Last couple of photos from Rio are from here on:
http://picasaweb.google.com/thesupersaints3/RioDeJaneiro/photo#5215250157879685698
The trip to the favela was very worthwhile and also Cristo Redentor (Christ the redeemer). All that remains is the depressing task of finding work.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Iguazu and Rio
Well anyway we arrived into Sao Paulo from Caracas and thingsinstantly became all the easier. People were friendly. Colombia would be my favourite place in South America but I'd love to have more time to see Brasil. From our limited time here it has been amazing and so easy to get around in with the helpfullness of the people.
Anyway we did an overnight bus to Foz de Iguacu which was meant to be 16 hours (I think) but we did it in 15. This is more or less on the Brasil-Argentina border. From here we headed to Puerto Iguazu in Argentina via both border checks. If anyone is lanning on doing this I'd recommend a taxi as the bus doesn't stop at the border checkpoints. We relaxed the first day and headed for the falls the following day. We did the boat ride under the falls which is a bit of a ripoff and not worth doing at all but on the other side the park is very good value. On the Argentinian side you really get close to the falls and the views are amazing. We headed for Catarata on the Brazilian side the following day which amazingly was even better than the Argentinian side. The pictures do more justice than any description I can give you. We headed to Parque de Aves after the falls after this which was really good as well.
Well onto Rio that night on another night bus of 24 hours. After all the travel the first couple of days were fairly uneventful. Caroline came to the Macarana to watch Fluminese draw 1-1 against Santos (Pele's old club). It was great atmosphere even with the limited crowd. Fluminese were poor considering they're in the Copa Libertadores final against LDU Quito. It's also strange that they're currently bottom of the league. Last Saturday we headed for Flamengo against Sao Paulo which was absolutely amazing atmosphere with it being like a nightclub inside a football stadium. Flamengo lost 4-2 though although they still top the league. Caroline had alot of beach time here while I don't know what I did. Pao de Asucar was the only thing I went off on my own doing. The views from this were amazing. Today we did a favela tour in the morning and just rambled around the Centro in the evening. The favel atour was very good with some of the proceedsgoing to different projects here such as a nursery. The gap between rich and poor here is astounding.
Well 25 hours to go to my departure now. See you all soon. The weather better be good.
Slan,
David
Anyway we did an overnight bus to Foz de Iguacu which was meant to be 16 hours (I think) but we did it in 15. This is more or less on the Brasil-Argentina border. From here we headed to Puerto Iguazu in Argentina via both border checks. If anyone is lanning on doing this I'd recommend a taxi as the bus doesn't stop at the border checkpoints. We relaxed the first day and headed for the falls the following day. We did the boat ride under the falls which is a bit of a ripoff and not worth doing at all but on the other side the park is very good value. On the Argentinian side you really get close to the falls and the views are amazing. We headed for Catarata on the Brazilian side the following day which amazingly was even better than the Argentinian side. The pictures do more justice than any description I can give you. We headed to Parque de Aves after the falls after this which was really good as well.
Well onto Rio that night on another night bus of 24 hours. After all the travel the first couple of days were fairly uneventful. Caroline came to the Macarana to watch Fluminese draw 1-1 against Santos (Pele's old club). It was great atmosphere even with the limited crowd. Fluminese were poor considering they're in the Copa Libertadores final against LDU Quito. It's also strange that they're currently bottom of the league. Last Saturday we headed for Flamengo against Sao Paulo which was absolutely amazing atmosphere with it being like a nightclub inside a football stadium. Flamengo lost 4-2 though although they still top the league. Caroline had alot of beach time here while I don't know what I did. Pao de Asucar was the only thing I went off on my own doing. The views from this were amazing. Today we did a favela tour in the morning and just rambled around the Centro in the evening. The favel atour was very good with some of the proceedsgoing to different projects here such as a nursery. The gap between rich and poor here is astounding.
Well 25 hours to go to my departure now. See you all soon. The weather better be good.
Slan,
David
Monday, June 16, 2008
Salto Angel, Iguazu Falls, Rio De Janeiro
Latest photos from Rio are here:
Also finished adding the remaining photos from Ciudad Perdida along with Salto Angel and Iguazu Falls:
Anyway as I said at the end of the last post we headed for Venezuela. We had been warned that Venezuela was a dump and more trouble than it was worth by almost every traveller we met bar maybe 1 or 2 but with Chavez's high profile and it being a socialist state I wanted to see it for myself. From the moment we got into the country it was nothing but trouble with our bags being x-rayed twice, being asked for our passport 3 times and Carolines bag being searched before we got to our chosen destination which was Ciudad Bolivar via Caracas. They also have a double economy going on here with a black market operating at a rate of 3000 Bolivars to the US Dollar whereas the cash machines give you about 2100. This is designed to keep inflation down for the poorer population but in my opinion what happens is that anyone reasonably well off has access to the american dollars so it's only the poorer people that lose out. One thing Chavez had done was giving a handout to the Indigenistas of $150 a week we were told but on the downside they aren't growing crops or farming animals due to having this free money. For those that don't know it the country is the third highest producer of oil worldwide. I'd be very worried what happens here when the oil runs out as the people here have forgotten how to work and are extremely unfriendly for the most part.
