Montevideo-URUGUAY

... had 2 days spare in Buenos Aires so we went to Montevideo-a capital of Urugay and we got our passport stamped at least!-took expensive fast ferry called Buquebus- takes 3 hours and a great ride on Rio de la Plata(river Plate)-1.3 million-loads of students-best place in the world to learn Spanish-rather disappointing European feel and even they want to be more like Europeans than Europeans-what's wrong with these people? they waste so much time trying to be something they are not!-can't wait to get to Peru ,Bolivia and Ecuador!-stayed at Red Hostel in the center of town-old mansion- and had a great feel about it! and a free Wi-fi and breakfast! but had too many German kids learning Spanish on the cheap for my liking but they did support Liverpool as we watched the match live against Porto! with 2 mad Irish Red supporters too! -as the song goes OI! YANKEES! LEAVE OUR RAFFA ALONE!-very poor country but has a great vegee restaurant,we all ate 3 course meal with drinks for 8 quid!-on the main street there are 3 branches of Indian Emporium shops!-what's that all about?-we failed to make the connections!-country is big on bronze statues for past heroes-I mean what a waste of money-FEED THE PEOPLE FIRST WE SAY!-too many beggars on the street although not as bad as India-let's make one thing clear,we have now been to 11 countries in last six months and we love our country India but as we travel the world we really feel ashamed and embarassed by how backward and poorly managed India is compare to all other nations-all these countries are clean,have good sanitation,clean water,good roads,well behaved population,no queue jumping,no spittings or shitting wherever you want,clean food,no insects or free roamings animals and we can go on and on and on -so INDIA GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER BECAUSE YOU ARE AN EMBARASSEMENT TO INDIAN TRAVELLERS ABROAD!

Buenos Aires...Report

1st impression...big city 0f 14 million-people seems to be owning 10 dogs each and that means crap everywhere-they don't like Vegees here-what? you are a vegee at a place where you can eat the most juicest steaks big as your head! get out of my restaurant you gringo!-been eating at MUMBAI! best food for a long time-visited museum called XUL SOLAR -hmmm!-been to see Tango show called SABOR EL TANGO! -really good and magical dancing really fantastic and very professional-we were going to take couple of Tango dancing lessons but thank god we ran out of time!-our hostel called Ricoleta Hostel,nice place right near walking distance to everything-saw another film in theatre called Leones Por Corderos(Lions for Lambs)-rather watch paint dry!-30 hour bus ride coming up as we move on to Cordoba and on to Iguazu Falls-this falls boarder 3 countries-Brazil-Argy-Paraguay-buses are brilliant way to travel here .
Creamy Caramel is national passion here! oh! and love hotels like in Chile-I said to P when in Rome and then I got another black eye! women!-we have left the cold weather behind us in Patagonia and thrown out all our winter gear and shorts-t shirts-sandals are back! and long may it continue!

Buenos Aires...Dios Mio(oh my god!)

...sometime you travel abroad and you go to see something very unusual and unexpected but when you’ve seen it it’s not really tacky as you thought it was going to be –as this place was in Buenos Aires called Tierra Santa-it’s a theme park based on time and life of Jesus in and around Jerusalem –my first thought when P suggested we go and see it was –no! –but she convinced me and off we went by taxi some 25km from our Hostel-the day was hot and humid over 30 degrees!…

…this is another stupendous statue -top half of Jesus- and kind of real life like and I can understand how if you are a Christian you can really get worked up being at this theme park and the fantastic music makes the real difference…
…this was quite something else-this is Resurrection of the Lord by mechanical means-a 25m statue of Jesus comes out of this mountain every half an hour and then it rotates to bless everyone watching it below and the music throughout all the performances is really fantastic and loud and gets all Catholics really in that zone of being close to Jesus-surreal!-have to see it to believe it!...

…it also had mosque,temple etc and this Mahatma Gandhi’s place in the middle of everything -we failed to make the connection!...

