As anyone with half a brain can imagine, the next day as a total write off, an hour on the beach nursing a Maccas, no dinner and bed!

Having been away from our beloved Rio, we made a good start on the day. The girls (minus one Jessica Bredbury), Rodrigo and I waited for a bus in the blistering heat, once it finally arrived I think we traversed the majority of the city until we reached the buses terminus - the foot of a hilly area called Corcovado. From here, we began haggling with minibus drivers to take us up the hill to our destination - "O Cristo Redentor" (Big JC to you and me!). R$40 lighter we ascended the mountain with a bunch of Brazillian chavs where we alighted high up above the city offering phenomenal views and insight into how bizarre the city's geography truly is! Having climbed the remained of the way to the foot of the statue, I was surprisingly underwhelmed...it wasn't nearly as big as camera angles had lead me to believe! Nevertheless, I believe it is one of those things that you have to check off, like the Eiffel Tower or Big Ben.



Descending the hill proved far more arduous than we would have thought. Having made our way partially down the hill, we found ourselves stranded on a jungle covered part of the mountain being eaten alive by everything with more than four legs! Finally homeward bound, we took the metro back to Ipanema where we watched the Mexico game and the day slipped into night.

The following morning was yet another early start, with the girls desperate to maximise their tans, we slot an early beach session in before England vs Algeria. With some rays caught, we made our way to the Fifa Fan Fest for a disappointing display from England. As day once again slipped into night, we all began to slip into comas! Whilst the discussion of a second venture into 'Lapa', reality dictated otherwise and we just stayed at the hostel. The highlight of the night was befriending our new room-mates; Alan, Mike and Eddy who did head to Lapa. Once there, Mike was mugged in a port-a-loo by a child and having returned from their night out, he fell from a top bunk, slept walked upstairs and spent the night there in an empty bed...he's a strange boy!


Day three after our return to Rio was Ruth's birthday which was spent on the beach. I was disgustingly hyper and ran, swam and pestered everyone all day long! Having bounced around the beach I was buried and turned into a hideous mermaid/octopus creation. The "Room-Mates" purchased a bat shaped kite (those beach vendors will flog anything!) which they ended up almost decapitating several old people with before Mike actually managed  to get the hang of it!

With a very long day on the beach behind us, I slipped into my pink shirt on Ruth's request and I slipped a Capirinha or two down my neck! In celebration of time marching on and Ruth's birthday, Ruth's daddy treated a whole host of us to dinner in 'Carretao', an all you can eat buffet (I know it sounds cheap but my oh my it wasn't!). The Brazillian's seem to regard buffets in the highest esteem. The buffet. was. AMAZING! I loaded my plate and returned to the table, the piece de resistance is the waiters, they are each charged with carrying a certain meaty good on a stick which they deliver to your plate upon your request. I think we all left a good few pounds heavier, it was a lovely evening. The debauchery came next-door in an Irish bar - "Shenanigans", we had a sing-song with the live band, drank many beers and danced until they started clearing up around us! Bed was welcomed with open arms...


The following day, with our hangovers tamed to the best of our abilities, we made our way to Copacabana to the Fifa Fan Fest to take in the Brazil vs Cote d'Ivoire match. The complex was frenetic, there were people everywhere - unlike the England game! As the temperature soared and our tolerance for the heat rapidly declined, we fled to the sea, between this point and our decision to return to the complex, someone stole Alice's shorts! Nothing else, just shorts! By the time the match actually kicked off following some kind of 'pre-construction' using "Pro Evo" on the big screen, the atmosphere was electric and with each Brazilian goal the entire crowd erupted, showering us with beer! Following the match we took a rather hair raising mini-bus back to our hostel with some terrifying locals who wanted to take us to the Favella! Safely home, we hit the hay!

