Part 2 : Iguazu Falls, Rio De Janeiro and Sao Paulo ( 24 - 31 May 2014)

Currency conversion at the time of travel:
(a) 1 Brazilian reai = 0.6SGD
(b) 100 Argentinian pesos = 17SGD



24 May 2014 (Cuzco - Lima - Iguazu)



Woke up at 5am to get ready for the flight to Lima. The taxi was already waiting for us outside at 550am. The ground staff told us that our luggage will be sent directly to Iguazu so there was no need to retrieve it at Lima when transiting. She issued us boarding passes for both segments. The security officer was in a haste. He ordered me to throw away my fork but ok for the bottle of water (water bottle with water in internal flight was ok i soon learnt).

Our transit in Lima Airport was quite smooth. Except that I have to finish the bottle of water which was ignored by the security officer in Cuzco Airport. There was no free wifi in Lima Airport, unlike Cuzco Airport, what a shame.




Lima's coast line.







The flight to Iguazu was full, a big portion of the seats taken up by the choir group from Peru. This bunch of rowdy people treated the plane like their homes. Even when safety seat belt signs were on, adults and kids still roaming along the corridor and use the toilets as if no announcements had been made. The choir even sang a song when the plane was about to land. Bravos to them.

The choir group performed on the plane when the plane was about to land:




River that feed the Iguazu Falls



The plane landed just when the sun was about to set. I walked briskly as there were only two immigration counters available. We took two cabs (60 reals each) to our hotel in Argentina. Lovely sunset as seen in the car. The immigration clearance took 20 minutes due to car queues. We reached the hotel at about 730pm.



After we checked in, we went to a recommended restaurant in town for food. It was quite cold outside at night. The receptionist told me the weather was warm 3 days ago but suddenly turned cold today. Ri gang took the other triple room and they finished the evian water on the table without realising that it costed them 60 pesos! On the way to restaurant we tried to look for evian water and found that no shops in town centre sell evian water. Looked like they have to pay for the water.

We arranged for taxis to Iguazu Falls tomorrow at 300 pesos return. It was a mistake without first checking the weather forecast.



25 May 2014 Puerto Iguazu (Argentina)



When we woke up the next day, it was already drizzling outside. We still proceeded to enter the national park. Since we missed the train for the first segment, we walked the 655m green trail in the drizzle and became the first few people that queued for the train in the second part, to the devil's throat. It was quite sometime before the first train arrived at our station and offload all passengers. They now have to queue at our station in which we have advantage.







Our train departed at 915am and reach the end station 15 minutes later. We quickly walked on the iron bridge to reach the devil's throat amidst drizzle. We managed to get some good shots at the devil's throat ahead of the crowd and the rain.


Devil's Throat














Yh's new Gopro came in useful




The beautiful bird inside Iguazu Falls


What are you looking at?








Train station


yellow bird




It was all downhill from here on. The rain just keep going on and on, we couldn't visit other parts of the fall. We had no choice but to waste our time in the cafeteria till the taxi driver came to pick us up at agreed time of 3pm. One Singaporean guy was near us and heard our conversation in Singlish. He came over and chatted with us. A lone traveller like Gary. He was at Brazil and will be going to Peru after this.

Whole Sunday wasted due to our carelessness sigh. We stamped our tickets hoping that if tomorrow's weather turn well, we can do a second day visit at half price. Weather forecast however predicted that tomorrow is still a drizzly day so....haiz.

Had buffet in the hotel restaurant at 170 pesos. Not very good service from the hotel staff. Limited spread of hot dishes. You need to pay for drinks. Knocked out on my own bed after the dinner. Drizzle weather too conducive for sleep...



26 May 2014 (Foz Do Iguassu, Brazil)



Woke up and saw a shocking message from yh: hi guys I m going to hospital due to stomach upset. Gosh I didnt even noticed! No wonder the room so warm, he must have turned on the heater real warm after coming back from the hospital. He got his medicine from a pharmacy.

The weather is cloudy but certainly dry. Ri and yh will go to Hotel Florencia directly while the four of us will try our luck again in Iguazu Falls. The entrance fee is only 85pesos today.

The cab driver turned out to be a jovial chap who spoke understandable english. Thanks to him, I managed tp get 900 pesos for 100 usd at the money changer in the town, a rate only available to the locals. Tourists get 100 pesos less. He walked us to the boat ride ticket booth. We bought tickets for the 1120am soaking experience. Since we still have time, we walked the upper circuit to get real close to the falls.




