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In SOUTH AMERICA from October 09 to November 07, 2014

You may follow my itinerary day after day here.

09 October- Depart from Bangkok (BKK) to Doha, Qatar (DOH) : 6h15 (B773-ER)

Overnight at Hamad International Airport Hotel, DOHA, Qatar

10/10 - Long haul flight from Doha (DOH) to Sao Paulo Guarulhos Airport (GRU) : 14h15 (B772-LR)

11/10 - In SAO PAULO, BRAZIL  

Flickr album on Sao Paulo

12/10 - TAM flight from Sao Paulo (GRU) to BRASILIA (BSB) : 1h15 (A321)

-1rst afternoon walking tour of  Brasilia.

13/10 - BRASILIA, state capital DF & UNESCO World Heritage site.

- 2nd morning walking tour.

- Afternoon guided tour of the Federal District of Brasilia.

14/10 - Flying off to Salvador de Bahia in the afternoon.

- Relaxing morning at the hotel.

- TAM flight from Brasilia (BSB) to Salvador (BSB) : A320 (1h25)

- Evening in the old section of SALVADOR + lovely dinner at Maria Mata Mouro restaurant

15/10 - Full day visit in SALVADOR, a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

State of Bahia

16/10 - SALVADOR DE BAHIA.

- Quiet relaxing morning till after 10:00AM

- Scheduled tour of the Peninsula in an open bus from 11:00AM till 05:00PM

17/10 - Flying on to Rio de Janeiro in the morning 

- It takes 1h45 to fly to Rio on A320 of TAM

- But to go from Airport to Copacabana takes almost 2h!

- Afternoon drink on Copacabana beach & evening dinner at Ipanema. 

18/10 - RIO DE JANEIRO

- Morning at Sugar Loaf Mountain.

- Afternoon at Copacabana.

19/10 - RIO DE JANEIRO

- Full day trip to Corcovado.

- Dinner on Copacabana.

20/10 - Flying on to Belo Horizonte from Santos-Dumont Airport in the morning.

- TAM flight fro Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont (SDU) to Belo Horizonte-Confins Airport (CNF) A319 (50mn). 

- Budget car-rent from BELO HORIZONTE to OURO PRETO, Minas Gerais (almost 3 hours with a coffee stop in the mountains).  

- Evening discovery of OURO PRETO.

21/10 - Full day in OURO PRETO and nearby MARIANA, UNESCO World Heritage sites of Minas Gerais.

22/10 - Flying back to Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont Airport in the afternoon.

- Morning: drive back from Ouro Preto to Belo Horizonte-Confins Airport (CNF).

- Afternoon: TAM flight to Rio-Santos-Dumont Airport (SDU): A319 (50mn).

- Novotel Santos-Dumont & visit of downtown RIO DE JANEIRO

23/10 - Evening flight to Santa Catarina Island in southern Brazil.

- Morning: visit of historic center of RIO DE JANEIRO.  

- Late afternoon TAM flight to Florianopolis, on Santa Catarina Island: A320 (1h15). 

- Budget car-rent (2 days) > drive to downtown Florianopolis at Cecomtur Htl.

24/10 - SANTA CATARINA ISLAND : driving tour of northern island.
- Morning walk at Florianopolis.
- Lunch at 'Chao Batido' at Santo Antonio de Lisboa.
- Dinner at 'Books & Beers' at Lagoa da Conceiçao.

25/10 - SANTA CATARINA ISLAND : driving tour of southern island.
- Lunch on a beach near the Azorean village of Armaçao (18th c) on east coast.
- Afternoon coffee at another Azorean village on west coast, Ribeirao da Ilha.
- Dinner with a spectacular view at the top of Cecomtur Hotel in Florianopolis.

26/10 - Morning departure to Curitiba by coach.

- Dep. Florianopolis at 08:30am by VIP coach + drive along Coastal Range & Atlantic rainforest via Itajal & Joinville + Arr. Curitiba at 1:30pm.
- Taxi to Ibis-Centro Civico & afternoon walking tour of town.

27/10 - Full day in CURITIBA: planning tour of area w. 'Linha Turismo' (double-decker open tourist bus.
- Overnight journey to Foz do Iguaçu at 9:00pm with VIP-coach.

28/10 - Full day at FOZ do IGUAÇU.

- Coach arr. at 6:00am + taxi to IBIS Htl.

- Morning visit of Iguazu Falls at the Park (UNESCO World Heritage Natural Site & New 7th Wonders of the World).

