Happy Days Travel
We are Andrea and Mark, an ex-teacher and a retired engineer from the UK. We love travelling slowly, exploring new destinations, discovering different cultures, tasting local foods, meeting people, and enjoying every single day we are on this earth. Baca selengkapnya🇬🇧Mablethorpe
    • Food and street art

      24 Februari, Brazil ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

      After attempting to take some good photos of thee went to the restaurant across the road for a late lunch/early dinner.  As in many restaurants here in Brazil, the menu listed dishes for one that serve two, and dishes for two that serve four!  It's very confusing!  It almost forces you to choose the same thing as your dining partner, so that you can share.  We ordered churrasco, grilled beef steaks.  We got three massive rump steaks barbecued to a perfect medium rare served with fried onions, chips, rice, black beans, a spicy tomato and onion salsa, and farofa, which translates as 'crumbs', a powder made from toasted cassava which has a smoky, salty taste and is intended to accentuate the flavour of the meat.  We're used to seeing rice and chips served together in other parts of South America, as well as in Greece and Turkey, but four carb dishes on the same plate??  Wow - it was a lot of food for two people.  We gave it a good go, but we had to leave a lot of it!

      After our meal, we walked back to the hotel, admiring the street art as we went.
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    • Selaron Stairs

      24 Februari, Brazil ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

      From the aqueduct, we walked through some interesting streets full of quirky architecture and street art to reach the Selaron Stairs.

      Escadaria Selarón, known locally as the 'Lapa Steps' (Escadaria da Lapa), are world-famous and one of the main tourist attractions in Rio de Janeiro. They are the work of Chilean-born artist Jorge Selarón who said they were 'my tribute to the Brazilian people'.  There are 215 steps, rising to a height of 125 metres.

      In 1990, Selarón began renovating dilapidated steps that ran along the front of his house. At first, his neighbours mocked him for his choice of colours as he covered the steps in fragments of blue, green, and yellow tiles – the colours of the Brazilian flag.  It started out as a side-project to his main passion, painting, but soon became an obsession.  He found he was constantly out of money, so Selarón sold paintings to fund his work.  It was long and exhausting work, but he continued and eventually covered the entire set of steps in tiles, ceramics, and mirrors.

      Originally, tiles for the work were scavenged from various construction sites and piles of urban waste found on the Rio streets, but in later years, most of the tiles were donated by visitors from all around the world.  Of the 2000+ tiles, 300-odd were hand-painted by Selarón depicting a pregnant African woman. Selarón didn't comment on this except to say that it was a 'personal problem from my past'.

      Needless to say, the steps were teeming with visitors.  It was difficult to take a decent photo.  Perhaps we will visit at a quieter time during the month we are spending in the city.
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    • We were up for breakfast at about 8.30am.  It was a delicious buffet that even included crispy bacon!  Afterwards, we went to the room.  I did some writing and tried to get Penguins up to date.  Mark rested.  He says he feels better, but he's still exhausted and very weak.

      At about 3pm, we went for a walk.  I wanted a closer look at the aqueduct at the end of the road we are staying on.  We saw it from the taxi yesterday.

      The Carioca Aqueduct, also known as Arcos da Lapa, was built in the middle of the 18th century to bring fresh water from the Carioca River to the population of Rio.  It is a typical example of colonial architecture and engineering.  It is 270 metres long and 64 metres high. Since the end of the 19th century, the aqueduct had served as a bridge for the Santa Teresa Tramway that connects the city centre with the Santa Teresa neighbourhood uphill.  A tram went over while we were watching, but I didn't get a very good photo.  We intend to come back to explore the Santa Teresa area.

      Sadly, the arches under the aqueduct are used by some of the city's homeless population.  There were clearly drug deals going on as we walked by.
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    • Eating out in Lapa

      23 Februari, Brazil ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

      We are in the middle of a busy commercial area, so we ventured out to get something to eat. We ended up in a restaurant just up the street from the hotel. We were tempted by some empanadas that a waiter brought round to show us. Mark had a 'siri', a type of crab cake that he said was delicious. I had a small chicken pie. For mains, we shared a chicken, pineapple, and ginger skewer served with salad and fries.

      On the way back to the hotel, we called in to the chemists. The guy didn't seem overly concerned at how yellow Mark's eyes are. He sold us some rehydration salts. Mark took the first one tonight. Fingers crossed they do some good.
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    • Heading to Rio

      23 Februari, Brazil ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

      We cut it a bit fine for our flight, but Iguazu is only a tiny airport, and we didn't have to be too early. Because we booked last minute, we didn't get the option of a window seat. It was a full flight, so there was no option to move. The Japanese man sitting by the window next to me was wearing a large hat which completely blocked any view I might have had. Shortly after take off, he shut the blind and fell asleep! Some people should not be allowed to sit by the window!

      The flight was short and uneventful. We landed at around 4pm and were soon reunited with our bags and had exited the airport. With it being an internal flight, there were no formalities to go through. We were surprised how quiet Rio's international airport was. We expected it to be much busier, even if it was Sunday afternoon.

      We took a taxi to our hotel in the Lapa district of town. The streets were quiet with traffic, but there were plenty of people about. We were amazed at how little people wear in the city! Walking around half-naked appears to be the norm!