The next day introduced yet more staff incompetency in Che Legarto and again we had to relocate from Ipanema to Copacabana. That morning, the girls, Alan, Mike, Eddy, Jack&Paul and myself hauled our stuff across town to our final resting place in Rio. The day passed us by with little to report, the evening began in a restaurant over the road where 'Per Kilo Purchasing' reigned supreme! Back to the hostel we took over the bar, after a long while we head out on Vinnie the barman's recommendation to a bar we had already been to, although there was much debate over whether we had or not! We danced and drank and the night came to an end which was depressing considering it was the end of my journey with Liat...

Following our antics in the favella the previous night, it was surprising how early we rose to begin our journey to 'Ilha Grande' (Big Island). Unfortunately, due to yet more staff blunders, our 10:30A.M. transfer failed to materialise! At 12P.M. a taxi rolled up outside and Jess, Ruth and I (along with all our bags) bundled into the back to join an nefarious looking Brazillian woman. Apparently, the normal shuttle bus that ferries people between Rio and the port was stolen the night before! Two hours of driving which could put Lewis Hamilton to shame, a drug "stop and search" on the roadside by state police and we had to sprint for our boat. All aboard, Alice, Liat, Ruth and I sheltered under an umbrella as the boat pitched over wave after wave causing a spray to whip the boat. Surprisingly, we got the wettest when the cap came off our vodka bottle...suitably cocktailed, we disembarked onto a jetty (of which I was not the greatest fan due to the inherent fact I seemed incapable of standing safely upon it!). A short walk followed and we found ourselves in our hostel overlooking the bay, it was beautiful, especially as the sun sunk behind the mountains. We wiled the rest of the day away, had dinner and a Caipiriniah and off to bed!

As we reached a week in Rio, we began the day at our favourite juice bar with a brief stint at the beach. That afternoon we jumped on a bus and along with our guide head to "Rocinha", Brazil's largest favella. Upon arriving at the foot of the favella which covered an enormous area in the south of the city, we were placed in the charge of a moto-taxi driver who wisked us up to the top of the favella via it's main artery. I can genuinely say I was petrified, the guy I was with seemed to have decided he was to race every other gringo in our party up the hill regardless of oncoming traffic, hairpin bends andmy well being. I dismounted the bike after a hair raising ten minutes with white knuckles! From the 'wealthy' upper favella, we made our way through the narrow streets avoiding the juices of the favella which ran through the streets down into the poorer parts of the favella. Having studied favellas so much during my time at school, it was amazing to actually experience one for myself! It was fairly daunting how openly people were weilding handguns and our movements were being followed by rooftop lookouts on walkie-talkies. As we moved through the gangs territories, we were warned not to take photos due to drug dealers weirdly wanting to protect their anonimity. We ended up in a child's daycare facility which was funded by the majority of the money we paid for the tour, it made the tour feel a lot more worthwhile and less like daylight robbery!


Toward the bottom of the favella, the walls were peppered with bulletholes as a reminder of the gang wars which dominate life in these places. At the base of the favella, we saw the beginnings of a governement initiative to build a cable car to the top of the favella, all well and good despite the fact they ousted thousands of people from their homes to make way for construction! It was such an amazing experience and definitely changed my perception of life in a favella.


The next day was the beginning of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa and our first rainy day in Rio. Due to staff incompetence we had to move from Ipanema back Copacabana but within the same chain. We watched Mexico vs South Africa and an uneventful day passed us by. The following day, we made our way to the 'FIFA Fan Fest', a huge screen set up right on the beach showing match after match after match. Today was England's turn to play the USA, upon arrival, we located some friends and set up camp. Five girls from Hong Kong, one guy from Surrey, fifteen boys from Essex and we were set - we were by far the loudest and largest contingent of English people there and the singing was non-stop! When England miraculously scored a plume of beer shot into the air and the floor became a sprawling mass of sandy Essex boys. The evening passed by in a bar called 'Mud Bugs' and I soon found myself in bed.

