...well, almost everything!!!
The last week has included spicing it up in Rio de Janeiro, exploring the beautiful Brazilian island of Ilha Grande and a flight down to Buenos Aires for a taste of Argentinian culture.
We departed Iguazu Falls for the long ride (1,600kms!) into Rio. Upon arriving, we needed some comfort after the marathon bus ride so we booked into a plush hotel right in the middle of Copacobana, in preparation for a big weekend in Rio. Our lethargy upon arrival at the hotel obviously showed as they promptly upgraded us to the 'Presidential' suite which was bigger than our house! It included separate lounge area, kitchen, surround sound stereo system, spa and even a private in room sauna...backpacking eh, tough times! Welcome to Rio!!
Feeling the spirit of Christo Redentor
The only thing that we missed was dancing up a storm at a big local Brazilian samba party, although not through lack of trying! Ah well, what better reason to return to Rio for the 2014 World Cup or the 2016 Olympics!
Next stop was Ilha Grande. A small island 150km south of Rio. After a weekend in a big city, this was the ideal place for a couple of days of R&R (rest and relaxation)!
Praia Mangues - One of Ilha Grande´s many beautiful beaches
After a night of sampling a couple of the local cocktails, the concept of R&R quickly wore off when we realised that there were walking trails to gorgeous secluded beaches, which included 'Jennifer' Lopes Mendes, ranked no.1 in the list of Brazil's most beautiful beaches. The day of trekking totalled at least 30km but all very much worthwhile given some of the places that we discovered. After all the trekking, we re-energised with a a gourmet local grilled seafood BBQ dish (Charrasco fruitas del mar) and a quiet bevy or two!
Great location Ilha Grande, we would have spent a couple of weeks there if we had the time and would head back there in a flash!
Unfortunately, time on this occasion was our only enemy, so we quickly departed Ilha Grande for a flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina´s capital.
When most people talk about Buenos Aires, they talk about it being the Paris of South America and being known for it´s European culture and architecture. In all honesty, Buenos Aires was really about two things...steaks and tango!
We were a little fortunate that we checked into a place right in the heart of San Telmo, which is widely renowned as the home of tango. It is also the home of La Brigada which is also widely regarded as the best Parilla (Argentinian BBQ) restaurant in Buenos Aires, famous for it´s incredible steaks...perfect!
Local tango club Lunatics Milonga - plenty of character and very few touristicos!
We first headed into a quaint little local tango bar for some tango lessons, worked up an appetite then checked into La Brigada at about 10pm (which is early for Argentina) for a meal that absolutely blew us away. They cut the steaks with a spoon they were that tender, and the portions were certainly not small!
Definitely vying for the best steaks we´ve had the pleasure of eating!
We washed it down with a bottle of Argentinian red wine to ensure that we were primed for some more tango. Unfortunately the tango at the club was well beyond our basic 1 step, 2 step that we had picked up earlier in our tango class, so we camped ourselves on the sidelines, with bevy in hand and soaked up the local atmosphere...great night out.
We leave Buenos Aires today on an overnight bus to Bariloche and some trekking in the Andes Mountain Range.
Another week of adventure ahead...can´t wait!!
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