 people.
Colonia sits on a peninsula which juts out into the river.  Driving along the main central street there are views down tree lined side streets to the water on either side.  The trees are huge (plane trees, I think, but not pollarded as they are in Europe) and just beginning to turn to autumn colours.

       

Here comes the Turistico Bus - typical Colonia street.

 Colonia was originally settled by the Portuguese and I was reminded of Portugal in the houses - white-washed with blue or gold trim around the doors and window frames.  The plaques with street names are also typically Portuguese, although I was informed that they are replicas of the originals.   As we arrived in the centre of the town we saw some quite grand Spanish colonial buildings, some a bit dilapidated, but others well preserved and used as public buildings.  The streets are all cobblestone and all are tree lined. Many locals were out and about and the many cafes with tables outdoors on the pavements were gearing up for the lunch time trade.  There seems to be a trend here to use old cars as decorative items outside cafes and shops - and they are beautifully turned out!

                                                Open for lunch - pretty café in the main square.

We had a very well planned trip, everything included, so our first activity was a guided walk around the oldest part of the historic town.  Our tour party, the English language one, consisted of Arlene and me and two French women, plus our lovely guide who was obviously very proud of her pretty town.
We wandered the streets, stopping here and there to hear snippets of history from Colonia's glory days.  Some of the streets appear to have changed little over the centuries.  In the oldest part of town the little streets, or passageways lead from a central square to the river. There are some  handsome, large and very old trees giving shade to the square. It is a peaceful place with no commercial activity except for a couple of small museums which we didn't have time to visit. The trees are full of twittering birds.
 

                             Oldest street in Colonia - just inside the remains of the old city walls

                                           Typical old Portuguese passageway with the river below

  Looking across the square, past the flowering kapok tree, to the lighthouse

 Houses in the square

 Kapok in bloom.

With just a few streets to explore we soon arrived at the main square which surrounds the site of the former governor's house - now just a few stone foundations.  This seems to be the hub of the old town with restaurants, a couple of shops and the church which was built by the Portuguese in the 1600s.

                                                           First church in Colonia

We had a quick look in side - a simple interior - and then dashed off to catch the tourist bus for our trip up the coast.  English language headphones were very useful for identifying landmarks. We drove through the newer part of the town where most people live - it was unremarkable and looked a bit run down.  Most of the drive was along a coastal road - sandy beaches and a promenade on one side and holiday apartments on the other.   The interesting thing is that there are gum trees along the shoreline  Offshore are a couple of small islands which apparently have a bloody history - various battles between the native population, the Portuguese, the Spanish and even the English.  The river looks pretty clean, but a bit brown at the edges.  Many Uruguayans and Buenos Aires residents have made Colonia a vacation town but the economic woes of the two countries have reduced the investment in holiday facilities and a large number of  "se vende" signs are in evidence on properties along the coast.   The road ends at a golf course and Sheraton hotel.  Here again there are many large summer homes for sale.

                                                           Riverside beach, Colonia

Along the way se saw the ruins of a bullring - it only operated for two years before animal rights activists had it closed and also the ruins of a  huge pelota stadium - also no longer in use.  It did seem rather strange to have facilities for a Basque game this far away from Europe.  Maybe the Spanish who settled here came from the Basque country.

Back in the historic town we had a quick look at a local craft market and then enjoyed a leisurely lunch (included in the ticket price) in the sunshine at the Compando Restaurant.

                                                     Compando Restaurant, Colonia

Time for a quick look at some shops and then on to the bus and back to the port for the ferry journey to Buenos Aires.  The boat was less crowded and Arlene and I both fell asleep on the crossing.  Peak hour traffic was crazy back in BA so we decided that walking to the hotel would be quicker than taking a cab.  I think all 45,000 BA cabs were at the ferry terminal building when we arrived!  Early night needed, although I did stop at the Lobby Bar for a farewell cappuccino with Brenda who sadly is due to return home to Shreveport, Louisiana. It has been a lot of fun running around with her and her southern drawl (she left her hubby back home -"he don't like to fly").  I introduced her to the joys of  cappuccino which much to my amazement she knew nothing about, being a black coffee girl.  Needless to say I have a convert.  Did I mention that the coffee in South America is outstanding! Arlene is also a great travelling companion - she is with her fellow, Joe, but he has limited  mobility and doesn't always come on excursions. 

