Adventures of Trent & Jane

OMG! This trip seems to be becoming a whirlwind! It’s not really going too fast but we seem to never have time to do some things, like write the blog. Well, Buenos Aires is calling. It’s not too terrible a flight and the ride to the hotel is fine. The city seems to be very busy and not quite what we had really expected. Far busier than we had imagined. You read about the wide boulevards and greenery and it has that. Some of the streets are 140 meters wide with transit lanes, trees lining the dividers and 7+ lanes of traffic either way, There is a lot to see and this city is immense. There are some really beautiful spots and a vast variety of architecture. It difficult to get a grip on what all the monuments and street names are in relation to since we really don’t have a good grasp of the history. They are very proud of their independence and the historical figures associated with it. There are also a lot of references to artists, authors and other intellectuals that we have no real re...

  Since arriving here we have seen and heard about the terrific shopping in Paraguay so decide to check it out.  It was total organized chaos, we are 20 km away, but needed to cross 2 boarders to get to Ciudad del Este it took almost 2 hours. once there people and traffic every where and you could buy just about anything from diapers to electronics.  Seen a lot of motorcycle taxis, but didn’t jump on one.   Went into town and found an interesting market with olives, canned peaches and wine.   Off to an Argentinian experience for dinner tonight then onto Buenos Aires where we will meet up with our friend Deanna.  

  We took a break from the falls and spent the day wondering around Puerto Iguaza, it is the tourist center for Iguaza Falls, interesting that where the river meets is the boarder for Brazil to the north and Paraguay to the west.  Hot walking, 36 degrees so got a taxi to come back to the hotel. We spent the next day on the Argentina side of the falls. To get to the falls you need to take a 20 min train ride, then walk on the boardwalk for about 1.5 km to get to the viewing area.  On this side you appreciate the scale of the falls, compared to the BRASIL side where you are up close. Interesting the fish above the falls are a different species than those below!After our first viewing we floated down the river to the “inferior pathway” and had a nice shaded walk to view more of the falls.  Luck was with us as we just got to the train stop and the rain started, boy when it pours it really pours.  Ended up getting wet on the return train ride, but at least it was war...

 Well, a lot has happened since the 16th. We have been on the move!  Departing Bocas Del Toro was reasonably easy, Tammy, the owner of Lula’s gave us a ride to the airport. We had to juggle some stuff to get the bag weights right so we each had a regulator in our cabin luggage. A quick flight to Panama City. Then a 30 minute cab ride to the other airport, no not that one, the other one (they have three). A nice hotel near the airport (you can hear the planes outside). Schlepping all these bags can be tiresome. Up to the shuttle and off to PTY. Next stop, Rio de Janeiro! Two nights there. The hotels is three short blocks from the beach on a reasonably quiet street. The traffic is a schmozzle. Cars everywhere, motorcycles flying down the middle of the lanes, winding twisting lanes, WOW! A walk on the beach in the morning, sunny and hot. They have sprinkler hoses from the street to near the water to keep a cool path through the blazing white, soft, silky sand. You can’t stand on ...

  Trent celebrated his birthday doing our last dives in Bocas.   The night before we did a night dive and saw Crabs, lobsters and octupus.   We are travelling for the next couple of days.   Next stop Rio!

We have dove the last 2 days, coral gardens and ship wrecks.  The dive shop we are with is also involved in reclamation of the coral reef.   Was able to sit in on a session and learned that the coral color comes from the algae growing inside of it! We have spotted nurf sharks, rays, Morse eels, and a Baracuda plus a lot of fish ( angel, damsel, puffer).  We also see a lot of lobsters and some crabs.  2 types of jelly fish, one very poisonous, didn’t touch that one. Water is warm 28 degrees at the bottom.   We had a current which limited needing to swim but hard to stay in one place!