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Denouement Diaries - Week 9

Denouement Diaries - Week 9

Essentially the ramblings of two adults that probably require adult supervision.

As usual, follow along at:

And...here. Anyway let's get into it:

6/4/23 - Day 57: Iguazu Falls (but more wet)

  • Roll out of bed
  • Rainy day
  • Buffet breakky
  • We wanted to get one of the boats up to the waterfalls but yesterday was told at the ticket office that we could just book on the day
  • Sent our taxi driver a message to come and get us
  • Her husband picked us up in his taxi
  • Got to the entrance to the park
  • He helped us do a bit of chatting with the ticket office but we were happy to just sort it out
  • Got our park tickets and boat ride tickets
  • Then got back on the Iguaçu bus down towards the waterfalls
  • Off at the boat stop
  • Bought the tickets
  • Then on to the little electric golf buggy trailer thing for a ride through the jungle to the river
  • I annoyed Casey, because I am annoying
  • We are already very wet
  • Stopped at a couple of trees along the way where the tour guide said some stuff
  • Then Casey walked along the path for the last little bit
  • I stayed on the cart
  • Raining and we were very wet already anyway
  • To the boat stop
  • I got a locker and stored our stuff and shoes
  • We got on the boat barefoot
  • I was literally the only person without a poncho or spray jacket
  • I was to be vindicated...
  • Boat was cool
  • Drove into some waterfalls
  • Completely soaked
  • No remaining dryness
  • Back to the dock
  • We got a Coke and Doritos to chill for a minute as we drip dried
  • I took my shirt off and wrung it out over the sink in the toilet
  • Electric buggy back
  • Bus back
  • Cab back
  • Completely soaked the whole time
  • Hot showers at the hotel
  • Chilled in the lobby cafe with coffees and a chocolate Easter egg from Gramado and hot chips
  • Cruisy afternoon
  • Tried to dry our clothes for the travel day tomorrow
  • No success
  • Buffet dinner was excellent
  • Casey was fretting because her Instagram post didn’t get enough likes...


7/4/23 - Day 58: Iguazu --> Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia

  • Travel day
  • Up a bit earlier and packed up
  • Breakfast buffet as usual
  • Then went and grabbed our bags and checked out
  • We had organised another taxi but they couldn’t come - they told us like 10 minutes before they were to pick us up
  • So the reception got us another one
  • Arrived straight away
  • Off to the airport
  • Easy check in
  • Short flight in an exit row with lots of space
  • To São Paulo airport which is absolutely massive, just huge
  • Eventually found the international check in
  • Back through security
  • And to our gate
  • Got some chicken bites and coffee from Starbucks
  • Couple of girls with crazy plastic Brazilian bums floating around
  • Then on to the flights for a few hours
  • No issues
  • Out through immigration
  • Then just found some ATMs in Santa Cruz de la Sierra airport to get some cash out
  • In to a cab
  • Then in to the city
  • We have decided that, almost universally, the cab ride in to a city gives one the worst represtation of said city
  • The place looked dank
  • But we realised that the streets were quiet because it was good Friday and there were parades planned in the centre of town
  • So as we got closer to the centre, less quiet
  • To the hotel
  • Easy check in
  • The place is very modest, and not a luxury complex in the Iguazu-adjacent jungle...
  • Went our for a walk, went the wrong way first, but then easily found the centre square
  • Packed with people observing mass
  • A priest and the whole gang of altar boys and nuns were all dressed up and doing their thing
  • Keen for dinner, we found a fantastic Italian place off the square
  • Excellent pizza and lasagna
  • Then stopped off at a crazy busy kids place/dinner place/family place/ball pit thing on the way home
  • Nice coffee and ice cream and rainbow cake for Casey
  • Then back to the hotel and did a lttle bit of booking
  • We are thinking we will jump on an organised tour of Peru as a shortcut to making sure we get a Machu Picchu ticket

8/4/23 - Day 59: Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia

  • Breakfast in the hotel was a bit shit
  • So had a couple of coffees then wandered into town
  • Looked around the town square
  • Then to a caffee for good coffee and a pastry
  • Wandered up to another little park in Santa Cruz with a lake in it
  • Back towards the plaza
  • Found a shop that does great Acai bowls
  • Then wandered back home via a couple of shops - Casey bought a couple of new tops
  • Read for a little while in the sitting area downstairs of our hotel
  • Then got sorted for Casey's pole sessions - she had been invited to host some classes here
  • Uber'd to the Pole gym
  • I waited around with Casey until she was sorted and had a finish time
  • Then I walked back home via Starbucks for a coffee
  • Read and pottered
  • Then Uber'd back to pick her up after a couple of hours
  • Had to wait outside for a little bit because all the students wanted pictures with her!!
  • Then Uber back into town to the same Italian place - we weren't in the mood to hunt tonight
  • Then wandered home
  • Sleeps

