SUMMER 2012

Hi from both of us after 11 months break
Yes we will continue this BLOG giving an insight into our travels so thanks for reading and we both hope you enjoy
This year we are returning to South America and spending a month away from UK shores, Congestion around our area of London with the Olympics and a big hope to be away from the awful summer weather we have been having for what seems since we last wrote in this BLOG
Now onto our travels and Brazil

We start with a couple of nights in Rio de Janeiro staying a few yards back from the fantastic Ipanema Beach. These couple of days are just to get our bearings and perhaps sort out a car for later as on Friday 27th July we fly out to Foz do Iguacu on the Argentine/Paraguay border and the world renowned Iguacu Falls. Hopefully we will spend 3 days here before flying onto Cuiaba in Matto Grosso and hiring a car to travel deep into the Pantanal. This is a wetland area of Brazil and is for me the highlight of the trip. It is a wildlife watchers paradise and animals we hope to encounter would be Capybara, the worlds largest rodent, Giant River Otters, Reptiles and birds galore including Anaconda, Caimen, huge Storks, Hyacinth Macaws and plenty of others and if we are very lucky we may get to see the largest cat in the Americas, the Jaguar. I think loads of pictures may be coming back and watch out for some as I post when we travel.
After the Pantanal we fly back to Rio for a night before hiring a car and driving into the hills and mountains north of Rio into Minas Gerais Province a some of the "colonial" towns of Belo Horizonte, Ouro Preto, Diamantina and around as well as the exquisite but very quiet national parks that abound in the hills.We also hope to find wolves in Parque Natural do Caraca before we head over to the coast and Esperito Santo Province on the coast and return to Rio de Janeiro. After a few days looking around Rio with Sugar Loaf Mountain and Christ the Redeemer Statue we fly home on August Bank Holiday.
Along with the travelling we aim to sample some of the Brazilian delights of Cachaca and Caipirinha as national drinks and trying to choose the best veggie food (may be difficult) as well as the great fish and steaks (easy for me)
Please come back as often as you like to view the Blog as we aim to update it as often as we can along with photos.
Feel free to add any comments you wish, we do enjoy reading them as we travel round