Click on a post to see photos and read more

Just outside Ciudad del Este is a hydroelectric installation, in fact the third largest in the world. It was built jointly by Paraguay and Brazil, and of course we had to see it!  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itaipu_Dam It is big, and impressive, and the visit was well organised and free. From there we started on our zigzagging through the country. It felt like going back west was returning to the Paraguay we liked so much. The countryside is nice, and the people are fri

From Asunción we drove south to make a round trip of the country. Our first stop south was Pilar, and then we drove east to Encarnacion, and from there back north to Ciudad del Este. The landscape is shifting with farmland and forests, and there is large areas of wetland and swamps along the river on the way south and again going east. When turning north again, the soil turned red and there is huge fields of soybeans, miles of them as far as you can see. It is interesting

To enter Paraguay from Argentina, we drove from Corrientes to the crossing via Puente Internacional Falcón-Clorinda. This crossing is a very short distance from the center of Asunción, the capital of Paraguay. It is one of those convenient ones with everything done from the car and leaving and entering through one person. We were both very ignorant and knew just about nothing about Paraguay. It turned out this is a common thing and that most people just don't even think ab

The first place we went to, after returning to Argentina from Uruguay, was Santa Fe. We had a part of the country left, Entre Rios, and we were not disappointed to spend a bit of time there. The vegetation was similar to previous stretches of road after leaving Cordoba, but the cities were different. The landscape seems monotonous but it is because the country is huge and it takes so long to drive from one place to another. Santa Fe was a very nice experience, so much so

We left Lago Rincón del Bonete to go north-west to a border to return to Argentina. It was a reasonably long drive, and the landscape was pretty much the same monotonous as in the inland parts we had seen previously. However, once we arrived to the area around Salto, it was more varied and interesting, reminding us of the "usual" countryside views of trees, bushes, paddocks, cultivated fields, a few houses here and there and farm animals now and again. Salto itself is not p

Most of Uruguay is of course away from the beaches. The whole country, except the areas on the river and the coast, is flat with the highest point around 500m above sea level. Driving there is certainly different from the coast. There are very few towns, not many people, and seemingly not a lot of action. Neither are all the roads good, but most are passable without too much effort. Distances are short, and to see some of the inland you have to make up your mind to wantin

We set out to visit the beach at famous Punta del Este. This is not far from Montevideo, and the drive was not meant to be long or difficult. We usually leave at about 9.30am, and this was no different. Another thing that we do is look in advance for a couple of suitable hotels, in both Booking and Google. This is not to book anything, but just to have a goal for the drive and if the hotel is nice we'll stay there. This time there were so many different areas and hotels t

We were surprised by this city, on many occasions. It started already as we entered, on the street to the city center, where we were caught up in an incredibly long queue of trucks with containers. Turned out we were driving next to them on the way to the container terminal, where they were going to drop their load. Once we left them to it, we found the hotel (we have been staying in Holiday Inns where they are available) and on route we saw Nissan service too, so all very

We crossed into Uruguay using the Puente Internacional General San Martin which goes over the Uruguay River. This was a very different border crossing, with the two countries sharing one border station. We left Argentina and entered Uruguay by one single border official, and the car was dealt with separately in the background, so everything was more or less done at once. Of course, as usual, there was no way to know the exact steps to take and the process was a bit obscure

Getting to Buenos Aires on a Sunday afternoon was an easy drive, and the city was quite empty. As we found out it was because the Monday was to be a public holiday, and everyone had left to enjoy their extra day off elsewhere. We found a hotel in San Martín, a street in the central city with easy walking to the main attractions. The first afternoon we revisited El Retiro, the biggest transport hub, with its neighborhood of colourful buildings. This area had deteriorated si