Sailing in to Buenos Aires Ferry Terminal - Sheraton Hotel on the right.

Buenos Aires Adventures

Sunday, 21 April, 2013
Most of Sunday was taken up with travelling from Foz do Iguazu to Buenos Aires.   This time we flew from the Iguassu Falls Airport in Argentina so that meant yet another tedious border crossing - and the Argentine customs also decided to  x-ray our bags.   Before we left Brazil we had the opportunity to do a bit of souvenir shopping at an artisan warehouse.  Brazil seems to be big on precious stones which are indeed lovely and t shirts.   Lunch at the airport and then our flight which arrived in Buenos Aires around 5 pm.  We flew into the downtown airport and had a good view of the city - it is enormous!  Not surprising as we found out from our local guide, Natalia, that 13 million people live in the greater Buenos Aires area - three million in the city centre.  There are 45,000 taxis in BA!  They are very inexpensive too.  The airport is on the banks of the Rio de la Plata (River Plate) and it looks just like the ocean - you cannot see the other side.  At certain points the river is 140 kilometres wide. 
Our hotel is the Sheraton in the Retiro area near the port and we can walk to many shops, restaurants etc. from here.  Most of the group followed Mauro's suggestion of having dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant, Broccolinos - nothing to do with the vegetable, but named for Brooklyn in New York where many Italians settled.  Forty percent of the Argentine population is of Italian descent.  Natalia tells us that Argentinians are a lot of Italians who speak Spanish and think they are French!  Certainly the architecture and boulevards of parts of the city are reminiscent of Paris.  Dinner was ok - calamari entre and ravioli (enormous servings - two could share one meal and still not get through it all) but the wine was fantastic.  An Argentine cabernet sauvignon - absolutely delicious.

Monday, 22 April, 2013
Our first day in Buenos Aires consisted of a city tour in the morning, a free afternoon and a dinner and tango show in the evening.  We began our tour in the main square, Plaza de Mayo where the President's Pink Palace (Casa Rosada)  is located, as well as the cathedral and a famous obelisk where the mothers of the missing children gather regularly to remind us of the atrocities that took place under the military junta. The balcony from which Eva Peron spoke to the people is on the front façade of the palace.   Everywhere throughout this city are reminders of  Evita.

Modern building features Eva Peron

The Casa Rosada and Evita's balcony

                                         
 We visited the cathedral, where the new Pope was Archbishop, and saw the tomb of General San Martin who liberated Argentina from Spanish rule.  He is a big hero here.

Buenos Aires Cathedral

Plaza de Mayo Obelisk - site of protest and remembrance

As we left this area of the city, heading for the old port,  we passed by the beautiful Russian Orthodox Church.

Rooftops of the Russian Orthodox Church

Next stop, La Boca, home of the famous football club and of course Maradona who led Argentina to victory in the World Cup.  Messi has a lot to live up to!

Maradona features prominently in La Boca

La Boca (the mouth) is the area around the old port and was an immigrant and working class part of the city.  Many of the houses are painted in bright colours and today it is home to a lot of artists.  We were able to stroll around this colourful neighbourhood and see some artists at work.  The tango is also an important part of life in this area.

La Boca

Caminita - Little Street, La Boca

Carminita houses 

La Boca street café

One of the famous Havanna cafes that are found all over Buenos Aires
 

We drove through a shanty town near La Boca and then to the north side of the city where there are beautiful parks, wide tree-lined boulevards and lovely  belle epoch buildings which evoke a French ambience.  Obviously this too is a city of contrasts, just as Rio is.  Our next visit was to the cemetery in the area known as  Recoleta.  The cemetery is one of the finest examples of funerary architecture anywhere, so we were told, and I can quite believe it.  Some of the family tombs are like small, elaborate houses.  It is a private cemetery and most tombs are immaculately maintained by the families that own them.  A few have fallen into disrepair because there is no longer anyone in the family to care for them.   About thirty are maintained by the government because of their historical or architectural significance.  Apart from the splendid architecture we of course came here to see the final resting place of Eva Duarte, the famous Evita, wife of former President Juan Peron, and a woman who has such an important place in the history of Argentina. 

