20D South America Whirlwind Tour Iguazu, Macchu Pichu etc

[Boringchap]

My parents decided to complete something on their bucket list - visit South America, which incidentally is very far from Singapore.  So they booked a 20 Day South American tour from a Singapore travel agency and off they went.  They had a blast, though the itinerary was very hectic, they still saw many sights within a very short period of time.  Thank God they are safe and didn't fall ill from all that hectic travelling.  Then, my Dad passed me his pictures/videos from his trip, all 60+GB of it, and now I'm going through the pics/vids and seeing what videos I can make out of them.  Very cool. 

 

Their entry and exit point into South America was San Paulo, Brazil.  The flight there was with Singapore Airlines. (Singapore - Barcelona - San Paulo) and return.  During the tour, they had 6-7 internal flights, as well as a short flight to see the Nasca Lines as well as a helicopter ride to see Iguazu Falls from the air.

 

Let me start with the helicopter ride to the Iguazu Falls, which I found to be fascinating.  I have not sat a helicopter before.  This is what the helicopter looks like - 7 seater plus pilot. It was an optional tour for them but more than half their tour group chose to take it.  The cost was 200USD per person for a 10 minute flight.

 

The view of the Falls from the air would be pretty awesome.

 

Quite stunning, even from a still photo.

 

My dear mother commented that it looked like a big bathtub.

 

Another shot.

 

The ride was really very short.  Oh well, they enjoyed it while it lasted and my Dad was pretty pleased he got some decent video footage which I have put together here.  Includes taking off and helicopter landing. Pretty cool stuff, at least to me, because I've never been on a helicopter in my life.  Enjoy the video!

 

Since we are on the topic of Iguazu, I had a look to see what type of pics/videos my Dad took for the flight to get to Iguazu. He told me that they took LAN Airlines and the flight was almost 2 hours. ( I googled, 1hr 45 min).  They flew from Buenos Aires to Iguazu airport.  I found some video footage and pictures, so here goes.

 

This is the video.  Take off from Buenos Aires, Landing at Iguazu and some stills contained in the video.

 

This picture must have been taken from the aircraft window as they were taxi-ing.

 

They were booked in Economy but before take-off, the cabin crew told some of them to move up to Business class because "the plane was not balanced'. Who would say no?  Nice pose. 

 

I asked Dad what food he got to eat in Business class.  Well, they were not served with the Business class food.  The crew brought the economy class snacks for them.  Oh well, can't complain too much.  They didn't pay for Business class anyway. Other passengers. Looked like a 2-2- configuration in business class.

 

Looked like it was raining slightly when they landed.  The terminal had just 2 aerobridges.  It is not a big airport. 

[Boringchap]

Now let's take a look at the Iguazu Falls from the Argentinian side.  After my parents landed at Iguazu airport, it was time to head to the Falls.  This is the video which shows the first part where they reach the entrance to the Falls (Argentinian side), sit a tram, then take what looked to be a relatively long walk along bridges right up to the awesome Devil's Throat.  

 

Here are some still photos. This was the entrance. 

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Time to put on your protective gear.  Probably going to get a bit wet. 

 

They had to take some small tram towards the Falls.  They were headed to the Devil's Throat.

 

Off the tram goes....

 

Off the tram and now walking towards Devil's Throat. Of course, there were tourists walking back too.

 

Approaching the Devil's Throat.  Looks like plenty of water today.  Very cloudy too.

 

 

[Lala81]

nice. Off the beaten track definitely for us singaporeans.

[Boringchap]

nice. Off the beaten track definitely for us singaporeans.

 

Yeah, their trip was very strenuous (7 internal flights, always waking up very early) but thank God they could keep up with the pace. 

And here is the video footage when they finally got to the point where they could see the Devil's Throat up close and personal.  Looks to me like there was plenty of water.  The water plumes coming out made everything so misty that ironically you couldn't see the entire waterfall!

 

Here are some stills. See the water plumes

 

Whoa.  Not a day to go swimming.

 

Be careful, don't drop anything in.

 

A map of the park.

 

After viewing the Argentinian side of the park, they would make their way to the Brazil side and view the Falls from the Brazil side the next day.  Not sure whether they stayed in a hotel that evening in the Argentinian side or Brazil side, however, they took a coach across.  So let me continue the review again from the Brazil side.  This was the next morning, after they saw the Devil's Throat.

 

Here it is - Parque Nacional Do Iguacu, website http://www.cataratasdoiguacu.com.br/

 

Now this ticket is one for the memories.  Check out the date.  And also - Cingapura!