Iguazu Argentina - from the circuit

The park was to totally quiet, a stark contrast to yesterday (Sunday). After we finished the upper circuit, we walked the lower circuit to reach the boat dock. We were surprised to learn that the free boat ride to St Martin's Island was operating today.

We took the adventure boat ride to get close to the falls and had a real good soak. After that we went to take the boat ride to St Martin's Island. After we took the stairs up to the plateau, we saw many condors resting on a big tree across and happily flying around. We went further in and saw the entire falls before us. We also saw the viewing platform of the devil's throat above, where we were yesterday. I had to wipe the lens frequently due to the spray from the falls. We also saw the falls nicknamed the 3 sisters.




The iron walkway is slippery in rainy weather.










The 3 sisters.






Iguazu Argentina - Near the boat jetty




Adventure boat driving close to the falls so that passengers can have a good soak.






Jetty for the boats as seen from St Martin's Island


Trails on St Martin's Island


Views from the St Martin's Island


Viewpoint from Brazil side, seen from St Martin's island.


Iguazu Argentina - St Martin's Island



Condors on the trees, in St Martin's Island.


Flying near.






Where we were yesterday.


On the boat, ready to return from St Martin's Island.


Encountering the beautiful bird again.


No pasar malam here, go Singapore!!


Train crossing

Good time past quickly. It was already closed to 1pm by the time we got back to the mainland. We quickly walked to the entrance to meet the driver. The driver drove us back to collect our luggage from the hotel. After that we crossed the border back to Brazil.

The driver brought us to a good buffet place near our hotel for a feast. It only cost 10usd person excluding drinks. Considering the much wider spread than what we had yesterday and the lower price, we jumped at the offer. Ri and yh joined us by taking a cab from the hotel. At night the price of the buffet will be more expensive as there will be dance performance as well beside the buffet dinner.



We went to check in to Florenca Hotel. Dinner in the hotel turned out to be alright. Good service and decent food, unlike what we had in Esturion Argentina.


My favourite soft drink - Guanana. Tasted like ice-cream soda.



27 May 2014 (Foz Do Iguassu - Rio De Janeiro)

Sunny. We went to Iguazu Falls Brazil side to take some good pictures. Saw some coatis searching for food. Rainbow appeared as the sun shining on the spraying mist. We had a much better time in Brazil side thanks to the weather. Soaked as we walk out to the viewing point under the falls.




Gopro moments...








Viewing platform in the Argentina side. We were at Brazil side.






















On the walkway myself.






Shower time.

Some panos:














Double rainbow


Where we took the lift down


Coatis - dangerous animal. They bite.




The beach that we were stepping on yesterday was submerged by water today. Adventure boats operated from the Argentina side as seen from the Brazil side. The boat to St Martin's Island were not operating today, due to high water level.


The beach that we were on yesterday, taken in St Martin's Island Argentina side. The beach was submerged by water in the photo above.




Another boat heading for the shower. More people today thanks to the sun.




Butterfly captured by Yh.


The 5-star hotel that we saw from Argentina side yesterday.

Had a good lunch in the hotel before we head out to the airport for our flights. The flight was delayed. We managed to see the Iguazu Falls from the window in the plane. Even a glipmse of the rainbow under the sun. The plane flew past so fast we only managed to capture some shots.







The sunset at Rio as seen from the plane was fantastic.


Rio coast line



Taxi fare from airport to our apartment cost 70 reai per cab. The owner of the apartment, who is a swedish, came and greeted us. He came to Singapore once in 1986. We went to a nearby pizza joint to have a simple dinner.



28 May 2014 (Rio De Janeiro)



Drizzly day (again!!!) for Rio. We went to Cocorvado Mountain this morning in two cabs. Yh's cab driver drove them to the trem station whereas my driver drove us to the minibus station three quarter up the mountain. His cab had very poor grip on the slippery slope. The driver took another route that was more gradual in slope. We saw the police jogging on the steep slope in the drizzle for their morning training. We reached the minibus station. The entrance ticket to Christ the Redeemer was 22 reais. We went up knowing that there was a slim chance of seeing anything. We managed to capture some views whenever there was a break in the clouds.



