We decided to stay on the Argentinian side of the Iguaçu falls, because the town is smaller, and pretty much anywhere in South America is cheaper than Brasil. We arrive in the afternoon, and as soon as we stepped off the bus we were accosted by people trying to get us to stay at their

After initially deciding not to bother with Rio, we changed our mind and made a 6 hour bus ride to Rio de Janeiro, arriving after sundown, in a foreign city, with huge backpacks, sticking out like the proverbial sore thumbs, with no idea where to stay. Well, we had the name and address of a

We’ve done a bunch of stuff since last we spoke. We saw the Argentine side of the Iguaçu Falls (where we saw a vicious pack of coati, some rampading agouti, and a loving family of guinea pig things). In about 30 min~utes we’re heading into the Pantanal for about 4 days, for a spot of

Day 2 in Brazil was shaping up to be a big one. Alecia and I got up at 6:30, had breakfast, and headed back to the Butantan institute. We met Rafael at his office and we all headed down to the venom production facilities. Silvia Candoss took us around the snake rooms. I’ve never seen

We arrive in Sao Paulo at about 7 AM. Alecia got the name of a hostel from the airport info booth, and we headed there on a train. That afternoon (Tuesday) we headed out to the University of Sao Paulo to see Carlos Navas. We had planned to tell him that we were going to

We were met at Dallas/Fort Worth airport by Micheal, my sister’s fiance. He drove us to their place in Plano. Those crazy Yanks! Driving on the right (i.e., wrong) side of the road! Lisa (my ex-pat sister) arrived a few minutes after we got in. After the customary cheek kissing and back slapping, we talked

.. But they tried to kill us with their oversized and cheaply priced meals. But I’m skipping ahead. The flight from Brisbane to New Zealand was uneventful. When we landed we were greeted in the traditional New Zealand manner (with a dozen shepp thrown over the aircraft as we taxied into the terminal). I sat

The day before I left the country I phone the Australian Iimmigration department to confirm the info I got from their website that told me I would be able to leave and then re-enter Australia on my British passport, as I do not have an Australian passport. The lady on the phone told me flat