The people joining us on this tour are: Jhangir, Billy, Murtaza, Hanif, Ansa, Kadi, Ash and Tani (M). Murtaza and Kadi join us after missing the infamous Dubai tour. Ansa joins us for the first time. Ash and Tani from Middlesborough are season tour members and have travelled with us on all previous tours.

Lets have a big boo for the spoilsports who chickened out of this tour: Babar, Raf, Amar, Naz, Tariq, Nazakat, Fayoom and Farrukh. Guys, if you are reading this - we are not coming to Cyprus - never! 

We traveled on the 1 hr flight to Paris and then changed over to the Chile flight which was 14 hrs on Air France. Phew, what a flight and a half. Apparently Kadi stuffed himself with dodgy food and fell ill badly in the middle of the night only to recover after 2 hrs. He had 4 tuna sandwiches at Billy's house, 2 more tuna sandwiches on the Paris flight, 3 more on the take off for Chile. Then he had the full meal. In the middle of the night he was in absolute agony and the air staff had to adminster tablets. These did not do any good and it was'nt until he went to toilet and was sick that he recovered. Even after suffering this much he did not learn his lesson - he ate a dodgy fish product for breakfast before we landed which gave him more bother.

We arrived in Santiago at 9:30am and arived at our hotel soon afterwards.

We are safe and sound. More later.

After arriving at the hotel, we rested for a couple of hours and then headed out to find lunch. As it was sunday most of the places were closed. We found one place open which appeared to do good Chilean food. We went in and ordered various fish dishes although myself and Tani stuck to salad as we were concerned about the Halal aspect. Everybody enjoyed the food until we were presented with the bill - a cool 100 GBP. We could not understand how we had racked up a bill so huge. We showed the bill to an English guy who was dining there and he confirmed that it was correct. Well that was the whole day's budget blown on lunch.

After lunch we departed on a city tour of Santiago with a tour company which was not cheap either. Problems started right at the start when Murtaza went missing. He had just gone to make a telephone call and did not return on time. We voted to leave him behind and proceed with the tour without him but then decided that was too cruel; we waited and he eventually turned up.  On tour we saw most of the historical buildings in Santiago as well as some parks and other tourtist attractions. On the whole some of the lads got bored and memories of Dubai city tour came back. When we visited the cathedral and returned to the bus Murtaza was missing. Again we had to wait for him. When he did turn up we gave him a final warning that he must not drift off again otherwise we would leave him behind. Anyway we finished the tour and ended up in a supermarket to buy water and other things. As always, some of the lads got lost and we had to send a search party inside to find them; they also got lost. It was some time before everybody was found and we returned to the hotel.

In the evening we decided that we order some pizzas. We telephoned the Pizza Hut which did not have any of the popular pizzas, french fries or side dishes that we are used to; so we ended up ordering 5 plain and vegetarian pizzas at a cost of 50 quid. We ate the pizza in Jahngir's room but left Kadi upstairs as he was having stomach problems again. When one of the lads went to check him and offer him a slice of pizza, he took 2 slices and then the whole pizza even though he was in pain. I heard his bathroom was pretty busy at night.

The group planned to go to the coastline the next day but the quotes we received were just too high. We decided that we would shop around on Monday.

After breakfast in the hotel we decided that we would send out 2 search parties to shop around for better prices on the tours. Jhangir, Tani and HRH Prince Yousaf went their way; myself, Murtaza and Billy headed to downtown Santiago; the rest of them decided that it was just too much effort to get out of their hotel rooms. We found the tourist information after a while and got some information on what places to visit; at last we found someone who could speak English and knew what he was talking about.

The problem here it is very hard to find someone who speaks English. Murtaza speaks a little Spanish and he has come in handy at times although we dont like to give credit to him. Also the prices here are sky-high; everything from food to taxis to buses to clothes is expensive - its like being in London or Paris. We are keeping our wallets tightly sealed in this city.

We got some sandwiches from Subway and all met back at the hotel. We decided that it was too late to go on any tour today as some of the lads would not agree to any plan, "narrrrrr,...... narrr....". We decided that we would go on tour next day but today we would do our own itenrary. Billy, Jhang and Tani headed for some mountain resort whilst myself and Murtaza decided to catch a bus and go the coastline. After a little underground ride we reached the bus station where we told that it would take 2.5 hrs for us to reach the coastline and it would be too late to return. So we decided against that and walked around the city before returning to the hotel. Billy lot caught a public bus and did not get very far becaue the bus was stopping too often, they looked to reach their destination the following Monday. So they abandoned their plan and also returned to the hotel. The rest of them, you know who, stayed back at the hotel and boringly sat by the side of the miniture swimming pool (when I say miniture, I mean small, very small). But having said that the hotel is of very high standard and the staff  very friendly. Ok, you ask - it was Ansa, Ash, Kadi who stayed behind.