                                                        Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires
Brenda and I decided to walk back to our part of the city - a very pleasant stroll through the leafy streets with pretty shops and charming apartment buildings.  We stopped for coffee at one of the many Havannas cafes -they are famous for their biscuits as well as coffee.  Haven't had a bad coffee since arriving in South America.  En route, we went into a tourist shop where Brenda had a lesson in brewing Yerba Mate - the local tea drink that is taken through a silver straw.  She wants to take some home to her son.  It is really popular here but looks disgusting - like sawdust. When we checked out the supermarket shelves we discovered an enormous range of options in Yerba Mate - fortunately the girl in the tourist shop had advised Brenda what to buy.
 In the middle of the city is a huge boulevard, July 9 Avenue.  Crossing over is quite hair-raising - 4 sets of lights to negotiate and there doesn't seem to be a speed limit for the traffic so it all hurtles by at high speed .  There is no way to get right across in one change of lights, so pedestrians have to stop in the middle to wait for the next "Walk" - white man, not green man. 

On half of 9 July Avenue

Well we got to the other side and headed for Florida Street, a pedestrianized shopping paradise.  Bought a couple of trinkets at a souvenir shop, checked out the very up-market Galerias Pacifica shopping centre - all the usual shops that one finds all over the world - all with nice hefty prices.  Actually most things are quite cheap in Argentina when one has US or Australian dollar purchasing power.  Our last stop on the way back to the hotel was the newly developed riverside area of Puerto Madero - old brick warehouses converted into loft-style apartments for yuppies (Natalia's description!).  There is a pleasant riverside walk along each side with heaps of restaurants and cafes - a bit reminiscent of Darling Harbour but on a larger scale.  Next to Puerto Madero is the ferry terminus and harbour with a quaint old lighthouse. Beyond this the Rio de la Plata stretches away to the far horizon.  Home for a rest before a big night out.

Puerto Madero

Old lighthouse at the entrance to the ferry port - Rio de la Plata beyond 

Tonight we went to the Café de los Angelicas which is utterly gorgeous in an old style kind of way.
Our first treat was to have a tango lesson with two charming and good natured teachers.  Lots of laughs and lots of fun as we all attempted to master the basic moves.  Quite a bit of really good red wine helping us along here! 

Tango lesson. Intense concentration required to master these moves!

After that we sat down to a three course dinner - pretty good food it was too - and then the highlight, a two hour tango show. I cannot think of enough superlatives to describe the skill and artistry of the dancers and two singers who presented us with a night to remember.  They were accompanied by a band of musicians who were equally talented and skilled. The girls were very beautiful and exquisitely dressed, the guys were very dapper and athletic and their dancing was mesmerising.  Well as you can tell I loved it.  Like all good South American nights out, this one finished very late - and another big day ahead.

Tango show - graceful, exciting and beautiful.

                                                                 

Iguassu Falls

Friday, 19 April, 2013
This morning we said goodbye to Rio de Janeiro and flew to Foz do Iguazu which is a town on the Brazilian side of the Iguazu River where the falls are located.  The borders of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay converge here.  The trip was a bit tedious as we had to fly to a city called Curitiba for a two hour layover and then take another flight to Foz do Iguazu.  Nothing much going on in Curitiba although it is a sizeable place (300,000 population) in an agricultural area.  Some high hills in the distance but otherwise very flat around the city. Of course we just stayed in the airport.
After collecting our gear at Foz do Iguazu Airport, the bus took us straight to the national park and the falls.  We spent the rest of the afternoon with our guide, Wilson, walking the trail alongside the various falls that make up the whole mighty system of waterfalls which plunge over the sides of a three mile long cataract in an otherwise fairly flat landscape.   There is no indication of the presence of the falls until actually reaching the edge.  Then it is mind-blowing - on such a huge scale!  There are around 300 separate waterfalls of varying widths.  It is all pretty overwhelming - here are some photos which give some idea of the scale of the falls.

Yes, I was there!

Lookout point with a spectacular view

There are about 300 separate falls - these are in Argentina, viewed from Brazil

At the head of the cataract - Devil's Throat

As we walked through the forest on the Brazilian side of the chasm there were ever changing views of the different falls that lie in Argentina.  Along the way we saw an armadillo scuffling about on the forest floor a well as one of the many coatis which inhabit the area.