Rio seen from Corcovado








Christ the Redeemer






Ipanema seen from Corcovado










Bird seen near the tram station








We took the trem down and had lunch at Melone sucos station. I logged into the wifi, checked whatsapp messages and realised that yh's cab driver drove them to the trem station and they didnt go up Corcovado Mountain due to the drizzly condition.

During lunch, heavier rain came so there was nowhere we could go. After the lunch, the weather seemed bright and clear. We went up to Mirante Dona Marte helipad by bus 507 to see the Sugarloaf Mountain and Christ the Redeemer. There was a ranger station near the bus station. We walked further up to reach the helipad. We were rewarded with clear views of Rio as well as Sugarloaf Mountain.

We saw some beautiful birds, small monkeys (known as micos) as well as coatis on the way.


Micos, the small monkeys near Mirante Dona Marta




Christ the Redeemer seen from Mirante Dona Marta






Helicopter can show u Rio.


The notorious Favela (slums) - dont go there without a guide.


Tunnel - the way to the airport.


As seen through a hole on a sign board.


Sugar Loaf Mountain


The ever famous Maracana Stadium in Rio, seen from Dona Marta. Some world cup matches are going to be held here.


Toucan in Brazil. A bonus while I was walking down Mirante Dona Marta.






The deserted road to the helipad at Mirante Dona Marta. Only occasional cars or tourist buses drove past in high speed.


Panaroma


The trem line now below us. The building next to the trem line was the police station/hostel. We saw many policemen jogging/training on the way to Christ the Redeemer this morning.


Bonus: Beautiful bird near the bus stop.








Back to the bus stand near the Dona Marta favela.

Took the bus 007 to Centro. Passenger was friendly. One gentleman even greeted me in mandarin "ni hao". Upon reaching Centro, our bus was caught in a bad jam (very typical in Rio at that hour). Sk suggested we take metro and we managed to reach our apartment instead of being caught in the jam. Yh's already back in the apartment. Apparently they went Sugarloaf Mountain in the afternoon.


Yh's group in Sugar Loaf Mountain - taken using his Gopro. We were at separate locations at that time.



Dinner was another full to the brim affair at Route66, a restaurant with Harley as its theme. I should have ordered shrimps instead of ribs.



29 May 2014 (Rio De Janeiro - Sao Paulo)



We went to Ipanema beach to take a look. The sky looked brighter than yesterday and there were people surfing. The beach must have been crowded during summer. Finally tried the acai juice at the sucos. Broke the glass of the stove due to my stupidity but owner told me it was ok.










Helicopter that brought rich tourists for aerial tour of Rio.



We took the flight to Campinas (bought tix wrongly). For the first time I had to check in my tripod thanks to the security checking officer.


Air France plane at Rio.


From the plane to Sao Paulo.






About to land


Another stadium near Sao Paulo.


Huge estate near the Campines airport.

Our plane landed in Campinas.


The landing mat was a small soccer field - World Cup fever in Brazil 2014!

It was another one hour wait before the bus to Sao Paolo appeared. One helpful staff from Azul airlines shuttle bus explained to me and another china guy leo how to get to Sao Paolo city. We were in the same situation.

The bus reached Tiete Bus Terminal at around 5pm. Took a cab to Ibis Paulista and realised that our hotel was Ibis Budget Paulista. Lugged our luggage to the actual hotel 2 blocks away, luckily not as far as we thought. First thing we realised was the temperature was cold. We need to wear our jackets, unlike in Rio.







The room in Ibis Budget was small, but very cheap. You wont be able to find a room at this price in Paulista. Buffet breakfast only cost 11 reals per head. Had our dinner in Shopping Centre 3. The guys bought some havaianas sandals.



30 May 2014 (Sau Paulo)



Breakfast at Bella Paulista recommended by the staff from Ibis Budget. Similar concept to Marche, take a tag and order, pay before exit. An english teacher who was sitting near the ordering island recommended coxinhas and I quite liked it.



We went to March the 25th market by metro to do some world cup merchandise shopping. Many vuvuzuela horns blaring away. Mostly made in china merchandise. Full of locals buying away.






One thing about South America - streets named after date.


Only 10 reais per piece - talented street artist.

Went back to Paulista but couldn't find any shopping centres. More a financial district. There was a political campaigning on going, police was on standby. We went to a sucos to have simple meal and juice.

