Happy Christmas 2009 from Villa Gesell, Argentina

Happy Christmas 2009 to everyone back in the UK (and Australia...).



So we are spending Christmas in a lovely beach resort called Villa Gesell but before we go on about the beach, we will update you on the Iguazu falls.



First a little rant about the bus company that took us from Mendoza to Buenos aires and then onto Iguazu and then back to BA. Andesmar seemed OK but we had a number of problems - really late buses with no explanation, bags getting wet (along with all the clothes inside), bags getting baked, no veggie food despite repeated confirmations it would be OK, repeated showings of the same crappy DVD on the bus as they had only bought one with them (believe me '2 fast 2 furious' does not get better on the 2nd or 3rd viewing), stops for 5 minutes which were actually for an hour etc etc. Rant over.



BUT it was all worth it to see the Iguazu falls - to quote ourselves in a much repeated word - AMAZING. We got there at about 9am and spent the day in the national park. There were lots of walks which gave you different views of the falls but the best ones were probably the close ups of the gargantan del diablo which seems from the walkway as though there is a hole in the world and everything is collapsing into it. We spent a good part of the day just looking and being overcome with awe. Oh, and we got pretty we as well as you can see from the pictures we will put up. Its difficult to convey it in words or pictures (although we can try) but here is a you tube clip from the Planet Earth DVD we have been wearing out for the last 6 months (skip to 6 minutes 19 seconds which shows the Iguazu falls). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dRFDwqYeqs&feature=PlayList&p=A92D9B0A76531EBA&index=8



The next day we went back for the morning which is the first time we have gone back to see anything twice. From the falls we could see Paraguay and Brazil across the borders and could probably have gone to the Brazilian side of the falls but it would have been a bit tight for time and we were very happy with the Argentine side! The climate was very tropical so we had to apply lots of sun cream and deet (anti insect spray) but despite this got burnt a little bit and bitten a lot...

After coming back from Iguazu we spent 2 days in Buenos aires at a really nice hostel called Portal del sur. The best part was the rooftop bar which also had a ping pong table where Nina got some practice in for Laura and Rich's garage in Melbourne. We spent one evening in a BA institution called Guerrin which is a famous pizza place. There were lots of signed pictures of Maradonna wearing Guerrnin T-shirts so he is obviously a fan. For anyone who has been to Katz Deli in New York this is the Argentine equivalent.

But on the 23rd we came down to Villa Gesell, a mere 5 hours compared to our previous 18 hour trips to Iguazu. We travelled with company Grupo Plaza who turned up on time and delivered what they promised and all in all a comfortable ride. When we arrived we were greeted with two smiling faces - our host Martha and her little girl who spoke better English than we do Spanish. We had one of those conversations where Nina is speaking broken Spanish to an 11 year old girl who is speaking very good English and Glenn is looking at his feet in shame saying Gracias and Por Favor.

Since we arrived we have spent the day either on the balcony of our lovely room, by the pool, on the beach (20 metres from the hotel) or in the small town. Glenn wants us to mention that we spent part of christmas eve going round the shops buying a new top for Nina - or what he calls ''being dragged round for hours". Note from Nina: first shopping we have done, and replacing a top that has disintegrated and it was only about an hour...

We are enjoying going for runs and walks along the beach and the atlantic surf whilst trying to avoid the worst of the sun (and not always succeeding). Whils there is a nice amount of people in the resort, it is far from heaving, which apparently happens in January and February so we came at the right time. It is almost all Argentine tourists and everyone we speak to seems quite chuffed that we are visiting Villa Gesell, rather than Mar del Plata down the coast which we think is borderline Benidorm.

Christmas day was really nice as we managed to speak to a lot of people back home, although the phone line wasn't perfect. Our lovely hosts laid on a nice breakfast including a christmas loaf to which we helped ourselves unashamedly. We wish to document that we went for a 20 minute slow jog along the beach to offset the enormous of food we ate that day. After time by the pool and the beach, where we had our special Mendoza wine, we went to a really nice restaurant called Casa de Antonia for lots of lovely food and (more) wine.

We are spending another couple of days here before we return to BA for new year. Happy Christmas and New Year to everyone!


Nina and Glenn xx