Wonders of South America

décembre 2014 - janvier 2015

Une aventure de 41 jours par Billy Oaks En savoir plus

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3pays
41jours
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Billy Oaks Wonders of South America
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- 15 janv. 2015
- ⛅ 27 °C
- Altitude: 749 m
- Brésil São Paulo Liberdade Praça da Sé -23.55052, -46.63330923°33’2” S 46°37’60” W
Jour 40
Sao Paulo
15 janvier 2015, Brésil ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
Nothing especial today,

Picked up at the at the hotel 2:30am, had a last look at Rio before cruising to the airport for our flight to Lima with stopover in Sao Paulo, arriving in Lima 11:35am.

Went to the doctor to get Yovanna's foot check, got a last dinner with the family and finishing packing up, tomorrow we are going back to Aussie land.En savoir plus
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Billy Oaks Wonders of South America
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- 14 janv. 2015
- ⛅ 33 °C
- Altitude: 15 m
- Brésil Rio de Janeiro Pavão-Pavaozinho Praça General Osório -22.984667, -43.19859322°59’5” S 43°11’55” W
Jour 39
... in Rio de Janeiro
14 janvier 2015, Brésil ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C
We didn't do much today......

Buffet breakfast at the hotel, morning in Copacabana beach, caught up with Juan, an old friend from Uni, relax at the hotel pool, finishing by souvenir shopping at Copacabana street market.

With Juan we visited Lagoa Rodrigo Freitas, a beautiful place for photos surrounded by posh neighbourhoods, however the water wasn't that clean and actually a bit smelly. We also drove along Ipanema and Leblon beaches....En savoir plus
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Billy Oaks Wonders of South America
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- 13 janv. 2015
- ☀️ 33 °C
- Altitude: 15 m
- Brésil Rio de Janeiro Pavão-Pavaozinho Praça General Osório -22.984667, -43.19859322°59’5” S 43°11’55” W
Jour 38
Ipanema and Leblon beaches
13 janvier 2015, Brésil ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C
Relaxing day, for a change we had a late breakfast and then spent the morning at the famous Ipanema and Leblon beaches.

Afternoon was at the hotel's swimming pool and later in the day we went to Copacabana beach and the souvenir markets.En savoir plus
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Billy Oaks Wonders of South America
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- 12 janv. 2015
- ☀️ 34 °C
- Altitude: 516 m
- Brésil Rio de Janeiro Silvestre Christ the Redeemer -22.95192, -43.2104922°57’7” S 43°12’38” W
Jour 37
Christ the redeemer & Sugar loaf
12 janvier 2015, Brésil ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C
Another loooong but exciting day. Unfortunately Yovanna ended up at the hospital.......

We started with a 7 am breakky and at 8 am our tour guide "Manu" came to pick us up. He had told us to start this early to avoid the crowds, apparently there were lots of tourist in Rio these days.

Without time to waste we headed for Corcovado Mountain and the incredible Christ the Redeemer. Along the way we cruised along the "Lagoa Rodrigo Freitas" before starting to climb to Corcovado. Manu took us to the car park from where we bought our tickets and then we jumped in one of the Vans that took us to the base of the statue (these are the only vehicles authorised from the car park onward).

We accessed the statue via escalators and then our cameras did not stop. A bit difficult to get a good photo with all the people already there however Manu managed to get us some good pics. We also had really good photos of Sugar loaf mountain or Pâo de Açucar, which was covered in mist....

On the way down we past by "Barrio de Santa Teresa" and its colourful colonial houses before stopping at the Samba Mecca, the famous "Sambodromo". Here we visited the little museum where for 2 reais we we hired hats and some good shots (7 Reais for a whole custom hired). Manu also explain about Carnival and how people pay upto 7,000 Reais ($2,000) for a box set in the best location of the graderies...... insane.

Our next stop was the "Escadaria Selaron" a long stair covered in tiles and that was the master piece of a Chilean artist Jorge Selaron and dedicated to an African-Brazilian girl from Rio from whom he fell in love and thought by him to be pregnant. Unfortunately she married a German businessman and left for Europe, this girl is depicted in all his paints. Selaron killed himself two years ago but his legacy is still there. There are tiles donate from all over the planet including an Aussie one with Kangaroos.

Leaving the stairs we passed by the Lapa Archs before visiting the strange Metropolitan Cathedral with its pyramidal shape. From here we walked to a pharmacy to get something for Yovanna that was struggling to walk and then we went to "Confeitaria Colombo" a restaurant established by two Portuguese brothers in 1894.

