Leaving Buenos Aires, we had a brief stay in Paraguay in a town called Encarnacion which faced Argentina across the river. This was a welcome break from the journey and we spent a couple of days wandering the streets and sunbathing on the beach.The cathedral in Encarnacion The beach along the river which looks back out to Argentina After our brief but pleasant stay here, we boarded a bus to Foz do Iguaçu for our first foray into Brazil. From the moment we crossed the border, we fell in love with the country. Well, it would be hard not to, seeing as the Iguazu Falls were first on our list. As you can see these from both Brazil and Argentina, we decided to do the Brazilian side first. We arrived at the park and followed the trail to the first view of the falls.Our first view of the Iguazu FallsGetting up close and personal with the wildlife! It was incredible seeing so many waterfalls in one place and we stood there open-mouthed and in awe for a while before moving on. We also realised very quickly how unafraid of humans the local wildlife was, and we saw coatís, monkeys, lizards and giant butterflies. The trail was spectacular, with luscious overhanging greenery which framed our views of the falls. After several viewpoints along the way, we came to the base of the Devil’s Throat, where we joined the crowds to make our way out along the promenade to gain a better view.The next day, we took a quick day trip back to Argentina for a visit to the other side. This was – if possible – even more incredible. Our first stop was to see the Devil’s Throat from the Argentinean side, which was the furthest point in the park. There was another promenade across the river, which was incredibly wide, shallow and slow-moving. After walking for twenty minutes, we could hear the faint crashing of the water and sped up. People coming back towards us were soaking wet which, in the heat, seemed as good a reason as any to get there sooner.Reaching the end of the promenade, we were rewarded by a view of the giant waterfall which was only metres away from us. In spite of having front row seats, it felt impossible to comprehend how there was enough water in the river to send it plummeting over the precipice and tossing back enough spray to completely soak us all. We were mesmerised and stood there for ages, only moving to search out better spots. When we finally managed to tear ourselves away from the view, there was only one option for us which could follow that. A school friend had mentioned that there was somewhere you could swim in a natural pool under a waterfall and some intense research later, we found the place. While the rest of the park was heavily inundated with crowds, we found the right trail which was surprisingly quiet. Mind you, that may have had something to do with the spiders the size of side plates dangling overhead… Not looking up too frequently, we followed the path. When we reached our destination, we decided that the “prohibido bañarse” sign was simply guidance rather than a rule we had to follow and excitedly jumped into the pool, along with a handful of other visitors.
Tom thoroughly enjoying his refreshing shower!After our stay in Iguaçu, we had the joy of an 18 hour bus ride to São Paolo. Having accidentally booked on to the premium service on our way to Paraguay, we agreed this was the only way to travel on such long journeys so coughed up the extra £10 each for extra legroom, wider seats and a much better experience!The following day, we were met at São Paolo bus station by Camilla, a girl we met on our trip to Bolivia. She and her boyfriend Diego picked us up and took us to our hostel, via a quick stop at a street market for pasteis (deep fried pastries) and caldo de cana (a drink made from sugar cane and lemon juice). It was a welcome breakfast after our bus journey and we thoroughly enjoyed having Brazilian guides to tell us what we ought to be trying! After having showered at the hostel, Camilla and Diego picked us up again and we caught the subway to the centre. We were given a walking tour of the old financial centre, the cathedral, the theatre and a quick introduction to pre-Carnaval! After this, we were taken to downtown São Paolo where we enjoyed some beers in a bar with live samba music and bolinhos de bacalhao (cod balls – delicious!). We also shared a caiprinha, being determined not to miss out on any of Brazil’s gastronomy! On our way back, we accidentally got sucked into a club/hostel before stumbling into a blocinho, a street party/parade with live music and people dressed in carnival attire. The next day, Camilla let us know that her friend Mari – who had also been in Bolivia with us – would meet us at midday and take us to the local food market to continue our gastronomic tour. We wandered past the unbelievably colourful stalls, trying various fruit whose names I can’t remember, but which we had never seen. Having eaten both kiwi and mango on this holiday, Tom also sampled the fruit, which was a novelty in itself! The incredible fruit on offer As it was now lunchtime, we headed upstairs to the restaurants where Tom and I shared a lanche de mortadela: a sandwich with an unbelievable amount of meat in it. Once we managed to finish this beast (just!), we headed back downstairs and rounded off the meal with a brigadeiro, a giant ball of chocolate ganache rolled in chocolate sprinkles. It was at this point that we both admitted defeat and begged for a break from food.Mari and Gio took this as their cue to drive us to Avenida Paulista, the new centre of the city. We ascended a tall building to look out over the city and met up with Camilla and Diego again. After some sightseeing, we decided another few beers were necessary. Eventually, we were just about hungry enough to try a coxinha, a teardrop-shaped ball of chicken in breadcrumbs, before we finally said goodbye to our tour guides.Writing all of that, I realise that our weekend in São Paolo pretty much only consisted of food, but wow, was it worth it! We enjoyed our stay but were very grateful to have Camilla and Mari show us around and translate for us.On Monday, we left São Paolo for Paraty, a pretty little beach town just off the road to Rio de Janeiro, which is where we’ll pick up next time!