 

The group had to take some type of open-air jeep ride and there was a guide talking about the flora and fauna, before they reached the area to view the falls. This is the video. The scenes of the waterfalls are awesome.  Much better from the Brazil side compared to the Argentinian side!

 

Here are some more still pictures.

 

Wow, just wow.

 

You can get really close.

 

After viewing all these pictures, I figured that I need to go to check it out for myself!  Bucket list!

 

[Boringchap]

My parents and their tour group went for a boat ride too, and they told me that they got absolutely soaked in this one.  Getting into the boat.  If you look at the top right of this picture, there seems to be some tram or something.  I asked my Father and he had no clue what that was.  In fact, he hadn't noticed it at all until I pointed it out to him in this picture.  If anybody has any clue, do let me know!  

 

Here is a video of the boat ride. 

 

Some more stills. Boat, all ready to go.

 

Picture of another boat.  That's how they look like.

 

Approaching the Falls.  Must be very awesome!

 

Please don't drop your phone Madam!

 

The Falls from a distance.

 

 

[Boringchap]

Alright, I am not covering my parents' trip in order.  Based on the footage given tto me, Rio de Janeiro was towards the end of their trip.  So let's start.  This is the visit to the most famous Christ the Redeemer (Christo Redentor) statue.

 

I believe this image was taken from their tour coach.

 

My Dad did mention all the grafitti that he saw.

 

Looked like they were crossing the road. 

 

On the way to the tram station.

 

Quite a crowd.

 

Where to get our tickets?

 

 

And here is a video of the tram ride up. 

 

A picture of the ticket.

 

A map inside the tram.

 

Reached the station.

 

 

 

[Boringchap]

And here is a video of the tram ride up. 

 

A picture of the ticket.

 

A map inside the tram.

 

Reached the station.

 

And here is a video of the peak!  Bright and sunny day. Great weather.

 

And some more photos.

 

And the famous statue.

 

From the side.

 

If you watch the video, you will see that the place was very crowded.

 

I wonder how many people visit this attraction every year. 

 

[Boringchap]

This was in Rio de Janeiro.  The Cathedral, rather unique in design.

 

[Icedbs]

Thanks for sharing. Lovely photos and videos.

[Camrysfa]

Thanks for sharing.....have not been there yet ...... south american tours are relatively more expensive and need lots more days.

 

[Spurman]

Great job for posting these fantastic pics n vids up.......

[Boringchap]

Thanks for the positive feedback.  As I wrote in the first post, this trip was done by my parents (now retired).  It was something on their bucket list and better go earlier rather than later!  It certainly took many days and the cost wasn't exactly cheap, but I think worthwhile doing. 

 

Some more videos.  This time of the Sugarloaf mountain in Rio de Janeiro.  Bright and sunny day, with awesome views from the peak.  Go up by cable car.

 

Here is part 1 - taking the cable car up. 

 

Here is part 2. Views from the peak, and taking the cable car back down. 

[Rayleigh]

Thanks for sharing. Very insightful and more importantly, majestic views. Would put this trip in my bucket list too. How much does this trip cost?

[Fitvip]

 

Now let's take a look at the Iguazu Falls from the Argentinian side.  After my parents landed at Iguazu airport, it was time to head to the Falls.  This is the video which shows the first part where they reach the entrance to the Falls (Argentinian side), sit a tram, then take what looked to be a relatively long walk along bridges right up to the awesome Devil's Throat.  

 

Here are some still photos. This was the entrance. 

[

 

Time to put on your protective gear.  Probably going to get a bit wet. 

 

They had to take some small tram towards the Falls.  They were headed to the Devil's Throat.

 

Off the tram goes....

 

Off the tram and now walking towards Devil's Throat. Of course, there were tourists walking back too.

 

Approaching the Devil's Throat.  Looks like plenty of water today.  Very cloudy too.

 

 

Thanks for sharing. Notice the water is very murky.

[Boringchap]

Thanks for sharing. Very insightful and more importantly, majestic views. Would put this trip in my bucket list too. How much does this trip cost?

 

The base price was $13K SGD.  Then there were options (e.g. helicopter ride not included) plus tips etc... so around $15K per pax.

Thanks for sharing. Notice the water is very murky.

 

Yes, very. 

Edited May 2, 2016 by Boringchap

[L_club23]

I wanna see Machu Pichu.

Edited May 3, 2016 by L_club23

[Francis-jack]

nice read n vids