Back in the car we passed by Flamengo and Botafogo beaches before arriving to Pão de Açucar. Yovanna was really bad so we left her at the base of the cable car. So Manu, myself and Ximena travelled to the top of the mountain and admired the 360 degrees views of Rio.

Back in Terra firme we stopped at a nearby hospital to get Yovanna checked. As it turned out she had been stung by a wasp while in Iguazu and the insect had left the stinger under the skin of her leg. Stinger removed she was still in pain so we went back to the hotel. We missed Ipanema and Leblon, we hoped she gets better tomorrow....En savoir plus
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- 11 janv. 2015
- ☀️ 33 °C
- Altitude: Niveau de la mer
- Brésil Rio de Janeiro Lido Copacabana Beach -22.973873, -43.1853122°58’26” S 43°11’7” W
Jour 36
Arriving in the Marvellous City
11 janvier 2015, Brésil ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C
Early start again, we crossed the border one more time but getting stamps on the passport this time.

Our flight went without incidents and by 3 PM we were touching ground in Rio, exciting times.

An elderly couple heard us practising a few words in Portuguese and helped us go through the airport and getting a Taxi to the hotel

Our hotel, Golden Tulip Regente, has been recently refurbished and looks nice and modern.

We went for lunch at the Girl of Copacabana restaurant, next door and then for a walk in the local handicraft market by the beach.

Tomorrow will be a busy day....En savoir plus
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Billy Oaks Wonders of South America
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- 10 janv. 2015
- ⛅ 31 °C
- Altitude: 185 m
- Brésil Paraná Foz do Iguaçu Jardim Jupira -25.516336, -54.58537625°30’59” S 54°35’7” W
Jour 35
Foz do Iguaçu
10 janvier 2015, Brésil ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C
Simply......what an amazing day. A complete different world on the other side of the border.

Early start this morning, we wanted to beat the crowds, a difficult task considering Brazil is one hour in front of Argentina.

We were picked up at 7 am and headed for the Tancredo-Neves bridge that connects Argentina and Brazil over the Iguazu river. Crossing the border was relatively easy so 25 minutes later we arrived at the front gate.

In here the differences started, although there was a big line to get the ticket, there were 25 registers available and all credit cards were accepted. Instead of the annoying train, double-deck are conditioned bus took us to the fall, accessed by a lift.

The views were much more impressive too, we were pretty much at the base of the "Garganta del diablo" as though we were able to touch them. We completed the 45 minutes walk and then headed for the food court with plenty of options for lunch.

After getting some souvenirs we went to the Sendero Macuco that included a boat trip to the falls. This was the perfect end to our visit to the fall and a must...... we couldn't get any closer or any wetter, the speed of the boat was a perfect combination with the force of the water, 100% Adrenalin.

Back at the main gate we met Fernando, who had been waiting for over an hour......oops.
, so good was this side of the park that we didn't want to leave.

Time to have some rest as tomorrow we are flying to Rio...En savoir plus
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Billy Oaks Wonders of South America
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- 10 janv. 2015
- ⛅ 30 °C
- Altitude: 153 m
- Brésil Paraná Foz do Iguaçu -25.695259, -54.43666625°41’43” S 54°26’12” W
Jour 35
Iguazu falls Argentinian side
10 janvier 2015, Brésil ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C
So bloody tired, we walked like hell today but really worth it, Fernando, the taxi driver came in handy so we agreed to go to the Brazilian side with him tomorrow.

A real disappointment at the gate as they only accepted cash and there was a ridiculous line to get money from the only ATM and on top of that it did not work properly.

Problem resolved we made our way to the train "Tren Ecologico" a terrible way of transport we were soon to find out.

As suggested by Fernando we started by "Garganta del diablo" to avoid the heat later on by first we had to the train and go to the second station. After waiting for 20 minutes for this train we finally got on board just to find out we had leave the train at the next station nd wait another 20 minutes in another line as the train does not cover the whole distance such a waste of time.

One way or another we finally made it to the station and started the journey along the 1 km long walkway to "Garganta del diablo" and suddenly all our frustration disappeared once we reached our destination. The place is simply spectacular , the force and nose made by the water exceeded my expectations.

Back at the train station we had some "empanadas" for lunch and then went one station back to start the Upper Circuit.

Walking the Upper Circuit was less exhausting thanks to the shade from the trees, there were also some really good photo opportunities with the falls and not to mention plenty of Coaties. We passed the Lower Circuit as my leg, injured in Machu Picchu, was starting to play up.