…Jesus being turned over by the Romans-it also had how the world was created,manger scene,the Last Supper,Wailing Wall etc,etc but not tacky!... Jesus refused to take my advice when I said with your last wish you should have asked to tie a Muslim on your back!

Montevideo-URUGUAY...Pictures

… Montevideo Uruguay-very laid-back city and rather nothing going on and as if people are waiting for something to happen and looks like it could be a long wait!-…

…newspaper headline reads-my fellow Uruguans this is your President , first the good news - our long wait for something to happen in our great nation will definitely be over by 3rd August - the bad news is that that 3rd August is in year 2518 so please be loyal to my great great great great so on and on great grandson-please be assure that I am working very hard on your behalf from my winter palace in Barbados and now I am off to check building work on my new Summer Palace in Tuscony , this project is entirely funded by Overseas Development Ministry of Her Majesty’s Governement UK- so to let my fellow Uruguans know that I am not using your tax money…
…some of thses countries are great on putting up huge sataues of past heroes,elaboarate water fountains,gates etc but soon after they are left at the mercy of nature although this one is working as it is in front of the British Embassy-after all it is paid by the British tax payers!

…city center South American style…

…there were some really neat grafitti around the city center and Governement buildings-grafitti capital of the world-it needs to be a Capital of something!...

Buenos Aires...Pictures

…real backpackers may live a life on the cheap and take every oppertunity that comes their way but they see do and learn real stuff about the countries they are traveling in which other travellers can only dream about --- here they share a coffee with empanada bought from street vendor-- we only pretend to be backpackers!...

…luxury coach travel is a norm all over South America and this is how we are traveling here—all our journeys are between 12 to 24 hours at a time—of course we are on the upper deck where the the huge leather seat becomes a cama(bed) at night-movies –food-drinks all inclusive-all for 16 quid each for 20 hours travel-hundreds of companies wants your business and thus services provided on route are as good as 1st class travel in an aeroplane –fantastic way to travel and see this continent…

...interior of the luxury coach...

…no free roaming dogs in BA-but most dog owners seems to have at least 10 dogs each …Vedanta’s nightmare!

…tourist gorging at Evita’s grave in Reoleta Cemetery,BA-Evita’s life and her humanatarian work made more famous around the world by Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Evita and same name film(Evita played by another humanitarian -Madonna!)-Evita a beautiful nurse from a very poor family met Mr Peron at a political rally married Peron who then became President of Argentina for 8 years-Evita worked for the poor and the old of Argentina-she died of cancer in the sixth year of Peron’s Presidency at tender age of 32-when she died Argentina was heart broken and so was Peron the President…
…BA is massive –full of Spanish colonial buildings-very clean and rather pretty-people are fabulous and so welcoming-everybody just wants to earn an honest living-no overcharging or bull -shitting here that every traveller has to face in most of the Asian countries-infact we have yet to meet anyone in South America that wanted to overcharge us for their services-everything is priced in the shops too- although there are too many steak-houses in Argentina for my liking,I have wondered through the doors of some of this joints just to smell the juicy burning steak on the barbie and just at this moment each time then I have been guided out of the door gently by tender hand of my wife! Women!

…view from the balcony of our room at Ricoleta Hostel-cool place and near walking distance to most tourist sights-and juicy steak houses!

…Plaza De Mayo…
…pink building is called Casa Rosada and the square is called Plaza De Mayo-Presidential resident etc-it’s from these pink balconies that previous Presidents,Evita ,dictator General Galtieri of Falklands War fame and other politicians have preached to throngs of millions of impassioned Argentines on the streets below and those watching on televisions…

Wildlife

...this is Punta Norte(3km long) in Peninsula Valdes Argentina,it is on this very beach at high tide that the KILLER WHALES(ORCAS) come right on to the beach to catch unsuspecting Sea Lions and Seals lazying on the beach (sometime whales are unable to wriggle back in to the water and become food for Sea Lions and Seals in return)-this act of nature on this very beach is often shown on many wildlife documentaries on telly...we were unlucky on this day and the tide was out anyway...we did see thousands of Sea Lions and Seals lazying on this vast stretch of beach...one amazing beach!


