Erin on the way to Iguazu.

Iguazu Falls are on the Iguazu River.  The river  forms part of the border between Brazil and Argentina.  There are 275 separate waterfalls spanning almost two miles.

A hike near Iguazu.  The falls are surrounded by very dense rain forest.

There are hundreds of varieties of butterflies in the rain forest and sometimes we walked in a cloud of them.  We also saw lizards, tarantulas, toucans, parrots, turtles, and caiman, a relative of the crocodile.

Iguazu from the Brazilian side.

The Devil's Throat is the largest of the falls at Iguazu.

Punta Tombo is in southern Argentina.  It is home, during the breeding season, to a huge colony of Magellanic penguins.

Riley and many penguins in Punta Tombo.

We went for a 10 mile hike outside of Stanley in the Falkland Islands.    The islands are about 400 miles off the coast of Argentina, where they are called La Islas Malvinas.  Both Great Britain and Argentina claim ownership. In 1982 Argentina sent ships and soldiers to reoccupy the islands after 200 years of British rule.

Erin, Karla, Riley and an eighty year old wrecked sailing ship in Stanley Harbour in the Falklands.                                                                      The British sent the Royal Navy to the Falklands in 1982 and quickly reoccupied the islands.  Today the Falklands have many minefields left over from the war, 3000 people and a few hundred thousand sheep.

Cape Horn (just visible behind Erin and Riley) is the southernmost tip of South America. It is the meeting point of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and is infamous for terrible weather and huge waves.  Many ships have been lost in the waters off of Cape Horn.

This is Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost town in the world.  While the weather varies between bad and worse, the area is very beautiful with mountains, glaciers and lakes.  We were able to go for a mountain hike while we were there.

A bad picture of Mount Aconcagua in the Andes.  At over 23,000 feet it is the tallest peak in the Americas.  The picture was taken from the bus on the very long ride from Santiago, Chile to Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Mendoza is a city on the eastern slope of the Andes.  Like the central valley of Chile, it is famous for great wine (and ice cream?).

The honor guard at the tomb of Jose de San Martin.  It is in the Catedral Metropolitana in Buenos Aires.  San Martin is the most revered hero in Argentina, sort of their George Washington.  (I hope you are taking notes.  We will be testing for comprehension on our return.)

The neighborhood of La Boca in Buenos Aires is home to many artists and well known for its colorfully painted buildings.

Another typical dancing couple.  Note the perfect form.

Cementario de la Recoleta has been THE place to be buried in Buenos Aires for the last 270 years- but you have to be rich, well-connected and dead to get in.  Some of the tombs are larger than a neighborhood church and have subterranean vaults so the whole family can eventually RIP.

A Buenos Aires street scene.  The city has 13,000,000 inhabitants and is really alive.  We were able to visit several times and liked it more each time.  Great people, food, art, parks, etc.. A highlight for Erin was seeing Shakira in concert at a huge soccer stadium.                                           Unfortunately Buenos Aires is also a great example of a common South American problem- a terrible distribution of wealth.  A few, phenomenally wealthy people control everything while almost 50% of the population live below the Argentine poverty level.

This is Avenida 9 de Julio.  It is often called the widest street in the world and is a traffic nightmare.  The 8 year old boy in the clown suit juggles while the traffic is stopped at the light and then tries to collect tips from the drivers before they roar off.  It is not a safe way to earn a living.

Many of the subway cars in Buenos Aires are 100 years old and wood framed. The trains are loud and hot and the connecting pedestrian tunnels are low, narrow and a bit intimidating, but it is a great, efficient system.