On our way out we stopped at the souvenir shops and the museum. We arrived early at the gate so had to wait 20 minutes for Fernando.

At the end of this day we were really exhausted but happy.

Tomorrow we will go to the Brazilian side.En savoir plus
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Billy Oaks Wonders of South America
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- 8 janv. 2015
- ⛅ 31 °C
- Altitude: 173 m
- Argentine Misiones Province Departamento de Iguazú Puerto Iguazú -25.597164, -54.57859925°35’50” S 54°34’43” W
Jour 33
By plane to Puerto Iguazu
8 janvier 2015, Argentine ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C
This morning we flew from "Aeroparque" airport rather than Ezeiza this is a much closer airport so we had time to get a decent breakfast.

The flight on LAN Argentina to Puerto l Guazu took over 1:30 minutes and as soon as we landed we felt the difference in weather , so bloody hot in here.

After collecting our bags we went outside and grabbed a taxi, the driver Fernando offered to take us to Argentinian lguazu for 350 pesos, according to the guys at reception this is a reasonable price so we will go with him tomorrow.

Our hotel by the way is called "My Eco lodge motel" and is located in the outskirts of town, they run a minibus for free to town, which we used to go for dinner and get some souvenirs. What a nightmare is to try to withdraw money from the ATM, which do not seem to accept VISA cards.

Tomorrow at 10:00 am Fernando will come to take us to the Argentinian side of the falls.En savoir plus
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- 7 janv. 2015
- ⛅ 26 °C
- Altitude: 12 m
- Argentine Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires San Telmo -34.617719, -58.36205634°37’4” S 58°21’43” W
Jour 32
Microcentro & Puerto Madero
7 janvier 2015, Argentine ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
With a beautiful sunny day we went for a walk today.

We took a bus to the famous "Obelisco" on Av 9 de Julio where we run into lots of tourist , mostly Brazilians , trying to get that magic photo.

From there we walked back to "Plaza de Mayo" to get better photos of Casa Rosada, We also visited the cathedral and then rested under a tree. With more time up our sleeves we had time to check how beautiful this place is.

We continued to Puerto Madero, the temperature was 32-33 degrees so we were starting to get exhausted. we had some Ice cream at McDonalds and then walked along the promenade. This is the most exclusive area of Buenos Aires and this is Visible in the impressive architecture, including the beautiful "Puente de la Mujer".

We grabbed a taxi back to the hotel and had lunch , it was closed to 4pm.

At night we went for a typical Asado dinner, Argentinian version of an Aussie BBQ. It was so Yummy.

We are back in the hotel packing up as tomorrow we are flying to lguazu falls.En savoir plus
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Billy Oaks Wonders of South America
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- 6 janv. 2015
- ⛅ 26 °C
- Altitude: 34 m
- Argentine Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires Boca Estación Casa Amarilla -34.634496, -58.36313434°38’4” S 58°21’47” W
Jour 31
El Caminito
6 janvier 2015, Argentine ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
It didn't take long to get used to the 2-hours difference in time considering the lightning that woke me up at 5:00am , anyway this and the intermittent rain didn't manage to spoil our day.

After a light breakfast at the hotel we explored "La Recoleta" district ' first was the mall, just to get some cash, then we went for a walk at the cemetery for a close encounter with the dead and the living too considering the hundred of tourist that came by bus.

When the rain started, around 11 am we stopped at MaCcas and had lunch and then back to the hotel.

As promised , the tour operator picked us up at 2:30 pm and dropped at the "Floralis Generic" where we waited for the much bigger bus that was going to take us to the city tour. Good photo opportunity with this impressive monument.

The tour bus took us first around Palermo and all the embassies and beautiful parks, then along the wide "Avenida 9 de Julio" and the Obelix, through bohemian San Telmo and then to our first stop at "La Bombonera" stadium, house of "Club Atletico Boca Juniors" one of the most emblematic football teams in South America.

After getting some photos and mementos, the next stop was the iconic "Caminito" and its colourful houses. Here we first visited a small museum that shows how the early Italian settlers lived, had time to observe a couple dancing Tango and did more shopping.

On the way back we passed by Puerto Madero, our subject for tomorrow's visit and then Plaza the Mayo where the presidential palace or "Casa Rosada" is the centrepiece. At the other end of the square we found the modest building of the "Cabildo", one the first buildings of this city and also the Cathedral.

Plaza the Mayo was our last stop of this quick introduction to BsAs.En savoir plus
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