...killer whales lurking in the water if the tide was in...
...this is Prof Vedanta Patel either she is constipated or trying to look intelligent- observing her kind of creatures -lazy and sleepy Sea Lions-she has 3 degrees just like Mom but at least Mom puts hers to good use ! Vedanta has

Bsc in DoIhavetodothatdad!

Msc in Arewethereyetdad!

and

Phd in DoIahavetofinishmydinnerdad!

...this one's a bully but only on dry land ... as one on the left is saying you were the first one out of the water when you thought you saw KILLER WHALE!...
...playing hide & seek or they've just spotted a KILLER WHALE!...

Penguins...

...the Penguins below have a human story and names given are only in fiction and are not personally aimed at any one person- so please no lawyers!...

...take no offence as none is meant...

...looking for a mate for life-this is ChanduSingh-bit shy and no !he is not a Pharmacist...he is one better ! he is a DOCTOR! ...(he really wanted to be a piss artist but daddy would'nt have it! and mum didn't want all the badams(almonds) she fed him when he was growing up to go wasted either! ) ...
...this is Champa Patel -also in the market looking for a mate for life-also shy but is a Pharmacist!(she really wanted to be a doctor bur failed to get the grades! but as all the Indian women pharamacist she thinks she really is a doctor! -qualifications or not)
...arranged first date by a third party and both a bit shy...so arranged marriage on the card! arranged by a third party!...both sets of parents fly off to India for shopping as wedding day approaches (Indian tradition) and first shot is fired as they both try and out do each other as though who would send out the biggest and brashest invitation cards!( one that requires fire brigade to pull it through your letter box!)
...wedding party arrives from the girl's side...note how women are ignoring the men and vice-versa-this is a tradition at any Indian gathering...

... they all look a bit pissed and yes they all are pissed!-because it's Chandusingh's family and friends arriving for the wedding! -yes they all had too much bisky last night!..it's a Punjabi tradition to look pissed at any Punjabi gathering!...

...happy couple looking radiant on their wedding day-infact look closely and Champa's already got one in the oven-naughty boy Chandusingh says the women folks, while men folks start saying you lucky bastard Chandu!..note the lack of affection shown by the newly wed and that's another Indian tradition(though shall show no affection after the wedding!),anything less than a mile gap between the newy wed and all the women folks start bitching and men start saying you lucky bastard Chandu!...and as Bena Rehhhhh! Sasri Ay Jata Teri Papan Na Bhinjay song is played on the Binatone radio cassette player by a DJ who is at least 70th distant cousin to the groom therefore providing the services free ,all women start crying including those who came for the food only and are left behind because they are still looking for a free lift back home to Ipswich or something and were only invited because their names appeared in the 1876 Samaj directory...


...six months after the wedding Champa lays an egg-told you that Chandusingh was at it before the wedding said the women wearing a red saree on the phone to the women wearing a yellow saree!(they met each other when the women in yellow saree gave a lift back to Ipswich to the women in red saree ofcourse arranged by the third party)-Champa should have married my CM(another Indian tradition calling people by their initials!) said the women wearing a yellow saree-CM'S a nice boy and she would have worked well every morning in our Londis in Ipswich-why the morning enquired the women in red saree-well every morning JC that's my husband goes for a walk as he is diabetic!(that's another two Indian traditions-walk and being diabetic)...


...little Karansinghpatel(compromised name chosen by both sets of inlaws after many meetings and phonecalls involving the third part of course) ) is born...and they've already put his name down at the local Private school and are already in the market looking for a third party to find them a nice little Indian girl!..