9/4/23 - Day 60: Santa Cruz + Animal Sanctuary

  • Sleep in
  • Skipped hotel breakfast
  • Just went to one of the crazy kid's places for breakfast - was fine
  • Then wandered into the Centro for some coffees
  • Slow day
  • Eventually decided to go to a hotel/conservation park thing - Biocentro Guembe
  • We got there a little before 1500 - which is when the entry price is half price
  • We refused to go in
  • We sat and waited until 1500...to get half price entry
  • It was quite good
  • There are a bunch of pools for hotel/weekend people along with a couple of big aviary/butterfly enclosures among many hectares of jungle gardens
  • Was alright
  • Uber home then had dinner at a Harry Potter themed restaurant - the food was average but the decor was fun
  • Walked home
  • Watched 'Polar' on Netflix

10/4/23 - Day 61: Santa Cruz --> La Paz, Bolivia

  • Travel day
  • Had a coffee and some fruit at our hotel breakfast
  • Packed up and checked out
  • Strolled in to town and got some good açai bowls for a proper breakfast
  • Then across the road to Starbucks for a good coffee and to use their internet for an Uber
  • Uber to the airport was quite easy
  • Then easy check in
  • Made camp and got some snacks
  • Flight was only about an hour
  • Amazing mountain scenery coming in to La Paz
  • Landed
  • Realised we were at about 3500m elevation
  • Do I feel short of breath already?
  • Had to get some cash out
  • The ATM took my card for about 10 minutes and wouldn’t give money
  • Slightly concerning
  • Another ATM was fine
  • Cab into our accomodation
  • We descended about 500m just driving into town
  • Amazing
  • Checked in
  • Then had a wander of the streets
  • Did some housekeeping - got some deodorant and new toothbrush etc
  • Saw a protest going on - heap of riot police, fireworks being let off, someone lit a fire - nothing too drastic though
  • Then found an alley of restaurants
  • Awesome burger place - we happened to be really hungry
  • Then a pastry place afterwords for a coffee and a snack
  • Chilled and reading at home
  • Am I already tired from the altitude?

11/4/23 - Day 62: La Paz

  • Woke up and had some breakky at the hotel
  • Then wandered up towards the San Francisco Basilica
  • Had some time to kill before a walking tour
  • So had a coffee in a cafe on the side of the square
  • An American was bellowing a conversation at some poor Brtitish woman
  • Lord give me the confidence of a young American Tourist explaining how the world works...
  • Anyway we found our tour guir, Fernando, who was ecellent, and the few other tour members
  • The tour was excellent
  • La Paz is a striking city, elevation changes of 500m in the cross city Teleferico
  • After the tour finished we grabbed some lunch at a little hole in the wall
  • It was very bad food...
  • Anyway we wandered back towards our unit
  • We followed the riot police on the way to the next riot...
  • Chilled at our unit for a bit then went and grabbed a coffee and some pastries
  • Casey got her nails done
  • Then around 1800 I dropped Casey off at her next pole class
  • I vegged for a while
  • Then we went to a Japanese restaurant for dinner
  • Was excellent

12/4/23 - Day 63: Lapaz + Tiwanaku

  • Tour day
  • Up a bit earlier
  • And went to the hotel breakfast early for a coffee
  • Then walked up the road to near where Casey's pole class is as the pick up point
  • Van came
  • Lovely fellow took our ticket
  • And we piled in with the rest of the tour
  • About 2 hours out to the site
  • La Paz traffic must be some of the worst in the world
  • Just endless mountain cutback streets in the inner metro
  • Got out to the site
  • Very nice
  • It was called - Tiwanaku
  • Very history
  • We think the guide was probably leaning a little too much into Bolivianism with his estimates of the age of the site at many thousands of years but fine
  • Wandered around
  • Saw some cool monoliths
  • Lunch at the little village out there
  • Not too bad
  • Then toured the museum
  • Then back to La Paz
  • More awful traffic
  • Walked home and chilled for a bit
  • Then went for a coffee at a place I had spotted - the Selina hotel
  • Had a heap of tourists in it
  • But very good coffee
  • Best coffee since Ana y Juana in Ushuaia we think
  • Casey went straight to her next pole class from there
  • I came home and sorted some global roaming and watched a movie - 'The spinning man on prime
  • Went and picked up Casey at 2100
  • Got a street burger on the way home
  • It was awesome

Stay tuned...