- Return to hotel in the afternoon. 

- Dinner at 'Laos' Restaurant with some Asian food!

29/10 - Commute by city bus to Puerto Iguazu in ARGENTINA to visit the other side of the Falls. 

- Morning city bus to Ciudad del Este, PARAGUAY for a quick visit.

- Morning city bus to Puerto Iguazu, ARGENTINA.

- Walking tour & lunch in Puerto Iguazu.

- Full afternoon excursion to Iguazu Falls, Argentine side.

- Argentine dinner at 'A Piacere' Restaurant with live Argentine music.

30/10 - Bus trip to San Ignacio, Jesuit Missions area.

- Quiet, relaxing morning at Hotel Yreta II. 

Cover of the movie 'The Mission'

-Dep. Puerto Iguazu 12:45PM with Cruzero del Norte / arr. San Ignacio, 'Misiones' 5:30PM.
- At San Ignacio Adventure Hostel + rent mountain bike to explore surroundings and watch sunset.
- Dinner at hostel with a bottle of nice red Argentine wine.

31/10 - Full day at SAN IGNACIO.
- AM visit of SAN IGNACIO MINI, a Jesuit Mission, now a UNESCO World Heritage site (ARP90)

- Lunch at restaurant near the ruins.
- Relaxing afternoon by the pool.
- Night trip to Buenos Aires w. Cruzero del Norte VIP bus. Dep. 6:15PM. Overnight aboard coach, via POSADAS.

01/11 - BUENOS AIRES (Day 1)
- Arr. 08:30AM at Retiro Bus Terminal. It took 14h to cover a distance of 1,097.5km in a super VIP coach.

- Taxi from Retiro Bus Terminal to El Conquistador Htl. in Micro Centro (ARS132).
- Morning walking tour on Avenida 9 de Julio to see the Obelisco & Teatro Colon.
- Lunch at Chinese restaurant.
- Afternoon walking tour of Centro & part of Retiro.
- Evening on Florida Street, the pedestrian shopping area of Buenos Aires + denier at Chilean restaurant.

02/11 - BUENOS AIRES (Day 2)
- Morning in Micro Centro due to rain + light lunch at Teater Colon
- Taxi to La Boca + walk in the area with a light Tango show + coffee in an old Argentinian café.
- Dinner at El Conquistador Htl. due to rain.

03/11 - Day tour: B.A. [boat] > Colonia, URUGUAY [coach] + Montevideo + back to Colonia [coach] > B.A. [boat]

From Buenos Aires to Colonia by ferry

From Colonia to Montevideo by coach

Rio de la Plata: from Montevideo to Buenos Aires

Buquebus Catamaran express service

- 8:30AM departure to Colonia, URUGUAY by catamaran ferry + coach to Montevideo (160km)

- Visit of Montevideo

- Due to weather conditions, direct catamaran ferry was canceled / had to go back to Buenos Aires same route as in the morning.

- Back to El Conquistador Htl. at midnight!

04/11 - Full day in BUENOS AIRES (Day 3)

- Relaxing morning at hotel & vicinity

- 01:00PM : English guided tour of Teatro Colón

- Lunch at restaurant near Teatro Cervantés.

- Walking tour of Recoleta, including the cemetery (w. Evita Péron's tomb) & Recoleta Church.

- Taxi back to this area in evening for Argentinian meat dinner at Montana restaurant + wine at a nearby bar.

05/11 - Last full day in BUENOS AIRES (Day 4) & evening departure flight to Sao Paulo w. Qatar Airways.

- Qatar Airways B-772-LR leaves Buenos Aires [EZE] Airport on time to Sao Paulo [GRU] : flying time 2 hours.

- Technical failure prevents the flight to continue on schedule for almost 3 hours. 

06/11 - Flying time from Sao Paulo [GRU] to Doha [DOH]: 13h50'

- Nearly caught the connecting flight to Bangkok

Qatar Airways flying route from Buenos Aires [EZE] to Doha [DOH] via Sao Paulo [GRU]

07/11 - Connecting Qatar Airways flight B-773-ER from Doha [DOH] to Bangkok [BKK] : 5h50.

End of a fantastic 30-D tour of South America across 4 countries: BRAZIL, PARAGUAY, ARGENTINA & URUGUAY.

Sao Paulo, Brasilia, Salvador, Rio, Ouro Preto, Florianopolis,  Curitiba & Foz do Iguaçu

Ciudad del Este

Colonia & Montevideo

Puerto Iguazu, San Ignacio & Buenos Aires