In the evening we decided that we just could not go on without proper roti and a curry. So we set out on a wild goose chase through the streets of Santiago. Tani and HRH Prince Yousaf claimed that they had seen a resturant called Bombay Cafe somehere in the old city. So we caught 3 taxis at a cost of 12 quid and headed to the said destination only to find that the 'Three Mosquitos' (Tani, HRH Yousaf and Jhang) did not know where this Bombay Cafe was. So we started walking around taking a right here and a left there. This went on for about 45 mins yet we still had not found the place. Tempers were getting high and arguments ensued but the Three Mosquitos were determined to find Bombay Cafe. Murtaza told them that he had been told that cafes in Chile are not cafes as such but other establishments but the lads would not listen and continued in the search. We carried on walking for a about 2 hrs when we were about to give up and head back to the hotel and go for a pizza. HRH Prince Yousaf got terrible angry as he was finding it difficult to walk all that distance. Some of us were enjoying the walk; it was a beautiful night and walking through the centre of Santiago was one awesome scene but most of them had no taste for that, they were obessesed with finding the cafe.

Then we bumped into a guy who looked Indian and spoke Hindi. We asked him where to find Bombay Cafe. He told us, with a giggle, to forget about Bombay cafe and he would show us an Indian restuarant. We followed him down a couple of blocks and into a big hotel called the Majestic. Entering this hotel/resturant we found that it was Indian and they cooked traditional curries although they told us that they had no halal food. Anyway we sat down and ordered various vegetarian dishes. I could not bring myself to eat even vegetables so ordered a paratha. We finished the meal, paid about 70 quid and left the place to head back to the hotel. Finding taxis home proved difficult at that time of the night. We eventually found 2 taxis and most of the lads got in and headed back. Myself, Jhang and Murtaza were left behind. As we could not flag down a taxi we headed towards the old city to find a taxi rank. Jhang was not comfortable with this idea; he was afraid that we would get attacked. Walking past a few blocks we came across a policemean who we asked directions. He gave us the directions but warned us that it was dangerous to travel in that part of the city at that time of the night. Jhang became even more afraid and could no longer walk, his legs were shaking with fear. Anyway we found a taxi and reached the hotel. 

We contacted a tour company and arranged a trip to the coast for Tuesday even though some of the lads were not in agreement. They just cant seem to agree on where to go, some of them just want to stay in the hotel and sleep. Great! Thats a great way to spend your holiday having travelled 7,500 miles to come here. Whatever takes their fancy I suppose. 

After breakfast in the hotel, we boarded the tour minibus and departed for the coastal areas of Viña del Mar and Valparaiso. The trip took 2 hrs to reach Valparaiso where we first stopped off at the house of Pablo Neruda who was a Chilian poet, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. After this we travelled around the town and saw historical places. This town was a fascinating place full of colourful and historical houses perched on hillsides. Houses in shades of yellow, red, green and purple and all shades in between filled the densely populated hillsides. Below we could see the city centre, the port and the beaches. This was a historical port city dating back to the 16th century which was successful until the construction of the Panama canal which re-directed most of the shipping traffic. Nowadays it is a tourist town.

Leaving Valparaiso we headed for Vina de Mar which we reached after about 20 mins. There, we were dropped off at the beach. We made ourselves comfortable on the beach and planned to swim in the Pacific Ocean for the first time although I have tasted the Pacific; me being a seasoned traveller. We found a sandwiche shop where we bought very tasty salad sandwiches - the first decent food I had since Sunday. Anyway, the Three Mosquitos and myself walked around the beach-front. HRH Prince Yousaf wanted to go to the toilet so we gatecrashed into MacDonalds. We asked Jhang to look at the menu so to show interest as HRH Yousaf and myself went to the toilet. Apparently there is no point going to McDonalds in this country - they dont server fish fillet or vegetarian food. We went into the toilet and relieved ourselves. As we were washing our hands, we saw 3 women stood at the door shouting their heads off. We could not understand what they were saying but we guessed that we had mistakenly used the ladies. With our heads down we ran out of McDonalds.

We got picked up by the minibus at 3:30pm and headed back to Santiago. En route we stopped at one of the many wineries. We looked around but refused a tasting session or to buy wine. A bit of a disaster for the tour guide who was expecting us to buy wine so he could get a commission.

We reached back at the hotel early evening. After a short rest Billy and Jhang tried to arrange a tour to the south. This area has some of the most beautiful scenery, facilities for trekking, horse riding and rafting. Through the hotel reception they tried various options but the quotes we got were all too high, so we decided to give this a miss and stay in the hotel on Wednesday (for a change). In any case some of the lads were not too keen to go; they reckoned they could do horse-riding back in the UK, they could do rafting in Barnsley and trekking on the Yorkshire Moores. So there was no point really. I mean what is the point of flying 7,500 miles to Chile and doing these activities when we could do them back home? So the trip was cancelled the lads headed out on the town in 2 teams- that the young'uns in one team and the old gimmers Three Mosquitos in the other team.