Oh and while I think of it those that say FARC are all bad must have a look at this link on Alvaro Uribe, the leader of Colombia whose father was heavily involved in the drug business:
Alvaro Uribe's links to drugs
Having said that Colombia was absolutely amazing and would definitely recommend it.
Anyway back to Salto Angel. We did the tour with green Iguana in Ciudad Bolivar. It cost 600 Bolivar Fuerte which equated to about $430 with the preferential exchange rate. The sites on the tour were absolutely amazing but the guide left alot to be desired. It doesn't really matter quality wise which group you book with as all the tour companies are lumped together when you arrive at Canaima. It's strange in Venezuela that nearly every tour is run by German ex-pats which even the Germans refer to as the German mafia due to their wheelings and dealings. We were really lucky as we saw Salto Angel without any mist which I think is fairly unusual not that you'd get any info out of the tour operators. Also on our first night we were only 5 minutes from the falls but our tour guide neglected to mention this simple fact. On the last day we saw Sapo falls and went right under them which was brilliant. We flew back to Ciudad Bolivar from Canaima in only a 5 seater Cessna plane which was very good. The trip here is very overpriced but it is absolutely amazing to do.
We headed back to Caracas on the overnight bus that night and stayed around the hotel for most of the day mostly because we were shattered and we had also been warned that it was unsafe. We went out for food that night which was as usual overpriced. Venezuela left a very bad taste in our mouth compared to the friendliness in Colombia. English music was very prevalent here but from our observations most of the time the people couldn't be bothered making the effort to try to understand you.
We flew to Sao Paulo the following morning and as per the norm in Venezuela only one of the cash machines in the international airport accepted international cards. Was a disaster but we'd come to expect this in Venezuela. I'll have to tell you about Iguazu and Rio later as I've run out of time but I promise it has a much happier ending.
 |
| Rio de Janeiro |
Also finished adding the remaining photos from Ciudad Perdida along with Salto Angel and Iguazu Falls:
 |
| Cartagena, Taganga, Ciudad Perdida, Salto Angel, Catarata Iguacu, Rio De Janeiro |
Anyway as I said at the end of the last post we headed for Venezuela. We had been warned that Venezuela was a dump and more trouble than it was worth by almost every traveller we met bar maybe 1 or 2 but with Chavez's high profile and it being a socialist state I wanted to see it for myself. From the moment we got into the country it was nothing but trouble with our bags being x-rayed twice, being asked for our passport 3 times and Carolines bag being searched before we got to our chosen destination which was Ciudad Bolivar via Caracas. They also have a double economy going on here with a black market operating at a rate of 3000 Bolivars to the US Dollar whereas the cash machines give you about 2100. This is designed to keep inflation down for the poorer population but in my opinion what happens is that anyone reasonably well off has access to the american dollars so it's only the poorer people that lose out. One thing Chavez had done was giving a handout to the Indigenistas of $150 a week we were told but on the downside they aren't growing crops or farming animals due to having this free money. For those that don't know it the country is the third highest producer of oil worldwide. I'd be very worried what happens here when the oil runs out as the people here have forgotten how to work and are extremely unfriendly for the most part.
Oh and while I think of it those that say FARC are all bad must have a look at this link on Alvaro Uribe, the leader of Colombia whose father was heavily involved in the drug business:
Alvaro Uribe's links to drugs
Having said that Colombia was absolutely amazing and would definitely recommend it.
Anyway back to Salto Angel. We did the tour with green Iguana in Ciudad Bolivar. It cost 600 Bolivar Fuerte which equated to about $430 with the preferential exchange rate. The sites on the tour were absolutely amazing but the guide left alot to be desired. It doesn't really matter quality wise which group you book with as all the tour companies are lumped together when you arrive at Canaima. It's strange in Venezuela that nearly every tour is run by German ex-pats which even the Germans refer to as the German mafia due to their wheelings and dealings. We were really lucky as we saw Salto Angel without any mist which I think is fairly unusual not that you'd get any info out of the tour operators. Also on our first night we were only 5 minutes from the falls but our tour guide neglected to mention this simple fact. On the last day we saw Sapo falls and went right under them which was brilliant. We flew back to Ciudad Bolivar from Canaima in only a 5 seater Cessna plane which was very good. The trip here is very overpriced but it is absolutely amazing to do.
We headed back to Caracas on the overnight bus that night and stayed around the hotel for most of the day mostly because we were shattered and we had also been warned that it was unsafe. We went out for food that night which was as usual overpriced. Venezuela left a very bad taste in our mouth compared to the friendliness in Colombia. English music was very prevalent here but from our observations most of the time the people couldn't be bothered making the effort to try to understand you.
We flew to Sao Paulo the following morning and as per the norm in Venezuela only one of the cash machines in the international airport accepted international cards. Was a disaster but we'd come to expect this in Venezuela. I'll have to tell you about Iguazu and Rio later as I've run out of time but I promise it has a much happier ending.
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