Having previously been on JustYou trips to Egypt and India, and enjoyed them both, I felt the time had come to try a different continent.
The most tempting aspect of the Argentina & Brazil trip for me was the opportunity to visit Rio De Janeiro - to see those wonderful golden beaches, to experience Sugar Loaf Mountain and the statue of Christ The Redeemer... Rio has its obvious world-famous attractions but unfortunately it also has a bad reputation where crime is concerned. So, I thought I'd feel safer going there as part of an organised Just You group than on my own, as I'd be far less likely to blunder into unsafe areas of the city, or fall under the scrutiny of any muggers whilst getting a map out and trying to navigate my way around.
But of course Rio was only a part of the advertised holiday. I can't say I've ever had a burning desire to go to Buenos Aires, but I've heard a few people over the years comment on how nice a city it is, and I reckoned if I was going such a long distance it was probably well worth experiencing a bit of Argentina as well.
Then there's the other part of the trip, a couple of days exploring the Iguacu waterfalls. Hmmm, as I travel more for experience than scenery, I was a little apprehensive that this might prove to be a boring interlude. Compared to some of the other holidays in the JustYou brochure, this trip was quite expensive, so I did think long and hard before I booked it, but the lure of Rio and the very positive experiences I had on my previous JustYou trips eventually swung it.
So, first off were 3 days in Buenos Aires. Huge city, mostly very pretty and clean. You could tell how proud the locals were of the new Pope Francis as his face was on posters everywhere. We had a lovely local guide named Veronica who was entertaining and informative, and our city tour took us to one of the city's main squares where several famous buildings including the Casa Rosada (the pink presidential palace) are situated, then on to La Boca (very quaint and colourful, full of character and souvenir shops!) and finally, somewhat bizarrely, to Recoleta Cemetery. I was a bit dubious about visiting a cemetery, but this one is huge and crammed with very ornate tombs, including that of Eva Peron, so the visit made sense in the end.
The Pulitzer Hotel where we stayed in BA wasn't a huge hotel but it was very stylish and comfortable, and located close to many amenities. The lifts weren't very fast but otherwise I had no complaints.
There were three advertised optional excursions on this holiday, all of which related to Buenos Aires. I booked them all, but still had plenty of time to go around and do my own exploring. I actually went for a closer look at the beautiful harbour area, Puerto Madero, where old dock buildings have been rennovated into fancy restaurants and such, much as has happened in some parts of Britain, but there were plenty of other options. We were all given maps and Veronica, the guide, was on hand to explain about various attractions and how to get to them. I know some of the women in the group visited the Opera House, for example, and needless to say others just went shopping!
The first optional excursion was described as a half day boat trip around the Tigre Delta. I found this slightly misleading, although the excursion was for half a day, the actual boat trip was only about an hour. The rest of the trip was essentially an extension of the 'city tour' from the day before, as our coach took us through other parts of Buenos Aires which Veronica described to us, and a look round the large market area of Tigre. The boat trip was nice, the scenery very good, but I got stuck on a seat in the middle of the boat so didn't get the best of views. Unfortunately you sit inside under cover, not out on top of the boat, so the view is a little restricted - even if you sit right next to a window, you'll be limited to a view out of one side of the boat only.
The second optional was an evening Tango Show and dinner. Well, the venue was very swish, the food and the service superb. They were very generous with the wine! And be warned - the steaks are huge! Lovely and tender, but you might find them too filling. But there were plenty of other choices on the menu. The show itself was very colourful and skilful, not normally my sort of thing but I enjoyed it as a nice sample of the local culture. It was even a little bit risque in parts.
The third optional was a full day visit to the Santa Susanna Ranch which was great fun. Again, our hosts were very generous with the food and wine (the empanadas were gorgeous!), I got to do some horse-riding (you can just ride in a carriage if you prefer), you can explore the ranch at your leisure (including the original ranch house, now serving as a museum), and there was more song & dance entertainment after the huge barbecue lunch, followed by some horsemanship displays by the ranchers. It was quite a long drive to and from the ranch, en route we stopped at a good souvenir shop.
So next we flew to Iguacu. I wasn't sure how much 'civilisation' there would be around the area of the falls, but our hotel turned out to be in a very picturesque town. In hindsight I would have liked to have explored the town more, but at the time my energy levels were such that I tended to lounge around the hotel. But I did check out the place of the 3 borders, where you can stand in Argentina and see across the rivers to Brazil and Paraguay. As for the Iguacu Falls - truly breathtaking - you see them from all sorts of angles and they're incredible from each. But as well as the falls themselves, there's an incredible array of exotic wildlife - I saw countless colourful butterflies, raccoons, a guinea pig, toucans, turtles, an alligator, lizards, jay birds, a huge catfish... You can get quite wet from the spray of the falls, but even if you do you also dry out very quickly because of the warm weather.
A surprise bonus for me was the opportunity to go up in a helicopter and see the falls from the air. It was US$110 for a 10-minute ride, so quite pricey, but as I'd never been in a helcopter before I thought it would be well worth it for the experience - and it was.
So Iguacu turned out to be very enjoyable, and after that came Rio - and rain! Yes, lots of cloud and rain on our first day there, which you tend not to expect, and it did lessen our enjoyment of the city tour and our trip up Sugar Loaf Mountain, but luckily the sun came out the next day and we saw the Rio we expected, with the beaches bustling with activity. That was the day we went up Corcovado mountain, from which the views are simply incredible (if you have a clear day!). To give you an idea of how high up you are, the train takes 20 minutes to ascend the mountain! And, of course
there's the statue of Christ, also spectacular, one of the world's most famous icons. In fact, the views from the rooftop bar of our hotel in Copacabana weren't half bad either!
Despite concerns, many of us walked around Rio (and, indeed Buenos Aires) individually and I'm glad to say nobody fell victim to any crime or attempted crime. Obviously you have to employ a degree of common sense and not flash money,
jewellery or cameras around, or go into isolated areas on your own, but generally we all felt quite safe.
The final morning was another optional excursion, not advertised, to go around two of the favelas (or shanty towns). Again I was apprehensive because of the fear of crime, but in fact this was perfectly safe and extremely informative, certainly shattering many of my preconceptions.
So, apart from one day of disappointing weather, I very much enjoyed the holiday. Seasoned JustYouers will be pleased to know that the timetable is very gentle, with very few early starts and plenty of free time, even if you go on all the excursions. The food was good - no risk of upset stomachs. The climate was nice but not punishing. The touts were few in number and not pushy, and in the souvenir shops you can browse at leisure without being hassled. There were no beggars. Cameras and camcorders could be used everywhere without having to pay a fee, the only exception was at the Tango Show where filming of the performance was understandably forbidden and flash photography was not allowed. The locals were generally warm and friendly, and I encountered no antipathy towards the British whilst in Argentina, other than seeing one mural about the Malvinas (Falklands).
And last but not least, a word of thanks to our JustYou Tour Manager Sue Davies, who worked tirelessly to keep us fully informed and to make sure everybody's needs were catered for, organising groups for meals out etc etc. She'd have probably found it easier organising children rather than us adults!
Dave
