Iguazu Falls, Argentina...

Right, I have been a bit slack on this thing so just trying to rack the old brainio on what´s new since last time(we´re in Argentina now). So here goes. For my first ever football match we headed to the Maracana stadium in Rio to watch Sao Paulo play Flamengo, which was incredible. The atmosphere was absolutely electric with the fans chanting, drumming, letting and off flares (the home team won). Its the biggest stadium in the whole world, at 110,000 capacity.

Next we went to the Corcovado to see the statue of Christ the Redeemer which looks out over Rio, and after a mere five hours of queuing, (yep we picked a public holiday - during which time we met a very friendly Indian doctor who Danny discussed all matter of subjects with from history to religion to sport while I looked on in a mixture of confusion and boredom) we chugged up the mountain until we reached the top and saw the 1000 tonne Jesus and lots of nuns and a chapel. The view from the summit was absolutely beautiful - you can see the whole city as well as the lagoon, the Guanabara bay and Sugarloaf Mountain. It got even better after sunset when all the twinkly, sparkly lights lit up the city.

And so we left Rio, and headed up to the breathtaking Iguacu falls on a 24 hour bus journey, which actually wasn´t bad despite several noisy coughers on the bus, (they always make me feel ill by association) and a bit of a toilet smell. We checked into hostel Bambu, a very cute homely little place and then headed out to see the unbelievable panoramic view from the Brazilian side of the falls, getting absolutely soaked in the process from a storm and the falls which spray out gigantic clouds of water.

Next we packed up and crossed the border into Argentina. You can get much more up close and personal with the falls on the Argentinian side and on the second day when the sun finally came out we walked the Sendero Macuco trail, spotting monkeys, multicoloured butterflies, toucans and iguanas, before taking a dip in the natural pool fed by a waterfall at the end of the path. Unprepared as usual in flip flops, the walk was horrendously muddy and every step sent a spray of mud and assorted jungle creatures - giant ants, frogs, crazy spiders etc - up into the air and then back down onto us with a splat. But it was all worth it!

The next day we took a 20 hour bus ride to Buenos Aires where we´ve just arrived to. First impressions are that the people here are incredibly friendly (at the metro a man asked me if I needed help understanding the map, you wouldn't get that in London) and the staff at the hostel (we´re staying at the Millhouse in the centre of town) are uber helpful. So so far so good. Right I´m off to get my bearings, take a shower and reward myself with some Argentinian red wine and maybe a little steak. Yes! Bye for now...