The following day was nothing short of farcical, due to some shortsighted design within the hostel, the water tank which supplied the toilets, showers and taps ran dry and being a Sunday there was nobody available to remedy the situation! As you can imagine, hostels don't smell fantastic at the best of times, add to this the smell of about sixty unwashed people and a whole days worth of toilet time from those sixty people and minus a flush...it was gross! Desperate for a shower all day, I finally managed a quick (and slightly electrifying shower) at 10P.M. The day was wasted due to a lack of cleanliness but the evening was the night of the 'Favella Funk', a tour organised to a favella complete with it's own nightclub! It was a random night with fireworks going off indoors and the locals performing what can only be described as their answer to the 'Macarena' for the duration of the night - regardless of the song. The whole evening was an experience from the dingy warehouse club to the almost rabid local men, I'm glad I did it but I won't be repeating such a thing. Back at the hostel we slunk to bed, dreading the prospect of an early morning...

Some people would say travelling is a cliche, that you see and do things along a prescribed route along which thousands before you and thousands more are sure to follow. In many ways it's true, I'm sure I'm not unique in the journey I've made and the things that I have done, what makes the whole experience unique is the people you meet and the memories that they help create and share.

In the time I've been away I've had the pleasure of meeting hoardes of people (and the displeasure at meeting a handful of others!), people from all over the world, across huge age ranges from 18-66. Regardless of whether they live thousands of miles away or if they live up the road, the time spent with each person along the road no matter how short or how long helped to shape my experience.

I want to thank everyone who pushed me to keep up with my journal on the road, everyone who helped jog my memory and most importantly everyone who has given me so many great memories to fill my journals with. Thank You All.

Despite a full day aboard a bus, lovely as it was, we were feeling a little groggy but we still mustered elation at the glaring sunshine which welcomed us to Rio de Janeiro! Our first stop was the area of Ipanema where we spent the best part of the afternoon looking for vacancies, unfortunately, due to a religious festival the previous day there was no space. Slightly despondent and extremely sweaty, we secumb to fatigue and got a taxi to Mellow Yellow - a hostel toted as the worst hostel people had ever been to, we were desperate! We checked in, Becky, Alice and I in 'Samba' and Jess, Ruth and Liat in the aptly ned 'Favella', a 24 bed dorm with bunks stacked 3 high! It was a dingy dump but we made the most of it.

A buffet dinner, a trip to the bar and we head out to the neighbourhood of 'Lapa', Rio's main samba district. Friday nights were purportedly samba central with a vibrant yet dangerous street party. We arrived and failed to see any form of street performance, musical or physical, as rain began to make it's way onto the pavements we made the executive decision to leave! Nobody was particularly interested in paying R$60 (£23) to go into a club when visiting a local street party. A little disappointed with the whole experience, we arrived home and head to bed.

With our second Brazillian let down under our belt, the following day we went to check out Copacabana beach. As soon as we got settled it began to rain! Things in Rio aren't going too well, we did manage to catch a shuttle bus to a shopping centre where we indulged ourselves in a guilty pleasure - "Sex and the City 2". Uplifted, a taxi home and we got an all you can eat BBQ at the hostel! Thoroughly grossed out by Mellow Yellow and with the discovery of a travellers biggest foe - bed bugs, I can't convey how happy I was about checking out! Idiotic staff, dirty pokey rooms and a horrible and dingey layout, the reviews we read weren't far off...


From Copacabana, we head to Ipanema; another beach separated by a large headland, reportedly much safer and nicer than it's more famous counterpart. We attempted another day at the beach but sadly the rain drove us into a Sunday street market instead which wasn't all bad. That evening we head to the aptly named "Le Boy", a Rio gay club with some of the best music I have heard travelling and my first experience of cover charges being biased toward guys over girls! We had an absolute ball, the music was great, the atmosphere was really friendly and everyone was really up for it - even the Essex boys who came along! We were driven home by the hideous drag show at around 4A.M. but I think it was necessary. After a taxi home, we pissed everyone in our room off and went to sleep, a good night all round!