Tuesday was a mixed day. Ash wake up in the night and said 'right lads I am going to bed' before walking out of the room. The lads saw this and caught up with him outside the room and brough him back to his bed. He was later heard talking about cement in his sleep.

Some of us decided to go to the mountains on a break-away tour. We asked several tour companies and taxis but could not get a reasonable price. So we decided to give that a miss and walk around town and the main park. We returned to the hotel later in the afternoon and took advantage of the swimming pool and sauna.

In the evening we returned to the Indian restuarant and had more curries. I stuck to the paratha.

Here is a video of our stay in Chile: 

Wednesday we got up early and headed for the airport. Arriving at Santiago airport we checked in and departed for Buenos Aires (Argentina). We reached Buenos Aires around lunchtime and checked into our classical 1920s hotel. The rooms and decor is not great, for us anyway; suits more the Oscar Wilde types.

Afte a short rest, we headed out to the city to change money and find some food. One of the lads (lets not names) changed his money at the hotel only to realise later that he had been given fake notes. When I left the hotel, the group of them were arguing with the receptionist. I think we may have to go to the police to sort these people out. Lets see how this pans out.

Thursday the evening we sussed out an Indian restaurant. After a short taxi drive we reached the Khatmandu Indian restaurant where we went for curry dishes (again). The manager, from Jaipur, India, was reluctant to give us a table as he was fully booked due to Valentines day. Anyway he accommodated us and we ordered some vegetarian dishes which were not exactly paletable. The ghulab jamuns were like black snooker balls dripping with some kind syrup. Suffice to say that some of the lads developed stomach problems overnight.

When we returned to the hotel a meeting was called in which it was unanimously decided to boycott the break-away Cyprus tour in autumn 2008. Other colleagues joined us from Dewsbury, via video link, who also made a pledge to boycott the Cyprus tour.

The hotel manager refused to offer an acceptable resolution to the fake note issue. So we told him that articles about his hotel are going to be written in various magazines. He did'nt seem to be much bothered. So the Castekar hotel is one to aviod.

Friday morning was free. We went on our way to shop around and figure out the city. A bit of a problem crossing the roads in Buenos Aires as the roads are so wide. The main road outside our hotel has 20 lanes and takes 5-10 mins to cross.

In the afternoon we went on a tour by coach. We reached a place in old Buenos Aires where we caught a tourist train and tavelled past 4 stations after which we got off and had a look around a touristy place. The tour bus cameraman followed us around focusing in each of us hoping that we would all buy a DVD afterwards. Little did he know that he had no chance as I was also making a video on my little camcorder. We returned to the coach and reached a pier where we boarded a boat. The boat travelled through a serious of waterways which take water from the river and form the Delta. The waterways are lined by hundreds of wooden houses which are used by locals as holiday homes. The tour lasted about 1-10hrs after which we returned to the coach and headed for the hotel.

In the evening Tani and myself decided to find one of the 3 mosques which are reputed to be in the city. After a rather long walk we realised that we were nowhere near; so we caught the underground and eventually reached our destination only to find that the security guard would not allow us to go in. He told us something in Spanish we could not understand. Eventualy he gave us the adress of another mosque. It was getting late as we were all supposed to meet in the hotel; so we caught the metro back.

When we met in the hotel lobby it was decided that we were not going to go for a meal together. Instead the youngúns were going to go separately leaving us old folks to fend for ourselves. The Three Mosquitos (Jhang, Tani and HRH Prince Yousaf) and myself decided that we would not be defeated and would try to find a mosque. So we got into a taxi and asked to be taken to a place where there was reputed to be a lage mosque. The taxi driver knew about the mosque and got us there after a rather long drive. We arrived at the King Fahd Mosque, a mosque of huge size where made our way inside. After wudu we were approached by one of the officials who asked where we were from. After a short discussion, he told us that we must join them for dinner as they provide free food every Friday. We agreed (reluctantly, of course) and got stuck into the roast beef, salad and spicy rice. This was a Godsend! HRH Yousaf and myself went through a couple of plates each. The Imam of the mosque, a Saudi man, joined us and asked us where we were from etc. We then joined Maghrib prayer and returned to the hotel by taxi. Tani and Jhang were still hungry, so went to a pizza place where we went through a vegetarian pizza and a few other snacks.

The others had a pizza near the hotel and hit town.

Well, Billy messed up again and failed to book a trip. We were supposed to go on a Goucho-cowboy tour but Billy had failed to telephone the tour operator in time. So Saturday was a free day again.

The young'uns stayed in the hotel and went shopping later. Myself, the Three Mosquitos, Ashy and Murtaza went downtown to get some money changed. It was a fair walk to get to the Florida area where there were Bureau de Changes. We changed the money and had a bit a to eat in Burger King. HRH Prince Yousaf was getting rather upset over something (probably over having to walk), so we sent him back to the hotel with Ashy. The rest of us headed to the zoo on the metro.