We extended the room till 6pm. Went for a dinner before heading out for the airport. The food and the dessert was good. Even the songs they played. I heard the song by Savage Garden.




Managed to order the garlic rice despite language difficulty.





Back to the hotel to use the wifi. Heard MJ's song in the lobby. I must say I like the songs I heard the south american played throughout the two weeks here. Good song taste. The friendly ibis budget staff handed us our deposited luggage and wished us a good flight. Typical south american hospitality.

Just when I thought I have nothing more to write, adventure popped up in GRU airport itself. Sk, Pl and I were in one cab as usual and we checked in as soon as we could. The were some african guys who thought we were from China and asked for our help. They flew in from Casablanca and will be transitting to Lima by Tam. They were stucked inside the transit hall of T2 cos the flight from Sao Paolo to Lima by TAM operates in T1 and will only take off tomorrow 745am. Sk and I bought them some food to tie them through the long transit and also asked some airline reps what they should do. Qatar Airways official advised them to go T1 and look for TAM airline staff when they start their counter business around 4am. Strangely their flight info wasnt displayed on the departure screen but when I checked on internet, this flight JJ3866 does depart from Lima at 745am as scheduled. I brought them to the linkway between t1 and t2 and thats about all that I can do for these poor chaps from Africa.

There was a Brazilian who spoke mandarin and chatted with us. Paolos was from Curitiba, Brazil and is a buddhist. He went to Taiwan to study and learn up mandarin and met his current wife, who was from Klang, Malaysia. They got married and decided to settle down in Malaysia. Paolos took the Qatar Airways flight from KL to Sao Paolo and from there took a flight to Curitiba to visit his families. We had a good chat in mandarin. He can speak mandarin, English and Portugese and work in the IT line. We both agreed that the cost of living in Sao Paolo is high. He said with his salary in Malaysia, it would be tough to survive in Sao Paolo.

There were blacks in Brazil especially the northern area due to slave trading by the europeans during the colonial period. There are descendents of Germans in Curitiba as there used to be a Brazilian king who married a german princess many years ago. There are also descendents of Japanese there as the japan government sent or encouraged some unwanted residents of Japan to Brazil to begin a new life many many years ago. The Japanese who eventually ended up there felt cheated.

The flight was delayed. The moment we entered the plane, we knocked out completely. It was not until meal time that I was awoken by the stewardess.They served fruits, hagan dazz icecreams and sandwiches as snacks.

We were chasing the sun today so sunlight was pretty short. Only managed to capture some shots from the africa from the small window. No luck of zebras or giraffes. With good rest, good snacks and good shows, I didnt feel that it was that long a flight.



1 Jun 2014 (Doha)



We landed in the new Hamad Airport in Doha. Very impressive. One no longer needs to take bus from the plane to the terminal building. Pictures of the grand transit area in the terminal building.









A summary of the 10 flights we took in these 2 weeks. South America we will be back!







After we came back, we saw on the news:









These are some of the questions that you might wanna ask, my answers here:

1. Why South America? Why Machu Picchu? Why not go in June during the world cup?

Qatar airways world wide sales were offering Sao Paolo return at $1859 all in, via Doha. A KLM ticket from Singapore to Lima via Amsterdam would have cost $3800 all in. Even adding all internal flights (6 of them), we only spent SGD2800 in total. The low fares offered by Qatar was the primary reason why we were able to go South America for the first time. Trekking in Machu Picchu has always been on the agenda so we brought it forward. The promo only allows travelling before June 2014 for obvious reasons.


2. How was the trek? Tough? Would you do it again?

We trekked a total of 43km, spreaded over 3 days. We trekked 10 hours on Day 1 and Day 2, and 6 hours on day 3. Day 2 was the most strenuous. I found Mount Kinabalu trekking tougher. This trek spread the altitude out and we had greeneries all the way, even at the Dead Woman's pass at 4200m, plenty to keep the eyes occupied. A good trek organising company is worth the money. Alpaca Expedition took care of us so well. They are worth all the soles that we tipped them.

Will I do it again? Must you ask??


3. We heard that Rio/Brazil is not safe...

I have been asked twice by kind hearted people to keep my DSLR in my bag, in Rio. We have taken bus through favela, no problem. We have taken metro in Rio and Sao Paolo, no problem. The swedish who rented us his apartment told us that Ipanema and Copacobana are safe. We did hear of people who got robbed before. I cant comment on other Brazilian cities as I have never been there.

