Thanksgiving

So the American holiday of Thanksgiving has just passed and my search for turkey did not end unsuccessful. In Uruguay and Argentina, they eat meat, meat and more meat, but Turkey (pavo) is not generally one of them and it is not so easy to find. During the day we were in a small fishing/surfing village on the Uruguian Atlantic coast called Punta Del Diablo. We spent three great days relaxing in our little beach cabana (that cost us about 30 US a night) and it was the last place on our whole trip I expected to find the elusive bird. But not too long ago an American (also named Brian) decided to move there and open up a hostel and restaurant. Sympathetic to the craving for Turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes at the end of Novemeber, Brian had that as the daily special. He did have some trouble aquiring the turkey and we had to wait until 11pm to have dinner but we got it. Punta del Diablo officially only has about 1000 (surges during the summer) people, but I think it is growing fast and will be a very different place in ten years, but for now it is a little (relativly) untouched paradise. Tomorrow we take a boat across the Rio del Plata back to Buenos Aires where we spend two more days before flying back to Belgium. Can´t believe we have been here a month already. When we are there we will have more time and the facilities to put more pictures.

Eva and I were part of a tri-national drug smuggling operation the other day. Well if you consider cigarettes a drug. We were in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay a town not too un-like Tijuana. We wanted to cross into Argentina to go to Iguazu falls, but had heard a lot of conflicting information about the crossing. The problem being that you can not get from Paraguay to Argentina in this part of the country without passing through Brazil for 10km or so. Well, I´m never one to skip out on going to a new country that is close, but in this case, Brazil charges Americans 131 USD (may be up to 160USD) for a visa, which I was not inclined to do for a half hour transit. As of Jan 1st Argentina will charge Americans the same and Chile already does if you fly into Santiago. I know these countries think fair is fair as it the US charges their citizens the same, but I really think they need to swallow a little pride and let Americans in for cheaper. It may sound a bit arrogant, but to me it just stems from government pride and greed. It stops some flow of American tourist dollar and really only impacts the local people and local businesses that miss out on some tourist money. Think about it if all countries jump on that band wagon. If you plan a grand trip of South America, hitting say 10 countires, and have to pay 1600 USD in visas, you´re probably going to skip the region all together. I am on board with a nominal processing fee but 160 USD, come on. Of course I feel the same for the US charging that costly fee for visitors.

Enough rant, back to the smuggling. We heard their was a direct bus that did not stop at Brazil customs on either side, but werent sure. There are very few other travelers in Paraguay to ask. By the way, Eva (EU) does not need a visa anywhere down here. So we got stamped out of Paraguay and looked around for the bus. Eventually it did come and we zipped through Brazil customs on both sides, with no troubles. The only event along the way was when the bus slowed down near a bus stop in Brazil, and some of the passengers through out bundles of cigs for thier cohorts to pick up. For our part (our silence) in the operation, Eva and I did not receive any compensation. But not having to pay for a Brazil visa was good enough. But I spent a half hour in Brazil on the bus and 15 mintues earlier that day on the Brazil side (from Paraguay) of the Itaipu Dam (biggest operating hydro electric dam in the world) tour. So can I count Brazil as country number 53 visited? Probably not, what do you think?

Yesterday we spent the day at Iguazu falls which was the main reason I wanted to come here, and it did not dissapoint. It was amazing, but more about that will follow. We cross into Uruguay tomorrow, and are headed to the Atlantic beaches.

No time to proof read or check spelling, live with it.

New Stuff on the other Blog

Its all in Dutch (Eva wrote it), but there are some pictures on the other blog (see previous posts). I was too busy making my football picks for tomorrow to write anything. It is a nice day and our hostel has a pool, so don´t want to spend any more time inside. We are just back in Argentina after three days in Paraguay. We are near Iguazu Falls and tomorrow will go explore them, so stay tuned.

New stuff on other Blog

go to www.erniebert08.blogspot.com to see more updates from Argentina

New Blog address for the trip

Eva and I are in Argentina right now and while we are are traveling togehter, you can chack for updates on another blog that we will work on together.

go to

www.erniebert08.blogspot.com