...inlaws(Chandu's parents!) come for a visit in their newly purchased 2nd hand Merc with a personalised number plate(an Indian tradition),they part exchanged their Datsun for the Merc as the other side already had a Merc(another Indian tradition) and takes Karan for a walk down to the corner shop and buys him some cheap sweets(another Indian grand parents tradition)...inlaws are concerned that Karan looks a bit like Penguin(mum put glasses on to confirm) and both agreed that Dal Me Kuchh Kala Lagta Hai!-and asks Champa(through a third party) if she has had an affair with a Penguin! or has she ever been to South America!..

...Karan grows up and flees to South America to avoid being married to a Koala!(arranged by a third party of course!)...

================================================================

...on a lighter note above Penguins are seen at Punto Tombo in Argentine Patagonia,over half a million Penguins reside here and they were everywhere! ...
...this picture shows a large group of Llamas running havoc amongst the Penguins colony and sure some Penguins are killed...

...another Penguins colony at Punta Delgada,Peninsula Valdes...
...another Penguin colony at Punta Arenas-not far from here where the Cruise Ship Explorer hit the iceberg on 22nd Nov 2007 heading towards Antarctica and thank God all passengers were safely air-lifted to Punta Arenas-the Explorer sank-some passengers on Explorer we may have met on our Navimag cruise from Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales-we may have been on Expolrer ourselves if the price was right-small world- you throw the dice and take the risks but calculated risks in our case as we say shit happens all the time you dust yourself take your medicine and you carry on...
...Penguine Highway...Penguins were sea-birds at one time -they hunt for food in the sea and live on land-also lay eggs-hunt all day at sea and come back on land at sunset also sunset is the time to see loads of them coming out of the sea..
...many roads on Peninsula Valdes are just what you see-dirt track...

... Vedanta again pulled out the short straw as to who goes to the nearest supermarket as Dad ran low on Beer and Mum completly emptied the bag containing the 5C's ie choclate,cheese,crisps,cookies and candy's-all that's good for you!...but as P says you get protein from all them 5C's..yaa right!...

Hola! 23rd Nov, now in Peninsula Valdes-South America's finest wildlife reserves-it's home to many marine creatures including Killer Whales,Penguins,Southern Right Whales,Elephant Seals and so on...it's the place where Killer Whales come right on to the beach to grab unsuspecting seals for minor snacks-one of the nature's great sight if you are lucky to witness it-we were unlucky as when we were there the tide was out! you win some and you some! shit happens all the time man!
22nd went to a place called Punta Tombo to see Megellanic Penguins and this is a colony of over half a million and they were everywhere-just amazing to see so many of them!
...the 24 hours bus ride was just fine and you also get food and drinks just like on aeroplane and sleeping bed not too bad either-we have another 24 hour sleeper bus ride as we travel towards to capital Buenos Aires(means goos wind) pretty soon!
...we hired a car for couple of days to see the wildlife better but been a bit unlucky -we reached the harbour to catch a boat to see Whales etc but wind was blowing at 16 knots/hour and so it was cancelled again-I mean I know some people fart and wind blows over 16 knots/hour and they don't fall over!-but that's the rule-the boats are real antiquated and rather not sea-worhty and in a way we were glad it was cancelled-so no whales for us but there are thousands just off the coast from here- anyway we saw plenty of Humpback Whales in Australia.We did see hundreds and hundreds of huge Sea Lions and Seals and some Penguins too! I think we've overdone it with glaciers and penguins!
The infra-structure for tourist in Argentina is rather poor to say the least and that's a shame as there is plenty to see-but getting to a place is rather difficult-but then it's a huge country-it's just smaller than India in size and yet there are only 40 million here-so there are massive empty spaces here and uninhabited areas for hundreds of miles but hey they play damn better futball than the English do-glad that MU puppet has been sacked as England manager,I mean he is third rate and to make him England manager -give me a break!
Argy food! well! what food! it's beef and beef and beef and more beef-for god's sake let the cow live!
They eat such bland food that it makes English food taste real good!
I have yet to spot Gabriel Sabatini here but have spotted many Batusta and Diego look alike-honest!-I mean they love long hair here-I mean I just woudn't fit in here with my hair-style(what hair dad!-you've got none! shouts V!).By the way Diego is in and out of the re-hab here-what a waste man-a real genius of a player I ever saw but Gerrards god! and Raffa too! and Carra! I say leave Raffa alone and OI! you Yankees ! GIVE HIM MORE MONEY TO SPEND TO BUY MORE TORRES!
Argy people are real nice though and boy they have huge egos!
Been following football here and watched the Brazil game the other day on telly-also been following India v Paki and great to win the ODI's once again- comeon Mushy stop sending women to play against our boys! let's win the test series too boys !
We've only got just over 5 months left now-don't know where the time has gone-I can still remember everything about our 1st day in Beijing and it feels like we only left home few days ago!
Hey but there is plenty to do and see in next few months so the journey goes on!
Cheers!