We travelled on the metro to the zoo. When we got there Tani noticed that all his money was missing from his pocket. He had earllier change 100 dollars (50 quid) an put the money in his jean pockets but it had gone walkies. We conclude that someone must have picked his pocket while on the busy metro or maybe he just dropped it.

We visited the zoo where we saw a white tiger and a seal show amongst other things. We hear that white tigers are rare but we keep seeing them in every zoo we go to. We then proceed to the Japanese gardens; it was Murtaza's idea to take a gentle stroll around these gardens. It is reputed that the gardens were a gift to the city of Buenos Aires. When we reached the gate we had to pay 5 pesos (65p): so much for a gift park. Those donors must have been damn skingy. Anyway on entering the park we realised it was heaving with Goths; they were everywhere and there was hardly any room to walk. Apparently they were having some kind of convention there and literally taken over the gardens. We left as soon as we entered as we could not walk for the number of these people - so much for a gentle stroll, Murtaza.

We then headed for the planetarium after which we caught a taxi back to the hotel. There was no team meal tonight so we went in different directions. I walked down to the marina area and walked a good 3-4 miles in the beautiful Puerto Madera area which is very similar, if not better, to the Thames riverside walk in London. Everybody had a early night as there was a trip planned for Sunday. In the heat of the moment Tani turned poet for the night. An except from his first poem about Murti (Murtaza) follows; he also took up horse racing commentary as you will see later.

Murti went to sleep at 6:30,
he woke up the next morning at 8:30.

The rest of the poem is being penned as I write this blog.

Sorry for the delays in updates. Internet cafes are everywhere but acces is very flakey; its a nightmare updating the blog.

We returned back to the hotel in the late afternoon. After a little rest the lads went  downtown to do some late shopping. It is fairly expensive here so not much to buy. This was the last night here so everybody was told to get up early for departure to Iguazu Falls.

Here is a video of our time in Argentina:

Monday we boarded the late plane at the local airport and headed to Iguazu Falls in Argentina. After a 1.5 hrs flight we arrived at the destination. We were picked up and taken to our 5-Star hotel. We decided that since we only had 1.5 days here we would sort out the trips immediately and ensure that we used the time to best effect.

We got Billy and Jhang to book the trip for today and tomorrow with the hotel guide and lets get on with it. After a short swim in the 3 super 5-star pools we changed and left for Iguazu Falls on Brazil side. Crossing Argentina immigration and then Brazil side we stopped at a place where they did helicopter flights over the falls. Some of us decided to have a go at 40 quid for 10 mins flight. Four of the lads declined the offer of going up in the helicopter. We all boarded the helicopter and flew over the falls watching spectacular views. We all agreed that this was most brilliant thing we had ever done. When we got back we told the others how great the flight was; they got a bit upset and one person had a dig at the arrangments which went on for the best part of the trip. We then arrived at the Iguazu national park. We walked along a trail and saw the falls from diferent places, getting nearer and nearer. We eventually ended up right in front of the falls through a walkway. This spectaular view was, in Ashy´s words, "Out of this world". Ashy went on to say, "This tour has been the best I have been on. The tour has been getting better and better  and this is the finale although we still have one more city to visit . I will never forget this day for the rest of my life."

After seeing the falls and taking photos, we returned to the hotel to freshen up. A short swim in the 5-star (Babir, notice 5-star, thats FIVE STAR) swimming pools and we were away for evening dinner in the hotel's 5-star restaurant. The lads are still eating as I write this.

Sadly Tani's poem has not finished yet. We will keep you updated along with news of nominations of Noble prize for poetry.

Tuesday we left our 5-star hotel and visited the Iguazu falls again, this time on the Argentinian side. We reached the national park entrance, walked a few hundred yards and then boarded a train. The train took us to anothe part of the park where we joined walkways. These walkways took us, over the flowing water, to the mouth of the waterfalls. The scene was absolutely awesome - we are were literally standing right in front of the great waterfalls at the top. Whilst taking photos, we got drenched with the showers from the falls. After a while we walked back to the train and reached another station. Here we boarded a lorry which carried us through the jungle to a riverside station. 

Here we waited around an hour for a speedboat to arrive. When our turn came, we put on our life jackets and put all our stuff into dry bags. The boat set off at a brisk pace upstream. Picking up speed the driver gave us some thrills. As we approached the falls the boat started top go faster and faster and thrills came in thick and fast. The boat homed in on of the smaller waterfalls and went right under the falling water getting us wet. Screams were heard all around the boat. Then the boat headed towards the bigger waterfalls. Here the boat went right under a mega fall and we all got absolutely drenched. The driver took the boat away and then came back for another shower. By this time we were all soaked head to foot. After a short a drive we disembarked at a nearby station.

