Buzios to London

Short walk before breakfast, then off to the airport. Some photos of the beautiful flowers which bloom everywhere

Sunset from the plane

Buzios

The last day in this little corner of paradise and an early morning walk.

Then bumped into Jess and Trevor and ended up going with them on something of  scary buggy ride.

Certainly speeding over those cobbles was a bit like going to the osteopath!  Some amazing little coves and beaches.

The three amigos had a lovely last evening, super food, a very strong Caipirinha, followed by an ice cream!!!

Buzios

Some more photos taken around the hotel and on my walk this morning

Lovely evening, great food and the playground afterwards!!!

Buzios

The sun is shining and the sea is warm. This is a very pretty place and the photos below reflect it. Bumped into Jess and Trevor and had a Pisco sour at their hotel and they are joining me this evening for dinner.

The little courtyard off my bedroom

Rio to Buzios

Leaving Rio today for the resort of Buzios, located east of Rio on an ocean peninsula. Hopefully the sun will be shining.

Before leaving I had a walk along Copacabana beach watching the frigate birds soaring.

Will miss looking out onto these views in the morning, Copacabana and Ipenema.

Checked into Villa da Santa in Buzios. The resort was made famous by Brigitte Bardot

Just having dinner in the courtyard of the hotel, listening to the live saxophonist

Rio de Janeiro

Another wow day as we drove through Rio which is a beautiful city set on a granite outcrop with jungle like forests and amazing beaches

We drove to the cable car station and took two cable cars up to the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain, with a view over to the Christ the Redeemer statue, there was quite a lot of cloud which made for some atmospheric photos.

We then drove along the foot of Concovado Hill and took the cog railway up the hill, then climbed quite a lot of steps to the top.

Came back down on the train and along the beach to the hotel’s beach bar and of course had a paddle in the sea on Copacabana beach.

The group break up tomorrow, some of us going to Buzios, some staying on in Rio and the majority going home. A last meal together with some of the  group

And an enormous tiramisu

Iguazu to Rio de Janeiro

Last walk around the grounds of the hotel in Iguazu to see some more butterflies and birds. It’s been very wet and humid here but very beautiful all the same.

This was the very best picture of a toucan I could get, squint and you might make it out

Arrived in Rio just as the sun was setting and the moon was coming up over the sea and the beach.

We now have two nights at the Fairmont Hotel, situated between the Copacabana and Ipenema beaches

Just having dinner in the bar on the 6th floor of the hotel, overlooking Sugar Loaf Mountain

Iguazu Falls

Some pictures taken around the hotel this morning. It is in an amazing setting with an infinity pool looking over to the Devil’s Throat waterfall.

Had a few monkeys come to visit this morning and there are lots of amazing coloured birds and butterflies.

Took a walk from the hotel to look at the falls from the Argentinian side and again every step revealed a new vista.

The South American coati are everywhere

Tonight we had a tango demonstration in the hotel which was lovely to watch until they got me on the floor! There is a video somewhere but haven’t tracked it down yet!!

Had a very tasty bowl of salmon ravioli with a citrus sauce in the company of Jess and Trevor.

Buenos Aires to Iguazu Falls

We flew today to Iguazu Falls, and our hotel the Melia Iguazu is the only hotel actually in the Argentinian national park. Iguazu Falls lie on the borders of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil and are the widest in the world stretching for 2.7 km and plunging to 82m into the Iguazu river.

The best views of the Falls are from the Brazilian side so we went through customs and walked along the paths with each view getting better and better.

We are now in the jungle and are warned to keep the balcony doors locked as the monkeys know how to unlock them.

Hopefully we will see lots of animals, birds and butterflies and saw a few today for starters. Tomorrow we have time to roam around the Argentinian side of the Falls

Buenos Aires

Had a wonderful day out today with a visit to an estancia (ranch) in the Pampas. Before we got to the estancia we visited San Antonio de Areco, a small museum in the town square and the church.

At the ranch we all rode with the gauchos around the fields

The ranch was very pretty and after our ride we had a drink and empanada, listening to the chatter of the green parrots.

We watched one of the gaucho’s demonstrate how they tame the horses.

Then a barbecue lunch with endless meat and some local wine

After lunch we listened to some local musicians and dancers, then joined in!!!