“You said you’d try to look for the end of the road.

You might find out later that the road’ll end in Detroit.

Honey, the road’ll even end in Kathmandu.”

Cry Baby, Janis Joplin.

There is supposedly a financial crisis in the world today, but to see the number of travelers who pass through here with enough money to keep them going for some considerable time, you wouldn’t know it.

Much of the travelling I did when I was younger was in India, and that was a very cheap place for a Westerner to travel in at that time. But Brazil in 2012 is not a cheap country to travel in. How on earth do people do it?

I ask a lot of our visitors this question, and get a wide variety of different answers.

One lady from London who visited here recently had simply rented her house out, and is travelling off the rent. That’s a great effort as far as I’m concerned. Well done to her for getting it together to have the chance to give herself the ultimate freedom, and to see where it leads her. One thing’s for sure: what she may have anticipated when she set off from England, and what she actually gets will be two very different things.

Others have worked hard for several years to give them a budget to travel the world for a year or two. One couple from Scotland recently told me that they had been saving for years for their trip, and they were having the time of their lives travelling in South America.

There are other ways of course. The internet has made the world such a small place. Some people even make money, living in beaches around the world from selling stuff on the internet.

You could even give yourself the chance to win some money at on-line bingo.

I even heard about some Danish guy who lives on a beach somewhere and makes a pretty cool living playing on-line poker. Makes you green with jealousy at times (even if he might not necessarily be advised to go to the USA for his holidays).

Another way that some achieve financial freedom is from Multi-Level Marketing. It’s a brilliant concept if you can make it work for yourself – but it takes dedication, hard work, an ability to take rejection and a willingness to get well outside of your “comfort zone”.

Some travellers who have visited us recently at our hostel here in Foz do Iguacu have no idea what they will do when they get back. Others are very clear. Personally I was always quite conservative in how I managed my travelling times – I always lined up jobs to go back to before I set off around the world for 6 months or so. I wan’t cut out to be a “hard core” traveller.

The travellers whom I met here regularly have organized their finances in a myriad of different ways.

What’s clear to me is quite simply: where there’s a will there’s a way.

If going travelling is a burning desire of yours, then as the old adage goes:

Just Do It!

Our travels started in Amsterdam few months ago, we loved this city but the weather made us to think about a break in a sunny place. We saved some money, we left our jobs and we travelled by car to Spain, passing through Paris and the north of Spain and after Xmas we took a plane across the Atlantic Ocean.

Permaculture

We arrived at Arraial D´Ajuda near Porto Seguro in Bahia, where we have some friends working with permaculture trying to keep our world healthier. We spent almost two months there, enjoying the beaches, the sun and learning about permaculture [1]. We even did a course on using adobe and how to build a house with adobe, amazing!!

The details of the Casa Barro Arraial permaculture project can be found here, as well as on its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CasadeBarroArraial.

After this two months, we decided to travel around Latin America. We wanted to visit the Iguassu waterfalls but first, we wanted to visit some places which were highly recommended, such as Río de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and one of the most beautiful places we saw in Brazil…Paraty.

Paraty

Paraty is a small fishing village full of colour, with a lot of islands. Calm and beautiful. You can go from there to Trinidade which is like a paradise, a beach in the jungle or a jungle in the beach if you prefer. There the green colour of the jungle and the blue of the ocean which are mixed in harmony with the sand and the rocks in at least four amazing beaches. From Paraty you can also go to visit small waterfalls where you can swim, jump like Tarzan from a liana or slip on a nature slide.

Foz do Iguaçu

Then we went to Foz de Iguaçu where we had a nice stay with Nick and Rosana in the Favela Chic Hostel. What to say about the waterfalls?? There are no words to describe them: amazing, awesome, incredible…if the Brazilian side impacted us due to the power of the water, the Argentinian side was the peak.

Wildlife in Pantanal

At this moment after the waterfalls, our idea was to cross Paraguay and the north of Argentina to visit Bolivia and go through it to Peru, but Nick told us about a place in the middle of nowhere in Brazil (Pantanal) which is in on the border with Bolivia and where you can see lots of wildlife. Nick arranged for a guy who lives locally to meet us to explain all about it and we decided to change our route. It turned out to be a pleasure to do so.