The following day heralded my first South American beach day, beautfiul clear blue skies and blistering sunshine were on the cards! With some tanning under our belt, Liat and I head up the beach for a run (my first conscious attempt at exercise since my travels began!). On our return, the girls went a little overboard with buying bikinis off the beach vendors! Food and drink arrived in our laps every twenty minutes, we had no reason to leave...it is disturbing though how "Oi" is the way to attract someone's attention! As the sun fled behind Rio's landscape, we fled the beach, sorted dinner and spent the evening watching "The Blind Side", a surprisingly good offering from Sandra Bullock! Unfortunately, I had made a laundry day fail that morning and put all the clothes I owned into wash bar the clothes I was wearing. Having spent the day on the beach in my only shorts and tshirt, I encoutered several problems come evening time; firstly, having showered I had nothing to dry with and secondly I had no fresh clothes to put on! At this point the girls saved me and I ended up in Ruth's jeans and Liat's Brazil top, it was a good look for me...? Lord knows what I would have done had I been on my own!


The next day was another beach day, with sand sufficiently crammed into each and every orrifice, we head to a travel agent to enquire about heading to Salvador - it was a total rip off! The journey wasn't totally wasted as Jess and I managed to get our laundry so back home, showered and dressed in male clothing, our room was invaded by Essex boys we had met a few days earlier. Things went from bad to worse, mine and Jess' peaceful room was thrown into dissarray and after dinner, the boys just kept throwing drinks our way!! We head to a bar and many antics passed us by and much gossip was in the making, obviously it is irrelevant to you guys but it's pretty much what you'd expect when a group of girls mingles with a group of guys! A fairly uneventful yet enjoyable day in Rio.


For my final day in this Rio blog not a whole lot happened, we sampled Brazil's answer to McDonalds in the form of 'Bob's Burger' and head back to the hostel after a brief stint on the beach and all just montes out! Dinner was a simple pasta and the night passed watching 'Case 39'. One highlight to the day was that following nearly 3 and a half months, I finished my book; "The Dice Man". A fairly thought provoking yet extremely disturbing book filled with rape, murder and general immoratlity, it was an arduous read yet it did lead you to contemplate how you think about things. Luckily, I finished at just the right time, the Hong Kong girls are like a walking library!

With a day lost to travelling, a lack of sleep and an extremely irritable Paul, the bus trundled into Puerto Iguazú. From the bus station, we took a taxi to "Hostel Inn Iguazú", a large, pokey hostel lacking any atmosphere or staff with any kind of brain! We freshened up, fed and watered and due to the crappy weather just bummed around the hostel.

The next day we were up bright and early and on a bus to "Iguazú Parques Nacionales", home of Iguazú Falls, a collection of around 275 individual cascades plummeting across a 2.7km horseshoe shaped cliff. A quick bus ride to the entrance, tickets bought and we were on a train through the jungle toward "Garganta del Diablo" - The Devil's Throat. We walked across a vast expanse of water atop a metal walkway. The remnants of the previous walkway destroyed in 1992 by flooding was a tiny bit unnerving, considering it was several feet taller than it's replacement! At the end of walkway was a viewing deck perched precariously above the plunging horseshoe cascade known as the "Devil's Throat". The ferocity of the waters motion threw plumes of mist high into the air causing producing a fine rain on the approach to the platform. Above the falls, the wind produced by the sheer volume of water whipped the mist into columns of water which soaked the platform! Very invigorating.

We head back to the train to get onto the "Paseo Superior", a 650 meter trail across the top of the falls offering stunning views across the gorge with vivid rainbows stretching across. The final path, "Paseo Inferior" was a 2.5km circuit around the plunge pools with platform extensions into the path of the falls. We descended into the valley and down to the waters edge, we ponchoed up and boarded a powerboat which took us right up into the path of "San Martin Falls". The wind produced by the cascading water was insane! Absolutely soaked, we had to change on an exposed rock face, very indignities and I ended up mooning an elderly couple...


