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Simply put, this is one of the most amazing sites I have ever seen. The falls are huge! The enormity of the site is difficult to explain, but there is harldy one point where you can see the entire series of falls!

They are so impressive that then US First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt exclaimed "Poor Niagara!" when she first saw them.

The falls border on Argentina and Brazil and are also near the Paraguaian border. There are national parks on either side for tourists to enjoy, but the Argentinian side is the most developed and impressive.

Starting on the Brazilian side is recommended as you get a much broader view of the entire scene. The width of the area covered is immense. There are various cascades, but the ultimate is the Garganta del Diablo (throat of the devil). It is a massive volume of water that falls over here, but not until you go to the Argentinian side do you experience the power of the cascading water!

Descriptions of this sort of scenery are a bit useless, and only pictures can really do justice, so see my photogallery for more... http://www.tucj.com/photos.

I stayed at the Hostel-Inn which is about 3kms from Puerto Iguazu in Argentina. The hostel is great and the facilities are excellent. The weather is very hot and humid and there is a big pool to take advantage of. Be prepared for mosquito bites though!

Posted by Kevin Tucker at 06:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Yesterday was an eye-opener, and the most amazing experience. Went to watch football, or soccer as we know it. Independiente were playing Boca Juniors at Independiente.

The game was crazy and exciting! The crowd were even more crazy and exciting!

The scene was set early on for a cracking encounter by our guide and Independiente converter, Nico. Boca were top of the table and Independiente 5th, so a win for them would be quite an upset.

We caught a bus to the stadium and then walked a number of blocks through some very interesting surrounds to the stadium. Riot police with teargas were out in force and so were the supporters. The epitome of this football crazed nation and city was the fact that Independiente have their stadium right next door to Racing's, literally about 200m. And, each one holds over 40000 people!

Independiente's stadium was old, and the majority of the places are standing. We were in the main standing section, and that was the most amazing experience. All the people were jam packed like sardines, but no-one is bothered. 95% of the time is spent singing and chering and there are tens of songs that everyone knows! Then there is the jumping! The whole stand jumps and I reckon the vibrations would show well on the Richter Scale! But the ultimate, and quite scary, thing is when something happens in the game, a goal, a penalty, a sending-off or something like that. The whole crowd lean forward and a stampede occurs! It's pretty crazy - thousands of people just falling on to one another! But, luckily there were no injuries!

Then there was the game! It was damn exciting. Independiente ended up winning 2-1. But, there was much excitement inbetween. An Independiente player got a red card within 5 minutes of the start and the crowd weren't happy! If my memory serves me correctly, there were to be another 3 red cards in the game, 2 each! There was some brawling, and the obligatory official abuse! The crowd threw things at the players, and it was just rowdy all round.

However, the elation at the end was unbelievable! Just like on TV!

Posted by Kevin Tucker at 06:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yes, it's important for us all, and me especially. The food in Buenos Aires is great and so damn cheap. Here are some good places to go.

In San Telmo there are loads of restaurants, parilleras, pizzerias, etc. And, they all make good food, and none of them are overly expensive.

Firstly for anyone requiring some cheap pizza, Ugi's is the place. They're curently celebrating their 25th anniversary so they have a really good special on. They have a grande muzzarela (large mozzarella) pizza for 2.99 pesos (about R6.50/US$1). Add 20 centavos if you want to take away. Also, they only make muzzarela pizza, and the place is a bit dodgy, but buying a pizza from there is a must!

As is widely known, Argentina is famous for its beef, and the steaks here are awesome! A great place to go is Des Nivel in San Telmo. It´s somewhere around Defensa 800, near Estados Unidos if I remember correctly. The meat is the best I've had in Buenos Aires and for a Bife de Lomo (I'm sure it's fillet) you'll pay around 9.50 pesos (about R21/US$3). Bife de Chorizo (Rump) is slightly cheaper, but just as nice. Good atmosphere and the waiter's are crazy, but it all makes it much more exciting!

Then there is La Moderna, a great place to have empanadas (Argentinian speciality) and a slightly more expensive, but tastier pizza. The old man in there is also really friendly and always asks if you like Argentina and Buenos Aires - he loves to chat. It's located on the corner of Humberto Primo and Chacabuco.