Depending on your budget you can do it or not, but if you consider the experience the price is cheap. We spent 4 days and 3 nights there. But it´s not a place where you can rest, as there are activities from 7 am until dark and on one day for even longer! You can see yacarés (alligator) everywhere, lot of different birds, capibaras, coati, monkeys, cows…, and there are different activities: horse riding, a boat trip, piranha fishing… Without doubt it was an amazing experience which we highly recommended unless you want to rest or you don´t like animals!

Bolivia

Once we finished our tour in the Pantanal we crossed to the border to Bolivia. We have been there around fifteen days, and we recommend not to miss the Salar de Uyuni tour. From Uyuni it is cheaper and you will visit the salt flats, vulcanos, deserts, amazing coloured lakes, geysers and you can swim in thermal waters.

We didn´t go back to Uyuni after the tour, but rather we crossed the border to Chile and now we are in our way to visit Titikaka lake and continue our trip to Machu Picchu, Iquitos….and who knows?!

Free Flow!!!

[1] Permaculture is a design system based on ethics and design to guide efforts by individuals, households and agricultural communities towards a sustainable future. It is a theory of ecological design aiming for sustainability and is modelled from natural ecosystems.

Permaculture draws on various disciplines such as organic farming, agroforestry, sustainable development and systems ecology.

We are a couple who has been married for nearly 3 years, and we have been travelling in South America for the last 3 months as part of a delayed honeymoon. The visit to the Iguassu Falls marks the end of our trip as next Sunday we are leaving the continent.

When we got married nearly 3 years ago, I told my wife that one of my remaining travel dreams was to go to South America. As we had both been veterans of previous long trips outside our home country (Israel), we were looking forward to making this dream possible. We worked hard to save up, and when the time came we asked our jobs for a leave of absence to travel (although if they had said no, we were planning to quit…).

Our trip started in Lima, Peru and we took the overland route through the Macchu Pichu, down to Bolivia, and through Chile and Argentina all the way to Ushuaia, or as it’s known in Argentinean tourism, `The End of the World`.

Iguassu visit a spectacular highlight

Our time in the Iguassu region was spectacular. We knew that we had to get here from Buenos Aires by bus and then drive back down there as well. This left us with a week to stay in the Falls region and we LOVED every moment of it. We walked around on the Argentinean side of the falls for a day, and then took the bus to Foz De Iguassuu and to the Favela Chic Hostel. This took a day, and it is well worth starting early and than taking your time to see everything.

The next day we took our time and travelled to the to Brazilian side, at the Parque De Iguacu. We recommend taking it easy on this day as well, and walking around at a leisurely pace, and not hurrying to do anything else. The Brazilian side is nothing short of spectacular, and even just having a little snack or lunch on the catwalk overlooking the Garganata Del Diablo, is a powerful and much recommended experience. After 3 months of travelling and walking around it is quite nice to take you sweet time to look around at the marvels of nature and not be in a rush to catch a bus or go anywhere.

Itaipu Dam, one of the seven man made wonders of the world

On our last day in Foz De Iguacu we went to the Itaipu Dam, one of the Seven man made wonders of the world, and a nice day trip in and of itself. We called our first two days at the Iguassu Waterfalls, or Cataratas, “The triumph of G-d”, and the last day at the world’s largest producer of Hydro Electric energy, “The triumph of man”. The tour here is very informative and more importantly for travellers like us- who don’t speak the local language- all the explanations and information is in English as well.

Follow your heart

It’s funny because our biggest tip for travellers in the continent (or anyone else for that matter) is not to listen to anyone giving you tips! This is not to say to not actually listen to them, but rather not just to blindly follow other travellers’ experiences in places, as everyone has their own specific experiences on things, and it would be a shame to miss out on some wonderful experiences just because someone said so. This goes mostly for people speaking about sights and places to see in various locations; it is less applicable for places such as hostels and restaurants where word of mouth is more reliable.

We recommend following your heart and having the time of your lives on your own terms!

Ilan & Shalhevet Adler

www.shalhevet-design.com

After finishing school every teenager has the same question in mind: what’s next?

In our case we decided the best thing we can do is go somewhere and experience something totally different. Another culture, another language, another country, another continent. Then we ended up in Bolivia for a volunteer work (service) in La Paz.

