#48 A Triathlon around Cafayate

Just when we thought there was no more excitement to be had on the road to Cafayate what did we come across but a washed out road. Actually quite a few washed out roads. As Reece likes to tell people, when reading blogs of bikers falling over water, or being trapped trying to cross a river, we always wondered why anyone would voluntarily take on such a challenge. Well, now we understand that choice has nothing to do with it.

#47 Making it into Reece's Top 5 Ride - Tucuman to Tafi

To make it into Reece's Top 5 Ride is to be something special, something magical, something transcending just pretty views or nice scenery. As we've journeyed across South America we've seen many amazing places, but to get into the Top 5, takes a certain something, a je ne sais quoi, an X factor. I don't even have 5 right now, maybe 2 or 3, and that's after 17,000km travelled. So what was special about this one?

#46 The Triumph of the Sun: Chaco Regions

'The earth burns with the quenchless thirst of ages, and in the steel blue sky scarcely a cloud obstructs the unrelenting triumph of the sun.' I honestly do not think Winston Churchill's description of the deserts of the Sudan are an elevated portrayal of how it felt to travel by motorcycle through Paraguay (and as it turns out North-Western Argentina) during the oppressively-hot summer season.

#45 Carnaval Paraguayan Style! Encarnacion

No trip to South America could be complete without attending Carnaval but with no plans to visit Rio we were happy to settle for what Paraguay had to offer. We had heard there was more bare flesh, more brazen performers, and more crowd involvement and it lived up to its reputation: plenty of skin on show and a lot of spray snow. I think this is a good one for letting the pictures do the talking.....

#44 Diamond in the Rough: Itaibu to Encarnacion

As the wildlife of Itaibu didn't quite live up to expectations we decided to try our luck at another National Park further south. That didn't work out too well either. Bad map, no information, usual story. When we asked a local to point us in the right direction and she indicated heading towards Argentina, the opposite direction of where the park was located on our map, it was time to admit defeat. We knew there was a camping spot not much further south with a pool and in the intense heat we were experiencing this was a force too strong to deny. Well we stumbled on paradise. Not just one pool, but three including one with a diving board! The women at reception spoke English. There was a sense of deja vu and we half expected to be turned away, but Parque Manantial welcomed us with open arms.

#43 (un)Welcome to Paraguay

In our entire time in South America we have only met one tourist who has travelled to Paraguay. Possibly something to do with the little tourist infrastructure available, and the fact that it only emerged from the longest dictatorship in history in 2008. Still, our research suggested there was an abundance of wildlife and nature reserves, religious Mennonite colonies in the North and a down to earth people not often acquainted with tourists. The potential to meet inquisitive locals appealed to our narcissistic side and the possibility of spotting a puma in the wildlife seemed too good to be true (it was). As is often the case with preconceptions they were proved wrong. My first impression of Paraguay was one of absolute chaos, an ecological environment spoilt by progress, and of a people praying on the vulnerability of tourists.

#42 Iguazu Falls

After covering more than 1000 kilometres in two and a half days in drenching heat, electric storms, and thunderous rain, we arrived at our destination: a hostel complete with a swimming pool, table tennis, and a poolside bar. It was a tough decision to leave the cooling waters and caipirinhas. But we had come all this way so off we went five kilometres down the road for our first glimpse of the Iguazu Falls. The home of the falls, the Iguazu National Park, is shared between Brazil and Argentina though it seems Argentina won the war. While you can get a good overview of the falls from Brazil you really don't appreciate their immenseness until crossing the border. There is little to be said so I'll let the (inadequate) photos speak for themselves. 

#41 Run in's with Customs, Christian's, and the Common Man's Petrol

Our experience of Brasil had its genesis in the town of Rivera/Santana do Livramento. One town, two countries - with no clear line. You might cross the road and its Brasil, and then a few houses down you're back in Uruguay. As a lawyer my first thought was if I commit a crime in Uruguay and then go to Brasil, do I fall under International Law?

#40 How to cook in a hotel shower - Atlantic Coast to Rivera

Our final night in Uruguay and I'm woken in the middle of the night by the heat and the need to scratch the numerous itchy bites covering my legs. I turn on light to see a large insect crawling up the wall, which I suspect of being a cockroach, probably attracted by the smell of food we cooked up the previous evening on a gas cooker while crouching in the shower. We have been carrying around a mosquito net purchased before we left and it is only now, for the first time this trip, that I ask Reece to erect it over the bed. It's hard to imagine that we are staying in a hotel unit, one of the priciest rooms we have paid for. The previous four nights we slept in the wildnerness, one night bush camping near a still stream, during which came across spiders, reptiles, snakes (kind of), native mammals, men with guns, and this is the most freaked out I have been. Let me provide some background....

#39 A little bit of Uruguayan history - Mercedes to Montevideo

Thirsty for new stamps in our passport we headed out of Buenos Aires straight for the Uruguayan border, a trip that would have been much faster had we caught the boat that crosses from B.A. to Colonia del Sacramento (we must have missed the last discount tickets by a mere few hours). My preconception of Uruguay was of a country with many similarities to New Zealand: both have populations of around 4 million inhabitants with 1/3 choosing the capital city as their home; the economies of both are largely reliant on the agricultural sector, and the populations of both flock to the ocean during their summer holidays.