Getting up close and personal with the wildlife! It was incredible seeing so many waterfalls in one place and we stood there open-mouthed and in awe for a while before moving on. We also realised very quickly how unafraid of humans the local wildlife was, and we saw coatís, monkeys, lizards and giant butterflies. The trail was spectacular, with luscious overhanging greenery which framed our views of the falls. After several viewpoints along the way, we came to the base of the Devil’s Throat, where we joined the crowds to make our way out along the promenade to gain a better view.
The next day, we took a quick day trip back to Argentina for a visit to the other side. This was – if possible – even more incredible. Our first stop was to see the Devil’s Throat from the Argentinean side, which was the furthest point in the park. There was another promenade across the river, which was incredibly wide, shallow and slow-moving. After walking for twenty minutes, we could hear the faint crashing of the water and sped up. People coming back towards us were soaking wet which, in the heat, seemed as good a reason as any to get there sooner.Reaching the end of the promenade, we were rewarded by a view of the giant waterfall which was only metres away from us. In spite of having front row seats, it felt impossible to comprehend how there was enough water in the river to send it plummeting over the precipice and tossing back enough spray to completely soak us all. We were mesmerised and stood there for ages, only moving to search out better spots. 
When we finally managed to tear ourselves away from the view, there was only one option for us which could follow that. A school friend had mentioned that there was somewhere you could swim in a natural pool under a waterfall and some intense research later, we found the place. While the rest of the park was heavily inundated with crowds, we found the right trail which was surprisingly quiet. Mind you, that may have had something to do with the spiders the size of side plates dangling overhead… Not looking up too frequently, we followed the path. When we reached our destination, we decided that the “prohibido bañarse” sign was simply guidance rather than a rule we had to follow and excitedly jumped into the pool, along with a handful of other visitors. 
After this, we were taken to downtown São Paolo where we enjoyed some beers in a bar with live samba music and bolinhos de bacalhao (cod balls – delicious!). We also shared a caiprinha, being determined not to miss out on any of Brazil’s gastronomy! On our way back, we accidentally got sucked into a club/hostel before stumbling into a blocinho, a street party/parade with live music and people dressed in carnival attire. The next day, Camilla let us know that her friend Mari – who had also been in Bolivia with us – would meet us at midday and take us to the local food market to continue our gastronomic tour. We wandered past the unbelievably colourful stalls, trying various fruit whose names I can’t remember, but which we had never seen. Having eaten both kiwi and mango on this holiday, Tom also sampled the fruit, which was a novelty in itself! 
The incredible fruit on offer As it was now lunchtime, we headed upstairs to the restaurants where Tom and I shared a lanche de mortadela: a sandwich with an unbelievable amount of meat in it. Once we managed to finish this beast (just!), we headed back downstairs and rounded off the meal with a brigadeiro, a giant ball of chocolate ganache rolled in chocolate sprinkles. It was at this point that we both admitted defeat and begged for a break from food.Mari and Gio took this as their cue to drive us to Avenida Paulista, the new centre of the city. We ascended a tall building to look out over the city and met up with Camilla and Diego again. After some sightseeing, we decided another few beers were necessary. Eventually, we were just about hungry enough to try a coxinha, a teardrop-shaped ball of chicken in breadcrumbs, before we finally said goodbye to our tour guides.Writing all of that, I realise that our weekend in São Paolo pretty much only consisted of food, but wow, was it worth it! We enjoyed our stay but were very grateful to have Camilla and Mari show us around and translate for us.On Monday, we left São Paolo for Paraty, a pretty little beach town just off the road to Rio de Janeiro, which is where we’ll pick up next time!
Honeymoon Bootcamp 