Trekking On Perito Moreno Glacier

...meet LUKO our main guide and a real daredevil - I meet him as we cross the Iceberg Channel ,in to the forest and then 3 hours trekk on the PERITO MORENO GLACIER with 15 others...we got on like house on fire and the 1st thing I told him was ..."LUKO" I said you have got to have bottle or two of JD as we trekk as there is so much ice about...he said we can't drink as it's peligro!( dangerous)...fair enough I said but what about at the end of the trekk...he said no possiblo...but I kept on repeating my request in broken Spanish and he kept on saying no possiblo!
...wearing crampons to grip the ice as you walk...it was THE experience of a lifetime!..
...Luko and Marko checking the route for safety before we follow them...I kept on saying JD! and he kept on saying NO POSSIBLO!
...me standing over this gushing waterfall and it's 120 meters deep-you fall in and you are a gonner!-I moved out of the way very quickly to let others have a look...
...no that's not me !-that's Luko showing off his ice-climbing skill-he told us to wait,he took two ice-picks with him and ran towards that wall-5 minutes to climb and when he ran back he was drenched in sweat and looked cold and I said to him "LUKO" me amigo! you could do with a quick shot of JD and he said lab! lab!lab! no possiblo!


...trekkers -a real United Nation gathering and we even had a Pakistani couple in our group from USA(Paki boy married to an Indian girl-somebody shoot me!)...boy I was in my element with this couple and they took some beating from me on Mushy and his Emergency Rule,Cricket,Pakistani land being on a short term lease from India ,cousins rules ok! in Pakistan, who done it! who killed my Bob!(woolmer) who done it!-but he was a good sport and I think she enjoyed it too and Luko mixed it up with comments like whose got more Nuclear Weapons and I said no worries there mate! by the time Mushy finds a matchstick to light up his only rocket he will be buried under one of ours! Luko almost fell on his Icepick laughing! Then the couple said it's also their wedding anniversary today so I said to Luko-now we have to have JD before we come off this ice as the Paki's now offered to pay for it and he said lab!lab!lab! no possiblo!(then I thought no!what! me! drinking with the eneny! my friends back home would hang me !)
...pictures don't do justice really of what I saw...but then the day was about to be the most complete ever as we turned the corner to come off the glacier...there it was in all its glory and they both look beautiful-beautiful even to drink and toast a happy anniversary to the enemy ! and crackers to go with it!
...Luko I think may have noticed a tear in my eyes here-Luko in the distant gathering the most crystal clear ice cubes in the world with the ice-pick(he said the ice we had in our Whisky could be as much as 20 years old-so I said vintage like the Whisky!) infact it was Famous Grouse and not JD but that made no difference to the absolute amazing 30 minutes we all had drinking whisky and me toasting the enemy and memories to last a lifetime...you just can't imagine this kind of things and experiences are possible ...but you know they are!
...I did make a toast to the happy couple and you know I started thinking -well they are not as bad as I think they are ...and a trip to Pakistan may be on the card to exorcise my feelings towards our neighbours!(oh my god! what am I thinking! what am I writing!somebody shoot me! please!)
...IT REALLY WAS THE MOST AMAZING DAY...
PS: the enemy even offered to pay for the Whisky -as to how those tables were set up and how the Whisky arrived-Luko refused to say-all he said was it was an amazing day for him too!
...my sincere apologies to all my Pakistani friends specially Asif and family and Jamal and family-cause I love you guys! honest!God's truth...
...Allah oh Akabar...

