From Rio we headed south on the magnificent BR101 to Uruguay; 2,300 km (1,430m) of beautiful coastline. Much of this area was inaccessible except by sea up until the 1950s. But the BR101 changed all that and now this coastline, accessible from São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, is a busy strip of chic villages, towns, cities and beautiful beaches. […]
“Why do you want to go to Rio?” That was the reaction from fellow travellers and Brazilians alike, when we told them of our plan to visit the Big City. It’s always a little stressful (understatement!) to enter a large town and to drive into a big city scores 100 on the stressometer. There are overpasses, underpasses, tunnels, low cables, […]
Leaving Barretos, and its Rodeo Festival, behind, we headed towards Ouro Preto and the start of the historic Estrada Real that leads south to Rio de Janeiro. On the way we visited Furnas reservoir and took a boat tour on the lake. We met a group of friendly young Brazilians on board and we joined them for a lovely lunch […]
Except it is. Traveling towards Rio from the Pantanal, we stopped at a roadside stall for a pineapple juice and got talking to a Brazilian fellow camper. Aided once again by Google Translate (English is really not spoken here at all!) we established he was heading to Latin America’s largest annual rodeo festival at Barretos. After checking the map we […]
The Estrada Park Pantanal is a 118km dirt road in the southern Pantanal that serves the farms located there. Fortunately for us there is also great wildlife in the area, predominantly birds, but with a few capybaras thrown in along with the odd jaguar. Oh, and not forgetting the piranha and caiman in the river. We set out early at […]
Leaving Foz do Iguaçu and the falls behind, we head north towards the vast Brazilian Pantanal. It’s a long journey to Bonito, our destination. But before we set off, we visit the Parque das Aves and have a very enjoyable morning in the bird park. The trip north is quite monotonous, farm after farm, silo after silo. Just before reaching […]
Forming the border between Argentina and Brazil, Iguazu Falls are a sight to behold. We visited the Argentinian southern side first. The view from this side is from the top of the Falls. Three paths , Paseo Inferior, Paseo Superior and Paseo Garganta del Diablo lead us on a tour of the Argentinian side. The falls are very popular and […]
Having picked up Big Bertha from Zarate Port and spent four days or so getting her ready for travel again, we were ready to start exploring South America. We have arrived in winter and so we shall go north to warmer climes and then head south to Ushuaia, at the southern tip of South America for later in the year. […]
We arrived in Buenos Aries, Argentina, a week ahead of Big Bertha and stayed in a hotel in the centre so that we could explore this renowned city. Initial impressions are that it feels a lot like Paris – European architecture, cafés on every corner and pavements covered in dog s**t. The monetary system takes some getting used to: there […]
We are very lucky to have Raquel as a friend. A Londoner, Raquel moved to Béziers in 2003 to give the Mediterranean lifestyle a try and hasn’t left. With time on our hands, whilst Big Bertha waited for a ship to transport her to Argentina, we accepted Raquel’s invitation to stay in her flat in the heart of Béziers, for […]