Changed, dry and adequately warm, we began the long walk back to the bus. The evening passed by and I managed to book a bus ticket for Rio de Janeiro with the Hong Kong Girls, my itinerary has well and truly gone to pot! The next day was spent sunbathing, my first chance of sunbathing in South America, the day was wiled away and the following day we boarded our 24 hour bus to Rio.

With the days cultural exploration done, my cultural activities didn't stop there. That evening; Margot (an avid fan of musical theatre), Rodrigo, Brendan and I head to a studio theatre to see "Los Últimos 5 Años". A musical portrayed as a series of monologues between a failin couple, starting from her point of view at the end of the relationship working back to the day they met and his role working in the opposing direction. Despite the entire thing being in Spanish, it was easy to appreciate the emoion within the songs and the feelings which were trying to be expressed. I was incredibly impressed and it made me think about my life and how different people perceive the same situation. We went for a drink after the play and were home by 11.30P.M., despite a Milhouse party, we went to bed and chatted into the night. I've met myself a really nice group of people!


The following morning involved a bus ride to 'La Boca', an extremely poor port district of Buenos Aires. Regardless, it is home to the Tango and the Boca Juniors! I had heard some real horror stories about muggings and the crime in the area so I was quite nervous about visiting. We wandered down the colourful cobbled streets lined with a cute craft market and brightly painted buildings. After a quick stop for food, we visited PROA - a modern arts gallery with an exhibition on Futurism. Brendan being well read in the arts was very up for the whole thing, I wasn't against the idea but my understanding wasn't as deep. I still found the exhibition very interesting, different from any others I have seen! A bus carried us back into the centre of town where we walked through a plaza in which we found the "Madres de Plaza de Mayo", a charity comprised of mothers and grandmothers campaigning to have 'lost' sons who disappeared under the dictatorship returned. Apparently they can be found every Thursday afternoon simply carrying a banner round the plaza holding placards with photos of their lost relatives, it was truly harrowing! From here, we continued walking to 'Puerto Madero', a recently renovated dockland which truthfully could have been anywhere from Sydney to San Fransisco! The evening was passed with a Milhouse party and a trip to 'Club 69', Buenos Aires' best drag club...very random. I managed to arrive in a taxi with a very random group of South Americans. Unfortunately, I missed the majority of the show due to my first experience of crime struck and Ellie had her camera stolen. That was a definite mood killer!


The following day, after a suitably Argentinian start to the day, I had arranged to meet up with one of Matthew's friends from Russia; Charlotte. Late as ever, I jumped on a tube (first time alone in SA!) and head to Palermo. South America is spoiling me with friendly faces, despite the potential for some obvious awkwardness, Charlotte was very sweet about the whole situation and treated me to a Starbucks 'dulce con leche' - a South American obsession which was like heaven on earth with all the calories you'd imagine. After a long chat and some BA tips, I head back to the hostel and met up with everyone and we had another Milhouse party. I had planned to go out with the Hong Kong Girls but they totally abandonned me (Alice!). Later in the evening, Liat and Alice returned after Liat had had her camera stolen. South America struck again! I ended my evening by hiding Rodrigo's recorder which over the past few days he has insisted on whipping out at every opportunity to play some rendition of 'The Corrs' (crazy Mexican!).

My penultimate day in Buenos Aires was fairly unstructured as I attempted to decide my next destination. After speaking to the HK Girls (Hong Kong Girls from here on in!), I decided to join them north to the Brazillian border. With some resemblance of a plan made, the day slipped into evening and we set out for 'Grab Cafe Tortoni', a supposedly world famous tango show. If I'm honest I wasn't particularly enthused about the whole experience, it seemed to me to be an extremely exploited and touristy spectacle so let's just say I had my doubts. I was soon proven to be way off the mark. The entire show was nothing short of epic. The musicians, the singing, the dancing - everything was beautiul. It is one of my favourite experiences since travelling! Being my last night in Buenos Aires I wanted to go out Argentinian style so back at the hostel, despite 'Team 307' not up for a nigh out I head out with some other guys from my hostel and we had a blast. The night slipped into day and I slipped into bed for three hours sleep. Check out and gradual farewells to my Buenos Aires possé as we all went our separate ways and I found myself at the bus station with the HK Girls on a 17 hour bus to Puerto Iguazu...