      At our hotel (Hotel Fluminense), we checked in and then went up on the roof to take some photos and have a look at the pool.
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    • Saying goodbye to the truck

      23 Februari, Brazil ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

      We hadn't planned to go anywhere yesterday, having seen the falls from both sides the day before, so we spent the day on site. After breakfast, we decided to leave the truck and fly to Rio instead. It wasn't an easy decision. We have never left a trip early before, and it's an extra expense that we really can't afford, but Mark's health comes first. We were facing the prospect of five long driving days to get to Rio with a couple of bush camps, probably in service stations. The alternative was a two-hour flight! So, we bit the bullet and booked the tickets. We also booked a hotel for our first four nights in Rio. Once the decision had been made, it felt right. We told Nikki and Ritchie and our fellow travellers. They were all very sympathetic and supportive. Ritchie even said that he would advise anyone who could to get off the truck at this stage, as the next few days are going to be horrendous!

      We spent the rest of the day doing laundry and trying to catch up with posts. We had a buffet lunch in the campsite restaurant with Karen and Becky. It was Karen's 60th today, so they were heading off for a massage after lunch. Later, I cooked sweet and sour pork for dinner for everyone. Mark helped with the prep as he had swapped cook groups with Helen (her choice). He also cooked the rice. By the time he'd done that, he was too exhausted to eat. He had to go and lie down. We've definitely made the right decision about our trip to Rio!

      Dinner went down very well. Several people said it was the best ruck meal of the trip!

      This morning, we were up at 5.30am to cook a last breakfast of fried eggs for everyone. We also took our tent down to pass it on to Denise, and we donated one of our airbeds to Rich. We gave our sleeping bags to the campsite. At 7am, we waved the group off. It was quite emotional to say goodbye after being on the truck together for so long. Karen, Matt, and Solenne were also leaving the truck today. Britt and Greg were making their own way to Paraty, so Britt was there to say goodbye, too.

      After the truck had gone, we took advantage of Denise's air-conditioned room for a few hours until check-out time. We had showers and sorted out our bags ready for the flight.

      We had a bit of excitement when the taxi driver who had brought them back to site last night contacted Solenne to tell her he had found Barbara's passport in the back of his cab! We contacted Nikki, who, in turn, told Barbara. She had no idea she was missing her passport! There was no question of the truck coming back. Instead, we got in touch with Greg and Britt, who were staying in an Airbnb in town. They agreed to come and pick the passport up and take it with them to Paraty!

      Karen and Matt were the first to leave - off for some relaxing time by the beach. Later, we called a taxi to take us to the airport, dropping Solenne off at her hotel on the way. She is staying in town for another few days before she flies home to Marseille.
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    • Return to site

      21 Februari, Brazil ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

      After viewing the falls from both sides, we were transferred back to the campsite where the cook group prepared chicken with cold noodle salad for dinner.

      I spent the evening researching flights. After the way Mark struggled today, I don't think he will cope with another five days on the truck!Baca selengkapnya

    • Devil's Throat from the top

      21 Februari, Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

      After our boat trip, we met up with our guide again and transferred to a train to get to the walkway to the top of the Devil's Throat. We were still dripping wet, so it wasn't the most comfortable ride! Mark wasn't up to walking any further, so he waited for us at the terminus for the train. It's a good job he did because it was a lot further than our guide had said it would be! It was worth it, though. It was a very different experience from viewing the falls from the Brazilian side, especially as we looked down into the Devcil's Throat from above. The sheer volume and power of the water going over the top was awe-inspiring!Baca selengkapnya

    • Lunch and a boat trip

      21 Februari, Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

      Back on the bus, we drove to Argentina, dropping off a couple of passengers on the way because they didn't have their passports with them! The border was easy because there is a special lane for tourist buses going from one side of the falls to the other and back again in the same day. We didn't even have to get off the bus. We just handed our passports over to our guide.

      Entrance to the national park was easy, too, as we had already bought our entrance tickets online. Once we were in the park, the first stop was at a 'pay by weight' restaurant for lunch. I had some nchicken and salad, and Mark chose some vegetable ravioli in a cheese sauce. He is still not eating very much.

      After lunch, we had all decided to do the optional two-hour boat trip at an extra cost of US$80 per person. It was sold to us as an opportunity to get up close to the falls and take some amazing photos. Yes, we would get wet from the spray, but it would be worth it for the photos we would get. This was completely untrue! The crew on the boat took great delight in getting us as wet as they could! Photography was impossible! The only good thing was that they gave us dry bags to protect our cameras. We were transferred to and from the river in a safari-type vehicle. The drive took 50 minutes there and back. We were only on the boat for around twenty minutes! This was quite a blessing as Mark was in a lot of pain being thrown around. The crew deliberately drove the boat into the strongest part of the falls. A whole wall of water was dumped on us, knocking people off their seats! It wasn't a pleasant experience! We were all soaked through and completely knackered by the time we had climbed the 100 steps back up to where our transport was waiting. The trip was certainly mis-sold. None of us would have chosen to do it if we'd known it was just going to be like the worst theme park ride! When we gave our feedback to our guide, he said that nobody else had ever complained in the 20 years he had been doing the job. I find that very hard to believe!!
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    • Devil's Throat from its base

      21 Februari, Brazil ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

      I went to the end of the walkway to get the best view of Devil's Throat while Mark waited for me. I got very wet! The noise of the falls was incredible, as was the spectacle.

      When I had met up with Mark again, we took the lift back up to ground level and got back on the bus to drive to Argentina.Baca selengkapnya

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