Volunteer work in orphanages in La Paz

We are two 19-year-old girls from Germany doing a gap year as volunteers in children orphanages for abused street children and boys and girls from high-risk families.

Calle Jaen, La Paz, Bolivia Photo:Paul Richter

Sometimes the work is especially emotionally hard but at the end of the day we know it’s all worth it when we think about great moments we have had together with these children.

Still, after six month of working we knew we wanted to see more of South American than just Bolivia. There were two places we really wanted to see on our journey: Buenos Aires and the Iguazu waterfalls.

Buenos Aires: La Belle Epoque

Our first stop was Buenos Aires, Argentina, which was for us kind of being back in Europe (if you have been to Bolivia you will understand why!) In some places we felt like we were back in the Belle Epoque, transformed from France to Argentina, because of all the architecture and the traditional Tango.

After Buenos Aires we went by night boat to Montevideo. We spent two great days there – on the one hand relaxed but on the other hand interesting. In the capital of Uruguay you can enjoy a nearly empty beach and then afterwards go directly to discover the city.

From there we kind of changed our plans of going through Argentina to Iguazu and decided to travel through Brazil to the waterfalls. One of the most impressive parts of our journey was our next stop, the coastline of Uruguay- amazing beaches, beautiful sunsets, nice small fishermen towns and untouched nature.

After that we crossed the boarder to Brazil and went to Porto Alegre. Especially after such a nice time spending in Uruguay, the city wasn’t quite as good as we expected it, because in our opinion if you compare it with other places in South America it is not the most beautiful or exciting city.

But having said that, it is not a great tourist place and so it does give you a chance to really get to know Brazilian lifestyle (we also really recommend the Pastelleria, which has delicious snacks for cheap prices).

Iguassu Falls

After a long bus trip we finally reached Foz do Iguassu. We had decided beforehand that we would stay at the Favela Chic Hostel because it seemed the nicest place in Hostelworld. When we arrived our expectations were more than satisfied. The place is a really colourful, warm, unique and charming place. We especially liked the amount of possibilities to relax outside and the artwork which you can find everywhere in the hostel. In the end we felt kind of like it was home, also because the owners are really kind and helpful. We actually were the first people there to sleeping in a tent outside, which wasn’t too different to sleeping in a bed especially because the hostel is in a really silent neighbourhood.

Our daytrip to the Iguazu waterfalls on the Argentine side was overwhelming and the falls were even better than the pictures we had seen before.

Now our next stop will be Ciudad del Este in Paragay. And in one week’s time we are going “back home” to La Paz, Bolivia.

 Maite & Anna, Germany

Maite: maitebollerhoff@yahoo.de

Anna: annaroe92@aol.com

I am Ronald from Holland.

I have been injected with the travelling virus for over 10 years now, and have visited many countries in almost every continent.

This year my girlfriend and I started the crazy idea to do a holidays by bike.

So here we are, in Foz do Iguassu halfway through our first bike holiday.

We started in Buenos Aires, and from there we went up north to Asuncion, through Paraguay and to the Argentinian side of the Iguassu Falls. It really is one of the most impressive sights of nature scenery that I have ever seen.

Unfortunately it was not possible to do it all by bike.

We discovered that Argentina is not equipped for cycling as Holland is.

We had to ride along a very busy highway and after a good 150 km we found it was enough – there was no fun in it and it was just too dangerous.

So we took our bikes the rest of the way on a bus to Asuncion. Paraquay was ok for cycling on the whole – there is nearly always a bit hard shoulder lane next to the road where we could ride relatively safely.

The road was very challenging in Paraguay since it there are a lot of hills in Paraguay. Since we are from Holland we are not really used to hills! It took a lot of energy out of us but we made it and that feeling of achievement was very very nice!

Now it`s time to go further up north to Rio de Janeiro (taking our bikes on the bus there).

We have stayed a day in the Favela Chic Hostel in Foz do Iguassu. It’s a really very, very nice place, friendly staff and a very nice atmosphere. I can recommend everybody who wants to spend time in Foz do Iguassu to stay here. I have been to many hotels, hostels and luxury resorts all over the world but for me nothing beats the cosy place with the friendly staff where you feel at home and are treated as family.

So I wish the people of Favela Chic Hostel all the luck and the best to make this hostel the leading one in the area.