Argentina...Perito Moreno Glacier

...Perito Moreno Glacier(PGM)- one of the biggest in South America and there are hundreds here...also one of the Earth's most dynamic and accessible frozen ice fields of Argentine Patagonia...this view is from far away of just one face and it has total of 3 faces - we based ourselves in El Calafete(EC)(population 8000,it solely exist to serve tourist for PGM) some 80km from PGM,the hostel was fantastatic, 4 bed dormatory we shared with a girl called Martina from Switzland,we met some great travellers at this hostel going around the world like ourselves.The magnificient colorful scenic ride in the coach from EC to PGM will live with me for ever as it gave one a really peaceful feeling inside that is hard to explain and put it in to words,all I can say is that it was the beginning of one the most amazing day of my life(it may be due to brilliant sunshine , blue sky with few white fuffy clouds,going through blue to grey colur mountains,glacial lake of some stunning turquoise green/blue/mint colors,Llamas running in the green fields,cowboys riding by ,condors and eagles flying above,crisp fresh air-put all this together and you may have a 10% picture of what it really felt like!)
...you begin to shudder at the awsome iciness of this mammoth ice...being this close is an audatory and visual experience -as you come out of the coach near the face of PMG,you start hearing kind of very loud thunder and lightning sounds every few seconds randomly then you hear a boom/splashing/crashing/ sounds few seconds after and you strat thinking what the f... is that! as you start walking on the catwalks and come to the many vantage points and you are face to face with the wall of PMG the sounds get louder and then it hits you! because now you are face to face with PMG seeing what is crating those sounds-the ice is cracking all the time and creating huge chasm under it's own weight and thats what you see and that creats the very loud thunder and lightning sounds and then over exposed mammoth chunks

of ice then collapses as icebergs in to the Canal de los Tempanos(Iceberg Channel) some 30/40 meters below-the boom/splashing/crashing sound is created by icebergs falling in to the waters of Iceberg Channel below and it's just pure magic watching this happening right in front of your eyes!

...breathtaking ...
...frozen icefields of Southern Patagonia...
...boat ride that takes you in the Iceberg Channell and gives you another vantage point...

...boat looks minute against the might of God's creation!..
...relaxed but felt rather useless against the mighty PMG!...our travel over the last 6 months have taught us many things -caring for envoirment is one of them...

PMG today is 120km long 5km wide(all 3 faces),40km above water and 120km below water-it' big!

During last Iceage some 12,000 years ago,PMG was 350km long in total(ie 100km to the ocean beach today then futher 100km to the frozen ocean beach then),also was another 200 meters taller and much wider too(all other glaciers were bigger too).Then Iceage ended and it created bigger oceans as we know them today.If all the glaciers were to melt including Antarctica then oceans would rise by 60 to 70 meters and 50 % of Great Britain will be under water as would many other countries,other would cease to exist such as Holland-it's happen before and it will happen again but the point is we are speeding up that process with our activities.

...one of the most magical sight of nature at work-as chunks fall of at one end -more fresh chunks are made at the other end-also as icebergs crashes in to the waters it creats mini-tsunami...lost for words!

...thunder/lightning sound first as ice cracks creating chasms and icebergs falls off under it's own weight and being pushed from behind then a huge boom/crashing noise few seconds after as it hits the water(what makes it even more magical is that you see the icebergs crashing in to the waters but you can't hear the noise straight away as sounds takes time to travel -so you see the crash but hear it few micro-seconds after-just brilliant)
... AND THEN I WENT TREKKING ON THE PGM WITH FEW OTHERS AND TWO GUIDES...(V was underage so P stayed behind with her)