So Colm has explained all our running around and how we ended up getting 2 (very) long buses. I shall now take up the mantle and explain our delightful journeys

The first bus from Puerto Madryn to Buenos Aires was actually pleasant enough despite being 18 hours long. We boarded at 11pm and so went pretty much straight asleep – after speaking to an American guy travelling with his wife who, despite being 4th generation, was still 100% Irish (he told us all his family surnames, and they actually were all Irish – impressive). We slept till around 10am so we only really had another 7 hours to go at that stage, and we stopped briefly to get some lunch so all in all it went by quite fast. Given this when we arrived in Buenos Aires we were feeling relatively fresh so we thought we´d check when the next bus to Puerto Iguazu was instead of booking into a hostel/hotel and then trying for a flight the following day. There was a bus leaving in an hour and a half, and like our first bus it was cama (the seats recline almost right back), we were also told we would get a hot dinner, breakfast and alcohol (an improvement on the first bus!). So we booked it there and then and headed downstairs for a quick bite to eat.

Our bus boarded on time (hurray!), however I was more than a little disturbed to see a small dog in a travel case being loaded in under the bus with all the bags (the poor mite whimpered for nearly the entire journey too just wouldn´t happen at home, but no one so much as batted an eyelid). Other than that the journey was pretty much the same although we didn´t sleep as well, waking at 6am. The hostess turned on the lights at 7am to serve breakfast (we were a little confused by this as there was still so long to go in the journey). For breakfast we got a packet of crackers, a tub of jam, 4 breadsticks and . . . a wagon wheel! go figure). All was revealed however when we stopped at 9am and most people got off the bus. We then stopped again about 20 minutes later (very confusing) and myself and Colm were told we needed to get off . . . and . . . yes amigos . . . we boarded our 3rd bus in 2 days! The third bus however was by far the most comfortable (great the way we kept “trading up” – wouldn´t have been so good in reverse!) and I actually slept for another 2 and a half hours (hurray!).

We arrived a short while later to see a scorching sun beating down on bright green grass and vivid red soil – now this was more like it! No more fleeces and jackets for us for a while!!

We spent a lovely 6 days in Puerto Iguazu visiting both the Brazilian and Argentinian sides of the falls (the Argentinian side wins hands down). The falls themselves are amazing, although not as high as Niagara Falls there are about 270 of them so the sheer quantity makes them quite a sight to behold.

We also took a jeep safari* into the jungle one evening where Colm was delighted to see a group of Capuchin monkeys leaping from branch to branch (one even leaped directly over our heads!). No jaguar sightings – but I have to say I was ok with that!!

All in all it was, dispite the hassle getting there, well worth the visit and we would definitely go back. Especially as we spent the last 2 days reading by the HI hostel´s enormous pool – ah bliss

* An aside from Colm – our guide on this safari was excellent, and very good at explaining the ecological challenges faced by the area. In particular he explained how animals were becoming endangered because their natural habitat was being taken away from them. One species in particular, the Harpy eagle, had become near extinct because its natural habitat, Rosewood trees, were chopped down to make musical instruments. I squirmed a little on hearing this – my guitar has a rosewood fretboard.