To describe this adventure in simple words here does no justice; the video and the photos will not do justice to what we saw and felt. As Ashy put it, 'This was one of the most awesome sites I ever seen. Nothing can match this. I will remember this ride for the rest of my days'.

We then had to climb some steps to reach the top of the cliff to meet our guide. Some of the guys headed off and left Tani, myself, Billy and HRH Prince Yousaf behind. HRH found it very difficult to climb the steps; he had to sit down every few yards. To make it worse, the other guys took all the water with them. It took the best part of an hour for HRH to reach the top; but he did it. We stopped at a place to pick up some snacks and take a break. Then we proceeded along a jungle trail to observe the wildlife and fauna. HRH was given a lift in a golf buggy, him being of royalty.

On reaching the end of the trail, we headed for the park exist and were picked up by he tour minibus which brough us back to our 5-Star hotel. Incidently it is reputed that the Iguazu Grand Hotel is the best hotel in South America. Of course nothing less will do for us chaps.

Some of us took to the swimming pool whilst the lazy ones dozed off to sleep. We met at 7:30 to go for dinner outside the hotel. We found a pizza joint where ordered several pizzas, salmon and loads of fries. As usual a wedding's worth of food was downed in the short time we dined.

Poets are not known for their speed but Tani has come up with the third line:

Cheeky Murti went to sleep at 6:30
he woke up the next morning at 8:30
wearing the same shirt which is dirty

More to follow as we get it from Tani.

Here is a video of our time at the falls:

The younger members of the party have put on a bet when they found time after the constant moaning about the helicopter ride. Those who missed out still have a munk on. We have offered them the option to take them back to the place and allow them to take the helicopter ride but they are not game. I think they just like to moan.

Anyway, Billy has challenged Kadi and Ash to have some waxing done. If they go through with this then Billy will hand over US100 dollars to them and if they fail, Bill will receive US100. I personally think that Billy is onto a winner. If they do it, it will cost them over US100 dollars and they will win just 100 dollars. If they dont do it then they will lose 100 dollars.

Lets see what happens with this story. Keep watching this space.

Here is a video of the hotel we stayed in at Iguazu Falls:

Wednesday we were up early to check out of our 5-star hotel at Iguazu Falls. After paying off all bills and completing formalities we were taken to the airport on the Brazil side where we boarded a plane to Rio Janeiro. We arrived in Rio around lunchtime only to wait ages for the luggage to come through. When we emerged into the arrivals lounge, there was no one to take us to the hotel. We sought the help of the tourist info desk and made telphone calls. It transpired that the someone had come to pick us up but did not wait long enough and went back. After a long discussion on the phone they agreed to send someone again to pick us up. The coach arrived after about 20 mins and we headed to the hotel where we checked in. As we had HRH Yousaf with no accommodation booked, we were dreading the prospect of having to deal with the hotel to get him in. In the event the guy at the hotel upgraded one of the rooms to a triple room and charged us 20 quid/night extra.

After settling into out hotel rooms we ventured out to find somewhere to eat. We went out together as we were concerned about personal safety in Rio. We met a lot of tourists and taxi drivers in Santiago, Buenos Aires and Iguazu Falls; none of them had anything nice to say about Rio. They all told us to go out in groups, never go out at night and not to cary anything valuable whilst out and about. Scary stuff! When we went out for lunch we though ´narr.....it all looks safe around here'. Then we saw many flats and business with huge metal barriers around them and we realised that this place is indeed unsafe.

Walking around the corner we found a Labanese restaurant - heaven, we thought. At last we were going to get Halal food. We asked the waiter outside if the food was halal and he said that it was not; then he called his boss. This rather clever guy told us the food was Halal. He said that he never used pork and everything else is Halal; he was a Labanese Drew Christian. His claim looked highly suspicious. We did not believe him but went in and had vegetarian food which turned out to be rather nice if slightly expensive.

After lunch, we went out looking for travel agents to book tours for the next few days as we did not intend to spend all our time on Copacabana beach. Yes we are only 200 yards away from the legendary Copacabana beach. Made famous by famous peronalities like Zico and he like this place has reserved its place in history as one of the hip places to be. However it seems that it has lost its appeal due to rising crime and it is no longer the beach of choice.

Wednesday evening we decided that we must have curry as Tani was dying for one. We asked around and found that there were only 2 Indian restaurants in Rio, one of them was closed. The hotel people quoted us 20 quid and then 5 mins later 30 quid to get taxis that would take us there and bring us back.