They deserve it!

Spending a long time term in South America, working and travelling, was always in my mind whilst I was at school. This idea got stronger after I spent three months living and going to school in Asuncion, Paraguay. With some luck and the right connections I managed to organize half a year of volunteering work in a Favela in Sao Paulo.

Life in the Favela

I started this work in August 2011 and for four months this ugly but vibrant mega-city sort of became my hometown. I undertook several types of work with the children from the community: English lessons, football games, guitar lessons to name just a few. I got really involved in the community`s life.

In December 2011 I was able to take a two week holiday which I used to travel in Brazil. It was fantastic to see other spots of Brazil in Bahia, Espirito Santo and Rio de Janeiro. My time in Sao Paulo then ended a few weeks afterwards. Since then I`ve been travelling through Argentina (Buenos Aires, Mendoza and San Juan) and Paraguay with two friends.

On the road

Being on the road is a great feeling that fulfils you with a certain feeling of liberty and independence but which can also be quite exhausting. Especially when you don`t just choose the conventional way to travel.

So we did several journeys by hitch-hiking and sometimes we had to “occupy“ empty houses or unfinished buildings just to get a place to sleep. But the best thing about this is that you have to stay spontaneous and you have to stay patient in shitty situations but in the end it`s exactly this that gets you through these crazy and unique moments.

Then we came to Foz do Iguassu from Paraguay, where we`re staying at a friend`s house in Asuncion. Paraguay in general is a nice country with one of the biggest advantages being that it`s really cheap but also undiscovered. So you won`t be bothered by too many Gringos when you`re travelling there.

Here in Foz we`ve just passed one day to see the waterfalls. Unfortunately we didn`t have the time to see them from the Argentinian side. That’s tough but we were really impressed just seeing them.

But almost better than having seen the waterfalls is the fact that we`ve passed at this really nice hostel here in Foz do Iguassu. The Favela Chic Hostel is really unique in its style and with its familiar ambience and though it was just for one night we felt really home here.

So leaving this place we just hope that we`ll pass many more experiences like that on our further travel that will take us to Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador for the next two and a half months.

Recommendations

Places and events that touched me the most were

• Having a nice view on the sunset and the local surfers with a Caipirinha in your hand from a rock beside the Prainha beach, in Itacare, Bahia.
• Voodohop, a group that organizes crazy underground parties in Sao Paulo and which is the best example for the hip, urban Sao Paulo nightlife.
• Sarau de Cooperifa, Open Stage event that takes place every week in the peripheric zone in south Sao Paulo. Local Poets, Musicians and Artists bring their experiences of their daily lifes in the Favela to the stage.
• Salon de “la catedral“ in Buenos Aires, though it is frequented by lots of tourists this unique Tango place keeps its “undergound“ flair and also presents good live acts and offers daily Tango classes.
• Go and have a walk, off the tourist track, in the “Andes“, still the best way the get the biggest dose of nature.

Julian, Bern, Switzerland.

julianstreit@hotmail.com

Dear travellers,

We’re two veterinary students from the Netherlands that decided to travel through South-America for two months. We started our trip in Peru, visiting the Amazone near Puerto Maldonado and doing the Lares Trek to Machu Picchu. Next we took a plane to Rio de Janeiro for the Carnival. The parade in the Sambodromo was a great experience. The block parties on the streets created a samba-vibe all over Copacabana.

After these must-sees in South-America, we went to see some farms and veterinarians for our own interest before going to Foz do Iguazu. We stayed at the Favela Chic Hostel there. Nick, the owner, explained that he and his wife Rosana had just opened a new hostel. We were pleasantly surprised. The ambiance was very relaxed and although not everything was finished, you could see what Nick and Rosana have in mind for the hostel.

Relaxation time at the Itaipu Lake

During our stay in the hostel, we visited the Brazilian side of the falls and the Itaipu-dam. We also spent a day at the Itaipu-lake and swimming pool, just to relax. The falls were very impressive, the hour walk along the waterfalls ends in a spectacular view in the Devil’s throat.