A taxi from the transit station deposited us on Avenida de Mayo outside Milhouse, our home for the next few days. Room 307 was where the party was at! Rosie, Ellie and I checked in and met our roomies - Beth and Claire. For our first evening, we made our way to Palermo to meet up with Margot, Brendan and Rodrigo and a host of others. Ellie and Rosie knew them from elsewhere in South America. They were a really nice bunch, bar Margot who proceeded to spike everyones drinks with 96% proof Bolivian miners spirits. We all got relatively sozzled and ended up heading out to one bar but the Argentinians in the group conspired against us and we ended up in a very latino club called Pagana. Despite our abduction, the night was amazing. We danced salsa and everyone had an amazing time. The Argentine way of life is bizarre, clubs don't open until 2A.M. and stay open until the very early hours, it must be said that the people of Buenos Aires do look tired! We finished the night in search of food. Job done and we head to bed.

The following day started slowly. Rosie, Ellie and I again hunted for food which we ate whilst watching the "Bicentenario" Parade, celebrating 200 years of Argentinian independence from Spain. Partial nudity seems to be another big part of Argentinian culture, some of the womens outfits were beyond revealing! Rendezvous with the guys and we head out for a steak dinner...when in Rome. Good food, good wine and good company put me in - well, a good mood. We head back to the hostel for some drinks and later in the evening we head out for "Amerika", Buenos Aires largest gay club with all you can drink! It was a strange affair, the Argentine love for nudity shone through. An interesting night passed in which we managed to all get lost!

Slightly worse for wear, the following day was spent exploring San Telmo. A quaint area home to an antiques market and cobbled streets where tango music filled the air. En route home we got mixed up in another parade with people in traditonal dress surrounding us. Rain meant we had a desperate sprint for the hostel and the day was ended with noodles we ordered in, happy days! My hostel was fast filling up with familiar faces, the Hong Kong girls I had met in Mendoza had arrived.

The next day was another day of culture, different culture but culture nonetheless. We head out to "Estadio River Plate" where Argentina were to play Canada in their final match before the World Cup. Having passed through more security than Terminal 5 and bought a host of Argentinian clobber, we took a seat in the tourist stand. On a hunt for facepaints to really get in the spirit, we head into the locals stand where the party was at...naturally that's where we stayed. The match didn't start for what seemed like an eternity but we were distracted with a marching band, a trio of bombers flying over head and insane amounts of blue and white confetti. The game itself was fairly dull according to those who actually follow football but we loved it, we were dancing and singing with the crowd for the entirity of the match. Argentina did completely trounce Canada 5-0 but for me it was more "Goooooools" which was way more fun! Following the match, they literally tried to blow the stadium to pieces. There were crazy fireworks that seemed never ending! A fun day was had by all. The evening was wiled away with a Milhouse party.

The crazy Argentinian lifestyle exacted it's reveng upon me the following day and the day was lost to bed. Arrival of Jess, a friend from secondary school was extremely welcome, it is such a nice thing to see old faces every now and again just to bring some grounding to life on the road. I think it's easy to forget so much of what is waiting back home whilst travelling, the people in your life become so transient and seeing old faces brings things back into perspective. We had a catch up, grabbed some food and went out partying. We were all extremely gutted that we missed the closing fireworks for 200 years of independence. From what we heard (from the other side of the city!!), the football fireworks would have paled in comparison. A very American mentality, celebrate your country by blowing a piece of it up!

I'm actually in love with Buenos Aires, it's fast becomming one of my favourite cities, I'd recommend it to everyone!