One or two of us were concerned that this was not sensible; we were spending 30 quid to a restuarant that we did not know anything about but that was not to be heard. So we boarded the taxis and took the 20 mins hair-raising taxi ride to the Rajmahal indian restaurant. The driving in Rio is frightningly scary and the drivers think the streets of Rio are a F1 racecourse. We arrived at the restaurant to be greeted by an Indian chap who claimed to be Punjabi; he had lived in London for 25 years and moved to Rio when he married a Brazilian woman. We ordered 4 vegetarian dishes and waited eagerly. Whilst waiting for the meal, Billy said, ´hey lads, did you notice the prices?´. So we got the menu out again and looked; the vegetarian dish was 17 quid, chappati was 2 quid each and the paratha was about 4 quid each. Jhang and Billy fell off their chairs and fell unconscious; they only came around after we adminstered cold water to them. Anyway we ate the meal which was very sub-standard; I only had a chappatti on its own. The bill came to about 120 quid which we paid and left the place. We telephoned the hotel to send us the same taxis; they sent one.The taxi that came flagged down another passing taxi and we came back to the hotel. I got into the 2nd taxi which had its meter running. This taxi got us back to the hotel in 5 mins and its meter showed 2 quid fare. Murtaza was rather upset that the hotel had riped us off in arranging the taxis. He went and complained but to no avail; they told him that the taxis they order are more expensive because of the confidence factor. Yeah!

This rather expensive outing proved to be a highly irresponsible act. The committee realised that they had sent too much that day and we had to cut down on food to bring the budget down to the targeted figure.

Some of us went down to the beach around 11 at night for a stroll although we were advised to stay in. Anyway, myself, Murtaza and Billy walked around and had tea on the beach.

Thursday we were picked up early from out hotel for the Island-hopping tour. We drove for 3 hours to reach our destination of Santana. The lads were a bit cheesed off at having to come this far for the trip; there was constant moaning in the minibus.

We reached a marina type place where we boarded a boat. As we were the first lot, we managed to secure the best place at the front where we had the best views. The boat set off at around 12 noon with about 70-80 tourists on board. The guide was supposed to give us running commentary but had to resort to shouting as the microphone was not working. We sailed for about 30mins after which we stopped at an island. Here we were able to disembark and swim in the sea. Tani, myself, HRH Yousaf, Ansar and Murtaza took to the sea and indulged in swimming with the fish. Billy, Jhang and Kadi felt it was too much effort for them and stayed on the boat. HRH Yousaf and Tani challenged Murtaza to swim about 200m, touch a bouy and swim back for a McDonalds meal. He set off on his swim, struggled but managed to complete the challange. HRH Yousaf disputed and said that Murtaza had not touched the bouy so the bet was lost. I intervened and ruled in Murtaza´s favour - so HRH Yousaf owes a McDonads meal to Murtaza.

The boat set off and we sailed for about 30 mins after which we arrived at a tropical cove. Here we were able to dive into the deep sea and observe the colourful fish and coral; the scenery was just awesome. Yet again most of the lads felt too lazy to take part. Only myself and Murtaza took to the sea and displayed our diving skills. We then set off again and arrived at a beach where we alighted (by ´we´ I mean myself and Murtaza), the rest of the lads stayed on board to catch up on sleep. Murtaza and myself walked with other tourists through a jungle trail and arrived on the other side of the island. The view there was very beautiful. We waited for about 15 mins after which the boat arrived to pick us up. We boarded the boat with our lads fast asleep. We could have been fooled for being on the boat for the World Sleeping Championship. We later told the lads that we had seen a wild lion in the jungle; some of them believed us not knowing that lions do not exist in the wild in S America. The boat set off again and sailed for about 25 mins to reach another island where we were going to have lunch which was included in the trip. As soon as the lads heard the word ´lunch´, they all woke up and lined up to disembark the boat. We were seated in a beach restaurant and served with rice, salad and fish. The dish was very tasty, the fish going down well with the lads even though we all struggled with the bones. After lunch we sailed back to the marina and headed back to Rio.

The lads told the driver if he could 'step on it' and get us back sooner. Boy, did he step on it! Driving through dark country roads, the driver scared the hell out of us. Brazilian drivers are careless and speed a lot but this guy was out of Death Race 2000. We wished we had not asked him to hurry up. Anyway he got us back to Rio in 2 hrs - he shaved off 1 hr on the journey at the cost of scaring us to death.

After a short rest we went out and took to Domino Pizza. They did not speak English there (not many people do around here). We had to enlist Murtaza´s help yet again who struggled but finally managed to order what we wanted (he speaks Spanish - ok in Chile/Argentina - but not Portugese which they speak in Brazil). Anyway we got the veggie and marguirita pizzas, ate them there and dispersed. The pizzas were around 10 quid each. Things are very expensive around here. I can´t figure out how the locals survive as they are very poorly paid. No wonder there is widespread corruption and crime here.

The t-shirt will say 'I traveled slept through S America'. Take a look at this video of the Island-Hopping tour in the Ilha Grande:

As we noted before, Billy had challenged Ash and Kadi to a fully body wax. There was US 100 dollars to be won.

