Iguassu Falls

On Saturday and Monday we visited the Brazilian and Argentinian sides of the Iguassu Falls. These are a natural wonder and are set in a National Park of over 250,000 hectares. We managed to be there to view something very special - a lunar rainbow formed by the mist from the falls refracting the light from the full moon. Really special, but I only managed to get some rather grainy images due to the conditions. The size and power of the falls is quite breathtaking - they seem to extend for almost a kilometre - and the pinnacle of them is the Devil's Throat through which over 50% of the water volume cascades. We stayed in the hotel on the Brazilian side and this is inside the park, allowing guests to access the falls before and after the park opens to others.

Rio de Janeiro in 2 days!!

Who would imagine you could see the sights of Rio in just 2 days - but we tried and did a fairly good job. We did the Sugarloaf/Copacabana/Ipanema tour ourselves on the first day. On the second day we took an open buggy tour which took us to the Redeemer statue, the park around Rio and the city sights - including the favelas and the massive cathedral.

A short tour of Santiago

Today we did a hop on/hop off bus tour around the city. There are some interesting buildings - some old and some new. It really is a very vibrant city and it is clean and well kept - they are obviously very proud of their city. Such a pity we only had 2 nights here - there is much more to see. Tonight we had dinner South American style - going out at 9.30pm and eating late.

Santiago - Chile

Well the flight from Brisbane to Santiago wasn't too bad - Qantas Premium Economy definitely not as good as Air New Zealand.

Saw the southern glaciers passing over New Zealand and the midnight sun effect during the flight over the southern Pacific.

The first view of the Andes was a bit unclear due to the very high smog in the Santaigo area. Nevertheless, we managed to have pisco sours and a Radisson signature dessert for our first night meal. The car sales room in a shopping centre was an unusual feature!!

Almost on our way

Almost time to go! Everything is in place, all the tickets paid for and we are ready to start packing. We are really looking forward to this extended trip, especially the cruise down to Antarctica. Tried to get there in 1979 without success and we have waited for 33 years for the opportunity to come around again. The excursions to Iguazu Falls and Machu Picchu should be the highlights of the trip but I am sure there will be many more. Off on Monday for an early start to Santiago.