Arrival into Argentina was less than glorious. Having planned ahead and booked a hostel in Chile for my arrival into Mendoza, it totally slipped my mind to take note of either the address or even the name of the hostel. This potentially worked in my favour, having hopped of the bus and collected my bag, I got speaking to Rosie and Ellie - two delightful girls from Twickenham. We got chatting and in our search for an ATM, I decided to tag along with them to Hostel Independencia. A very dodgy taxi driver took us from the bus station which to be fair considering there were kids tossing a dead mouse between them, I would have got into a car with anyone! A short drive to the Hostel, we checked in and head out for food. With our belly's filled and the piss sufficiently taken out of our almost handicapped waitress, we head for bed. The following day we threw ourselves into the Argentinian lifestyle, we set out to get some lunch at around 1P.M. and didn't leave the restaurant until well after 3P.M. Happily filled with my first Argentinian beef and a glass of red wine, Ellie sufficiently peppered in bird poo from the critters above and through with being hasseled by homeless people - we set off to find something to do in Mendoza. That was easier said than done, in the end we found ourselves in a cinema watching 'Robin Hood' which was actually surprisingly good! The evening was wiled away with the staff from the hostel who ended up taking us to a locals club...very strange place but good times were had by all. Homeward bound and bed, we planned to take part in the main activity in Mendoza, the bike wine tour. Unfortunately we slightly overslept...


Another day passed us by and so we decided to do something constructive with our lives so we head to the supermarket, bought some steaks, potatoes and salad and rustled up home-made steak and chips with a healthy dose of red wine. It was delicious! I met the 'Hong Kong Girls' in the kitchen at the hostel, they have since become my official stalkers! The following day was  the day of the wine tour. I managed to recruit Sarah the evening before into coming with us so breakfasted, showered and checked out, the four of us head for the bus stop to Maipu. Under Ellie's guidance we spent a good 40 minutes waiting at the wrong bus stop, thanks to the help of a concerned elderly lady we finally found the right bus and were off! Standard travelling protocol meant stalking the nearest people of similar ethnic background to find our goal - 'Mr Hugo's'. A jolly Argentinian who made a living getting travellers drunk and then renting them bikes! We got our bikes and set off on the streets of Maipu visiting select wineries and chocolate producers.Sampling the wines, chocolates, conserves and liquers was actually a lot more interesting than just a piss up on wheels. One paricular winery tour involved going inside a fermenting chamber and in the tasting session, we had the flavours and aromas explained to us and how these differences were achieved. My favourite winery was called 'Tempus Alba', granted I was assaulted by the gay manager but the food, location and wine was just incredible. I could have stayed all day! I was very tempted to buy a bottle but alas I don't think it would have made it back to the UK intact, luckily I do have the name of a guy who imports the wine so all is not lost.


The whole day was just brilliant, sampling the different delicacies of the region against the beautiful mountainous backdrop was such an experience. As light began to fade, we head back to Mr Hugo - escorted  by the police, I'm not sure if police presence in South America makes me feel more comfortable or in greater peril! Back at Mr Hugo's, he literally insisted on pouring us more wine, as much as I enjoyed the day it, it was getting a little ridiculous. My enjoyment of red wine is still blossoming but there are definitely limits...


Mr Hugo's escaped, it was time to head back to the hostel from which we set off for the bus station. The time had come to leave Mendoza and head for the bright lights and bustling streets of Buenos Aires. The bus journey was verging on the grotesque. If you have ever had a red wine hangover, try surviving that at 4.30A.M. on a bus that is almost as hot as satan's bum crack with no water! I think my travelling low point manifested when I sucked on a tap on board the bus and genuinely contemplated drinking out of the toilet, I was desperate - when thirst hits a physical level, you know times are bad. Thankfully Rosie woke up, watered me and I made it alive to Buenos Aires. Off the bus and into a taxi, our adventures were only just beginning...