News had come in that today, Friday, Ash and Kadi have gone to a beauty salon early this morning and gone through with the full body wax. I have just met Ash and seen the result - all hairs removed; smooth as a baby´s bottom.

So Billy has lost the bet and will be 100 dollars down.

Friday morning we spent lurking around Copacobana beach; some of the younger lads caught up on that famous of hobbies, sleep.

At lunchtime a ceremony was held to mark Kadi & Ash winning of the challenge. Billy duly handed over the US100 dollar bill to Kadi and conceded that the lads had a lottle of bottle to go through with the challenge.

In the afternoon we went on a tour of Corcovado where the statue of Jesus is located. We got picked up from our hotel. The coach made about zillion stops picking other people up and exchanging them with other coaches; they were trying to get same language tourists on each coach. This took about 1-1.5hrs; it looked more like the Indian Tiffin box delivery system. Anyway we eventually started on our tour. There was a guy in the coach who had a pro video camera with him; he was to film us and then sell us DVDs at a cost; you get a lot of this in S America at tourist places. We told him that we had our own camcorder and did not require his services. He got a bit upset and left the coach.

We past some Flavelas (favela is the Brazilian equivalent of a shanty town where poverty and crime are rampant). Rio has a lot of these flavelas and are the nests for gangs. The tour guide gave a run-down on the history of these flavelas. The name originates from a species of plant with thorny leaves that grows in the semi-arid North-East region. Refugees and former soldiers involved in the Canudos Civil War (1895-1896) in Bahia would eventually settle on unreclaimed public land on a hill in Rio de Janeiro called Morro da Providência, because the government failed to provide any housing for them. The former soldiers named their new settlement Morro da Favela after the plant which had thrived at the site of a famous victory against the rebels. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in, contributing to its current state of poverty by replacing refugees as the major ethnic group. However, long before the first settlement called "favela" came into being, poor blacks were pushed away from downtown into the far suburbs. Favelas were handy for them because they allowed them to be close to work, while keeping away from where they were not welcome.

Our guide was an old woman who claimed to have lived in London in the 70s and spoke English but we could not make out much of what she was saying. If we asked a question she got exteremly agitated. The aircon in the coach was on full blast and we were freezing. We asked her to ask the driver to turn it down but she said, 'why you people not wear sweaters. You people never happy'. We had to put up with the freezing temperature until we reached the foot of the Corcovado mountain. There we waited for 30 mins to catch a train to the top. We boarded the electric train which headed at a very steep angle and reached the top after about 20 mins. We were introduced to the wide varities of trees and flora. There were some abandoned old houses. The guide said that these houses were previously owned by dignatories and more recently used by the Brazilian footballers as chill-out stations. However, nowadays nobody dare use them because the densely forested mountain also has 3 flavelas and the people from these are a constant threat. To make use of the old houses, the Brazilian govt would have to station an army there.

We reached the top, diseambarked the train and walked up to the statue of Christ. The place was absolutely crowded. Although there is a big platform in front of the statue, the no. of tourists made it almost impossible to have a photo taken. The other problem was that the sun was directly behind the statue and taking photos was extremely hard if not impossible. We noticed that there was tourist police here watching the place as well as many commandos who were lurking around in the background.

The statue stands 39.6 metres (130 feet) tall, weighs 700 tons, and is located at the peak of the 700 m (2,296 ft) Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park overlooking the city. A symbol of Christianity, the statue has become an icon of Rio and Brazil.

We were only given 20 mins to see the place and take photographs which was not enough, especially with the busy platform. Anyway we did what we could and returned to the train. HRH Prince Yousaf lost his train ticket and could not board the train (he did this in Santiago as well). As in Santiago, the girl on the barrier took sympathy with him and let him through. We reached the bottom and boarded the coach to head back to the hotel.

We met later in the evening to go for dinner. Murtaza had already ventured out and had found a McDonalds that did Fish Fillet. Vow!!!! At last something that we could eat. We had tried desprately to find fish fillet in McDonalds/Burger King in Chile and Argentina without success. The people there seems to be obesessed with meat, chicken and vegetables. We walked to McDonalds based on Murtaza's direction. We ordered double fish fillet meals each and ate an oceans worth of food.

Here is a selection of comments we received from our friends whilst on the tour:

Kazi: Glad you guys got there safe. Give my salaam to everyone and tell that dumb brother of mine to think with his head not his stomach before he eats anything else!!! Take care.

Asif: Salaam Lads. I pray u have a safe trip and make sure non of u do anything I wudnt do.  C u Soon :)

Babir: Hello to all the lads, no doubt you are all enjoying yourself, seems that way from the diary. How are the outings and visits to historic buildings going down with boys as they all a very into their heritage and art.!!!!!!!!!! especially Prince of Jhelum and Tan the man. Please find a curry house for them two or they will die....... All the best.