In the all-you-can-eat category I have been to two restaurants. La Bisteca is really nice and is situated on the Porto Madero (I think) right on the water of the docks. The meal costs 23 pesos and you can eat anything and everything as much as you like, drinks are extra. If there's a queue to get in, you may be given champagne to pass the time. Service is excellent and the food is great, although the meat is not as good as in a parillera. The same goes for Grant's near the Facultidad de Medicina subte stop, Junin 1155. Service and food are excellent, but the meat does not live up to expectation. But, as a massive bonus it only costs 13 pesos (about US$4).

Well, when I find more, I'll let y'all know. Bon Apetite!

Posted by Kevin Tucker at 06:03 PM | Permalink

I arrived last week, Wednesday 1st September 2004 - spring day for those of us in South Africa. The flight was with Malaysian Airlines, and was in fact very pleasant, only, though, after they had unloaded 6 people (1 for being intoxicated, and 6 really dodgy looking people for having irregularities with their documentation!). The flight was just over 9 hours and apparently it´s only 7 on the way back.

I arrived in Buenos Aires to thick cloud in the sky, and massive thunderstorms one the ground. Managed to find my way to the Hostel-Inn kiosk and organise a bus into Buenos Aires. Ended up meeting a South African couple on the bus and incidentally, the guy´s mother taught at Camps Bay Primary (after my time). The trip was quite long, but interesting, seeing that there are othere cities that have shacks around the city as well!

When I finally arrived at the hostel, the rain had temporarily stopped. I immediately met some very friendly people on arrival, and it seemed that seeing a South African is a bit of a novelty, after all the Brits and Israelis. I sat down to a game of cards with a guy called Eli from Haifa, and 2 Londoners. They were drinking beer, Quilmes. But the bottles are a mere 970ml! And they only cost 3 pesos in the hostel - around R6,50.

Went out for a great steak on the first night and I can honestly say that the meat is some of the best I´ve tasted. I think I´ve had a steak every night since! The food is dirt cheap and a Bife de Lomo (sirloin I think) steak is a mere 9 pesos (about R20).

The hostel is really good and the people are all very friendly, there are a few old hangers-on, but I suppose that comes with the territory. My room has seen some considerable traffic since I arrived. There was already an English girl in there, who has moved out, then a Swiss girl arrived for a night on her way to grow vegetables in Missiones. Then a Belgian guy, Koen, who lives in Moscow arrived and is leaving today. And, also at the moment there is Andreas from Denmark, staying there. All very interesting people.

Thursday we ate again, this time at an eat-as-much-as-you-like buffet in a fairly new building at the port. The food was great and so much! And, again only 23 pesos (About R50). Then went to a club called Club 69 in Palermo. Actually a good night, and they put on quite a show with people dancing, break-dancers, etc. The only problem was that I was exhausted. People in this city only go out late - very late, and most places only get busy around 04:30! We only left the restaurant at 01:30 to go there!

Friday we had a bit of a rest and just ate some more :-). I took a walk to La Boca, which is a working class neighbourhood famous for Boca Juniors. I got a taxi to take me to the stadium and just walked in. I had no idea if one was allowed to, but I pretended I looked like I knew what I was doing and just walked in. Went into the stadium and got some good photos. Later, an Englishmen, Will, and I went to have supper at a place on Plaza Dorrego in San Telmo, where you could watch a Tango as well. There are photos.

Saturday, some rest during the day and then, so late, around 02:00 we went to Pacha, the world-famous club from Ibiza. It´s on River Plate past the local airport and was supposed to be really good. It got packed though, and was too expensive, and not overly enjoyable at all!

Sunday is market day. There is an atique market just down the road from us where they sell antiques (obviously) and have some live Tango dancing as well. Also, went to the Recoleta (the rich neighbourhood where Evitá´s mausoleum is) and saw a great market there too. There are quite a few things to buy and I think I´ll get them on my way back. Aaah, and then quite exciting I decided to make an Asado. The local version of a braai. It was great! Got some good, REALLY cheap meat from the butcher next door and cooked up a storm. The other hostel-dwellers loved it!

Yesterday more relaxation and then a few games of pool at the local, Gibraltar, after another steak of course!

I´ve also had 3 Spanish lessons with Natalia and they´re going well - 2 hours per session! It´s been interesting learning again after all these years. It´s not too difficult, but need loads of practise!

Well, that´s about all, must prepare for another lesson. More to come. Photos at: http://www.tucj.com/photos

Posted by Kevin Tucker at 06:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)