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Summer in Sweden 1996

Winter in Sweden 1996

Chico - English Springer Spanial

Christmas 1998 and Iguazo falls

Christmas day 1998 (four animated pics=slow)

Liana's first communion Apr 1999

Grillparty in Torres, Brazil. Guests at Fabio Ballens summer house.

Dec 1998: Christmas in Argentina - Iguazo falls
We were lucky to have my parents and my sister with boyfriend during Christmas. We decided to make the most of Argentina and to show them all the beautiful parts of this vast country. That means that they were treated to enjoy not only the Iguazou water falls, but also downtown Recoleta and the Tango, Gauchos (cowboys) and Churrascos (barbeque) and many more parts. We even had time to take the ferry over the widest river in the world, Rio de La Plata, to visit Uruguay.

Showing the traffic in Buenos Aires is however not a good idea. Unfortunately there is not much fun in driving in BsAs. They have some of the widest streets like the "9 Julio" and "Libertador", but they also have some of the worst drivers. There is very little respect towards a fellow car, and pedestrians are considered a legal target. Luckily, living in the suburb of La Lucila, you have the option of using the local train, built by the English, to go directly downtown.

[Christmas dinner] It is not normal for a Swede to celebrate Christmas without snow. Here we found ourselves in a terrible heat as the summer is just starting and all the "summer vacations" are kicking in. We adopted, as best as we could, and enjoyed an Argentinean churrasco (barbecue again!). This is done in the "Quincho" part of the garden, which normally consists of a enormous grill, preferably under some roof. The meat is simple fantastic here.
This picture is from the Christmas dinner.

[Baptizing dress] On December 25th we visited the Swedish church in Buenos Aires. It was time to baptize Christian, now three months old. We were accompanied by several older but strong adversaries of the Swedish connection and traditions. It was a strange feeling, baptizing Christian, now an Argentinean citizen, in the Swedish Church of BsAs.



[Baptizing Christian ] [Farmor Kerstin med Christian] He wore the traditional Stjernberg baptize dress, that Johan also have worn, when he was baptized some years ago.


IGUAZO FALLS

Before New Year we went to Igauzo falls bordering with Brazil in the north east of Argentina. We had ordered a charter trip for the whole family. December is a very hot time to visit, and the water levels are usually much lower than during peak season. We had arranged a complete visit. First on the Argentinean side to walk along the fall and later on the Brazilian side to actually see were we walked....
Igauzo falls are one of the miracles of the world. At any some time there are mountains of water passing through the huge and very wide falls. The Argentinean side is more beautiful, but can be enjoyed better from the Brazilian side. Why argue, visit both sides. [Panoramic view of Iguazo falls. I used 3 shots for this one image...]

[La Garganta del Diablo] The actual visit started on the Argentinean side. You can walk on bridges along the falls all the way to the large falls in the middle. That part is called "La garganta del Diablo" - "The Devil's throat". Unfortunately some parts of the bridges had been washed away (!?) and boats had to be used. The heat was tremendous and with the constant humidity it is really unbearable. The one suffering the most was Christian. He suddenly started drinking water and he never stopped. You can tell from the pictures that it was very hot. Christian is wearing nothing but his diapers, here in the arm of his godmother, Helena.
[Iguazo falls]



Another important part of the visit is the jungle tour. You take a long trip on top of a truck through the jungle. You see huge spiders trying to catch dinner before reaching the river downstream. Yes, there you take a small boat going upstream until you are (almost) under the falls. Warning, cameras get wet and hats blow off!
The view of the falls are breathtaking. You feel the enourmous pressure and sound of the falls and there is a mist of water everywhere.

On the Brazilian side you can walk out on on bridges on the lower side of the falls. During rain seasons it is impossible to get out on these bridges. Luckily the water is not high in December.

We also visited a small stone mine where famous stones are excavated (by hand). [Christian in bus, talking to Bob...] On the Brazilian side the city, Foc de Igauzo, was created when the huge damn between Paraguay and Brazil was built. We went there and actually stepped on Paraguayan sole before heading back to our hotel, Decameron. Simply perfect hotel with everything included.

Travelling with little Christian worked very well. We were at bit worried at first but, as always, it turned out to work fine. As a matter of fact, from that moment he has been stealing the show more and more.