Take precautions. You do need have a bit of luck. Here was a news article I read during the world cup season



4. Food wise...

Huge portions! We always over order. We found that two guys can share a stake/ribs and it will be just nice. I like chicha (pueple corn juice) that Cuzco has. Passion fruit juice was always good. I also like the quinoa porridge they served as breakfast on Inca Trail.

Here is an article regarding quinoa...



5. Food hygiene?

I had stomach upset before I depart from Singapore, which gradually improved along the way, before it came back mildly on one of the days on Inca Trail and in Iguazu Falls. Otherwise generally ok. That said, Yh had it hard in Iguazu, he had to visit the hospital due to stomach pain. He had a speedy recovery after that. We couldnt pinpoint which food was the culprit. Carbon pills and panadols were useful in fighting it.


6. Why only 2 weeks? Why only 3 countries?

Not enough leaves haha. South America has too many places to be explored. We take it as a teaser trip to see how things are like over there. Some places are for June, some places are more for December. Mexico, the Patagonia, Torres Del Paine, Galapagos Island, Columbia etc etc are all excellent destinations that can be a trip all by itself. Lets take it slowly and explore the continent over time. I will be back for sure.


7. How would you describe the people there?

One word: friendly. Nothing is too much of a trouble. Language barrier? They will drag their colleagues, friends or anybody sitting at the next table till they understand us. We were once trying to order food at a local sucos in Rio, the lady sitting next to us became our temporary translator with food in her mouth. She was not annoyed at all and if she really were, she didnt show it. Try do it at one of the fast paced countries.

We took bus through the favela after visiting Mirante Dona Marta. One young gentleman went up the bus, saw me and greeted me "ni hao". I smiled and waved in return. I was never greeted by my own countrymates in public transport back in where I come from.

In Ibis budget hotel, even though it is just a budget hotel, hotel staff always remain courteous and helpful even though they probably have heard the same queries many times. They really define the standard of service. We have much to learn from them.


8. How to change money?

We changed for USD in Singapore and change for local currency there. Airport offered the worst rate, with commission slapped. Local cambios in town offered very competitive rates. In Brazil, you need passport to change money and most will charge you government transaction fees. The locals will know which places have competitive rates. In Argentina, locals can get better rates. My taxi driver helped me to change for Argentina pesos. In Cuzco, cambios were everywhere, changing money is easy.


9. Flights ok?

Qatar flight was good. Singapore to Doha on the brand new 787. Doha to Sao Paolo was one of the longest flight at 14 hours. We didnt feel it. Partly cos we slept through 1/3 of it. Many tv shows and movies on demand to kill the time. I really there were more time on board. They serve Haagan Dazs for snacks.

LAN was on time. Snacks were served, no full meals even for international flights. Air crew friendly.


10. Was it cold?

Cuzco was cold at night....Inca Trail was freezing at night. Going to the potable loo outside in the middle of the night was a challenge. Iguazu Falls was cold at night. Rio was slightly warmer, but still cold at night. Sao Paolo was chilly at night as well. We thought we could do away with jackets in Sao Paolo after experiencing the slight warmth in Rio, we were so wrong!


11. I saw you took some bird pictures...

South America is a wildlife sanctuary. I can never imagine beautiful birds live on a tree, next to favela full of dwellers. In countries here, they would have already gone extinct long ago. People in some countries cant wait to hunt them as food. Yet in here, I managed to take pictures of so many colourful birds. Vibrant colours. Too vibrant to survive in a city like Rio for example.


12. Whats the difference between Iguazu in Brazil and Argentina?

In Argentina, we can get close to the falls. [micro]
In Brazil, you get to see all the falls at once, from a wide perspective. [macro]

Boat ride in Argentina is more interesting. Both sides have walkway to see Devil's throat. On a sunny day, a rainbow link up the two nations.


13. Need vaccination?

Visitors to Iguazu need to have yellow fever vaccination. TTSH offer the jabs at $150 and the vaccination can last for 10 years. After the jab, they will give you a yellow booklet for you to show to immigration officer that might checked it.


14. So where next?

Guess!

My article published on MyPaper on 10 Dec 2014.

Thank you for reading. Hope you have enjoyed the article.






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