South America 2011 - Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay & Uruguay

South America 2011

Amazon
Manaus, Brazil

Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil

Iguacu Falls
Brazil, Argentina

Brazil Other
(Ouro Preto, Paraty,
Sao Paolo & Santos)

Buenos Aires,
Argentina

Patagonia,
Argentina

Patagonia #2,
Argentina

Pampas,
Uruguay &
Paraguay

Back to travel page

Email: glennaldo_sf@hotmail.com,

Sign Guestbook

View Guestbook

After several years of planning and fantasizing, in the summer of 2011, I finally embarked on my first journey in Latin America south of the Panama Canal since going to Peru and Bolivia some 8 years previous. The goal of this trip was to start in the Amazon and make my way down to Patagonia, while stopping off in Rio de Janeiro, Iguacu Falls, Buenos Aires, Perito Moreno Glacier, Uruguay and Paraguay, and perhaps get a glimpse of the gauchos in the Pampas.

In the end, the trip was pretty much a success. In fact, lady luck was shining on me even before I set foot in the subcontinent of the Americas, as I wound up getting bumped up to business class on Qatar Airways. If there's one flight you want that elusive stroke of luck, it's certainly the 16-hour slog from Doha to Sao Paolo. So after 2/3 of a day relaxing on an adjustable bed-seat, drinking champagne and watching a marathon of movies, I finally touched down in Sao Paolo and was on my way. Below is a short summary of the itinerary I took from there. For a more detailed write up of the various places and to view the photos from the trip, click on the links above and below.

I only stayed a couple of days in Brazil's megalopolis capital city before catching my flight to Manaus, the gateway to the Amazon. From Manaus I was able to book an exhilarating 4-day jungle trip before flying south to Rio de Janeiro, where I stayed a week with a colleague from Qatar University and her family. After an enthralling week in rocking Rio, I then bussed my way up north to see the picturesque cobblestone colonial towns of Ouro Preto and Mariana in Marias Garias. After that, I headed south to the quaint seaside town of Paraty to check out the more sedated Brazilian beach scene. I then wound up, somewhat accidentally, in Santos, a city just south of Sao Paolo, where I had originally gone in search of manta rays but instead found Sao Paolo's equivalent to Rio's Copacabana. My four week Brazilian stay ended with a real blast - a water blast that is in Foz de Iguacu, the portal to the spectacular Iguacu Falls, a breathtaking sight from both the Brazilian & Argentine side.

Although I did pop into Argentina for a day at Puerto Iguazu , before going to the mainland proper - the next country on my trip was in fact Paraguay. One of my former teachers from the American British Academy in Oman from the early 90's, John Simpson, whom I had become reacquainted with via Facebook invited me down to his place in Asuncion for a little R&R, as well as some fine asado. After a couple of days in Asuncion, I then flew down to vibrant Buenos Aires for some football and tango. Although, due to Chilean ash clouds blocking out most flights, I did not make it down all the way to the end of the world at Tierra del Fuego, I was to fulfill my Patagonian dream by reaching the Los Glaciares Notional Park to see the miraculous Perito Moreno Glacier.

The last country on my list was Uruguay to see the colonial town of, erm Colonia, as well as its capital city, Montevideo. I ended my trip with a day out in the Pampas with the gauchos. I've divided the photos of the trip into seven sections: the Amazon, Rio de Janeiro, Iguacu Falls, the rest of Brazil, Uruguay / Paraguay/Argentine Pampas, Buenos Aires and then of course Patagonia. Enjoy!