Busy little armidillo

 At the end of the walk is the mighty Devil's Throat waterfall. I bought a poncho and ventured out on the bridge below the Devil's Throat - still got rather wet from all the spray.  The roar of the water is deafening!

Venturing out on the boardwalk below Devil's Throat

Slightly scary and rather damp - on the boardwalk

An elevator ascends to the top of the chasm, with a number of platforms along the way to take in the views.

View from the top - Devil's Throat

There were a dozen or more little coatis around the cafeteria at the top, all on the hunt for food - diving into rubbish bins and jumping on to tables - they will try to get into your pockets or bags if they think you have any food.  Extremely voracious eaters to say the least.  They have big bushy tails and long snouts - not the prettiest of animals but kind of entertaining.

Cheeky coati

Our next stop was the Mabu Thermas Resort Hotel ,near Foz do Iguazu,  where we stayed for the next two nights - our base for visiting the falls.  The hotel seems to be in the middle of nowhere but it does have hot pools and is very nice - just a place to stay while visiting the Falls.

Pool area of Mabu Thermas Resort

Saturday 20 April, 2013
We departed early Saturday morning to cross the border so that we could view the falls from the Argentina side.  Before leaving Brazil we crossed the Iguazu River.  From the bridge we were able to see Argentina (left), Paraguay (centre) and Brazil (right) all at once - a bit unusual.

Three countries! Strangely, they all look the same.

Getting out of Brazil was a doddle - getting into Argentina took an hour and a half.   We hung about in the carpark at the border and then finally had a twenty minute drive through the national park to a rail line where we rode a tourist type open carriage train to the beginning of the trail. There were plenty of coatis hanging about at the entrance to the park as well as signs warning about their nastier habits.

Be warned!

What you got in there?

The whole group took the first walk of about one hour along the top of the chasm, crossing bridges over the branches of the river just as the waters plunged over the cliffs.  The views were again spectacular and photos are much more effective than words.

Iguazu Falls, Argentina 

A very noisy place

The view to Brazil on the other side of the river

On our return those of us who fancied lots of steps took the lower trail to be close to the river and some of the points where we could stand at the bottom of the falls. Once again the photos tell the story.

Along the lower path

"Thrill-a-minute" boat ride

Rainbows everywhere

Spray everywhere

Another day of blue skies and sunshine so everything looked absolutely beautiful.  The Iguazu Falls are breathtaking and the governments of Brazil and Argentina have been very conscientious in preserving the area to protect the native flora and fauna.  The coatis have integrated with humans - they are totally fearless but other wildlife is hard to spot.  Didn't see any monkeys and apparently the jaguars only come out at night.  At the end of the walking tours we had lunch - empanadas - ok, but not my favourite food, at one of the cafes in the big picnic area in the national park.  We sat under an enormous fig tree, attracting close attention from some pretty yellow and black birds - yes they love empanadas.  Then we crossed back to Brazil - a much quicker process - to go to the Iguazu Bird Park

Lunch under the fig tree

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                                          Pretty bird in fig tree - Iguazu National Park, Argentina

The Bird Park was begun by an English family and most of the birds have been rescued from smugglers by rangers throughout Brazil.  It is beautifully laid out and the birds have enormous aviaries, some of which can be entered by visitors.  There are also some other creatures - anacondas, caymans, turtles which are not nearly as pretty as the birds.

My favourites were the flamingos and the comical toucans, most of which are free to hop about or fly around - careful where you put your feet- in one part of the park they are all over the boardwalk and railings.  

Funny Toucan

And his handsome friend

Beautiful flamingoes

Another highlight was the hummingbird and butterfly aviary.   There are dozens of different butterflies in all colours of the rainbow and some quite large.  The tiny hummingbirds hover at the feeders - impossible to photograph as they move so quickly.  Before leaving we had our photos taken with Maria, a large blue macaw. We really enjoyed our visit to this lovely park.  A nice relaxing end to our stay in Foz do Iguazu.

Ann and Maria Macaw



And tomorrow?  For once we don't have to leave too early as we have an afternoon flight to Buenos Aires.   However we do need to take on the lengthy border crossing into Argentina again, as we are flying out from a different airport.  At least we won't have to go through customs and immigration again when we reach Buenos Aires and we will fly into the "downtown " airport - not too far from our hotel.  What good management Globus!  Getting to the Iguazu Falls is a bit of a mission but certainly very well worth the effort!