Itaipu Dam

Nick himself arranged the excursion to the Itaipu-dam. This huge power plant provides 90% of the electricity for Paraguay and 20% for Brazil. Arriving there by bus, we handed in our vouchers and watched a movie about the build of the dam and it’s impact on Paraguay and Brazil. Afterwards, we got in the bus to watch the dam itself. Sadly, it hadn’t rained a lot in the days prior to our visit so the spills were closed. Still it was interesting and fascinating to see.

Today we’re leaving Favela Chic Hostel to go to Argentina. We’ll visit the Argentinean side of the falls from there, and afterwards we’ll go to Santa Fe and end our travel in Buenos Aires.

We’ve enjoyed our stay at Favela Chic Hostel very much! Its location is near the bus stop and a few minutes walk to the supermarket and city centre. The way the hostel is designed makes you feel right at home. Combine this with a staff that will help you as much as they can and have a lot of knowledge of the surroundings and you will probably never forget your time in this hostel.

Our compliments to Nick and Rosana for initiating this great hostel, we wish them good luck with fulfilling their dream!

Miranda and Thijs from Utrecht, the Netherlands.

Long held dream

‘Travelling the world is something I’ve been dreaming of for a long time, and I started my trip a year ago.

I am Wijnand, a 24 year old young man from the Netherlands, and I began my trip in Australia. Here I am with about 9 months left of my first backpack experience, like so many others. The combination of travel and work appealed to me and along with the diversity of the country and friendly people Australia proved a great place for me.

After Australia, I spent a month in Thailand which I am less enthusiastic about. This is partly because the Thai people themselves, which in any travel book are described as the friendliest people in the world, but my experience was in reality something different, and in my view the country was too much tourism-oriented. This took away from the excitement and adventure.

This is however something that I have found again, since my stay in Brazil. I arrived in Rio de Janeiro just before carnival week. Carnival week was an experience never to be forgotten – the word ‘spectacular’ springs to mind. It is an experience that you must have at least once in your life.The whole city is filled with dancing, laughing and singing people for a week. It’s more than just the Sambadrome parade which is where it all starts and finishes.

In short, Rio de Janeiro Carnival is a city not to be missed.

Not to be missed too is the destination where I am currently visiting, namely Foz Do Igaucu. These world famous waterfalls along with the Great Barrier Reef and the carnival in Rio have left the greatest impression on me.

How it is possible that there can be so much water coming down all around you. It is hard to fathom.

One suggestion is to visit these falls from both the Brazilian and the Argentine side. From the Brazilian side you have, in my opinion, a better view of the Falls and from the Argentine side you are able almost to touch the waterfalls. I actually had only one day scheduled for a visit to the Iguacu Falls but with the help I got from the owners of the hostel where I stayed, Favela Chic, I was able in a half day to see both sides. Being able to book a tour to Argentina proved a great base for me.

Tomorrow I am leaving here unfortunately. I’d be happy to stay longer but the other parts of Argentina are waiting for me. To begin with Cordoba, the second city after Buenos Aires.’

Wijnand, the Netherlands

We flew out from London to Rio for Carnival, which was spectacular. We then stopped off in Parati and Ilha Grande which are both well worth a visit.

Then we made our way to Foz do Iguacu in search of the falls. Foz was a nice place to stay with everything we needed and a number of attractions – the Falls of course, bird gardens and the Itaipu dam. The Falls were absolutely fantastic and the views blew us away. We visited both the Brazilian and Argentinian side and had two fantastic days out. We would recommend visiting the Brazilian side first.

Our next stop is Campo Grande and the Pantanal.

Kathryn & Frazer, Birmingham, UK

Travelling has undoubtedly been the biggest influence in my life, and I am certainly a different person for having had the great privilege of spending years travelling the world with a backpack strapped to my back. It was a symbiosis that opened my mind to world of different possibility.

The purpose of this travellers’ blog is to share these stories that we receive on a daily basis so that you too may be inspired by them. If you get any ideas of what you might do when you travel to South America then so much the better. If you are touched with a sense of freedom in reading any of the words on the blog then we will have succeeded in our aim. Do let us know.

Foz do Iguassu is a common stop for travellers in Brazil because of the majestic waterfalls here. But for most people it is a quick stop off en route to other destinations, and there are so many amazing places to see and experience out here.

We hope that you are as inspired by these tales as we are (and that you don’t forget to come & visit the Iguassu Falls while you experience the wonders of South America).

Enjoy!