Amer Ditta: glad to hear you all arrived safe and well.. (ish). Hope you have a great time and dont forget to start saving up for cyprus!!!!!! Slam to all especially Haji tan and HRH prince yousaf. Please ask Yousaf to call home to check in.... Look after yourself and keep in touch. Allah Hafiz.

Anonymous: The reason Ansa stayed behind was that he's been working out at the gym and he wanted to show his body of at the side of your mini pool.

Naheem: Good stuff. I'll look 4ward 2 some nice gifts and pics of ur adventures upon ur return.

Amir: Tell everyone that keep the money safe in your pockets and batter that hotel manager, dont just get money changed by any tom dick and harry eat less pizzas and tell yousaf to go for walks and get of his fat **......

Farrukh: hello guys slam to every on on tour of great s.america. I was really upset not to join this tour but now i feel i made good decision because the way things are going with u sounds verry boring and to me murti he is enjoying once again the management is poor good luck rest of the tour, tell billy to behave and b a good boy.

Saturday we woke up a little later and ventured out to get money changed and do some shopping. At lunch we got some pizzas from Domino and then headed for the beach. The Three Mosquitos (Jhang, Tani and HRH Prince Yousaf) stayed behind in their hotel room to watch the Man U match on tv.

Myself, Billy, Murtaza, Kadi, Ansa and Ash got to the Copcabana beach and secured some deck chairs. Unknown to me the chairs had some kind of glue which left Billy and co stuck to the chairs for the rest of the afternoon. Myself and Murtaza took to the sea and tackled the powerful Atlantic waves for a couple of hours. The water-shy crew stayed put in their deck chairs.

After about 3 hrs we decided to return to the hotel. On the way back we met the Three Moquitos who had decided to venture out. I warned them that they were in danger of getting wet as there was water on the other side of the sand.

Most of the lads are really enjoying themselves. Most of them want to do the same tour again in a few years time. Ansa said, "I have been abroad before but this tour has been out of this world. I am going on every tour with this lot in the future. I have absolutely enjoyed myself for the last 2 weeks."

Sunday some of us ventured down to Ipnema beach which is just down the road from Copcabana. Since it was Sunday, one side of the road was closed to traffic. Those traffic lanes, the cycle lane and the wide footpath were being used by joggers, walkers and cyclists. There were literally thousands of people out jogging and walking. It was one spectacle; it had to be seen to believed. In the afternoon we are scheduled to go and watch the regional cup final with Flamengo taking on Botafogo. Match report will appear here.

Well, all I can say is that those lads who did not come on this tour will regret it for the rest of their lives when they see the photos and the video. I think the money we spent on the holiday was repaid at Iguazu Falls alone; all the other places were a bonus. Your loss guys.

Sunday afternoon at 2pm we were picked up by a tour company. The coach travelled around Rio picking up other tourists including Swiss, French and Belgians. We were all going to the regional cup final at the Marcana stadium between Flamengo and Botafogo. Because of traffic and the crowds it took us some 1.5 hrs to get to the ground. The tour guide escorted us to the stand where some of us found seats whilst others just stood on steps (they dont have reserve seating here). We were in line with the centre line and I was on the 2nd row with a pretty good view.

The official attendance figure was 84,000 but we think the actual crowd was closer to 100,000. The Flamengo supporters outnumbered the Fogo supporters by 3 to 1. The atomsphere was absolutely electric; I have never seen anything like it. Although there was a lot of friendly banter, emotions and fireworks, there was no violence as the police was out in large numbers.

The match got under way and Fogo started to come out strong getting the ball into other half frequently; they looked much much superior team and bound to win. The first half was very clean and some very good play with Fogo scoring early.

Early 2nd half, Flamengo got a penalty because a Fogo player grabbed a Flamengo player around his shoulders and held his shirt in the penalty area. When the refree awarded the penalty there was a lot of argument and all tv crews, photographers, managers and officials ran onto the pitch. The referee stood his ground and the police cleared the pitch with one Flamengo player being sent off. Flamengo took the opportunity and converted the penalty and it was 1-1.

The play continued and Flamengo pushed up the pressure. As with all S American football, a lot of diving came into play; some of the players were diving and rolling over about 20 times; they were faking it big time. The refree fell for most of these tricks and gave free kicks and booked several players. Two of Fogo players got yellow cards in the 2nd half and got sent off because they had yellow cards from 1st half; so they were down to 9 players whilst Flamengo had 10 players.

It looked like the match was going into extra time. Five minutes from full-time, Flamengo made a run for it and the left winger chipped one in andt he Fogo keeper had no chance; it was 2-1 to Flamengo. The stadium erupted like mad and I was going deaf. Fogo made a couple of last minute attempts at the goal but failed. In the end Flamengo won by 2-1 and the crowd went beserk with people shouting, crying and setting off fireworks.

We assembled outside the stand and waited for the crowds to die down before we boarded the coach. It took us 2 hrs to get back to the hotel.

Have a peek at this awesome video of the match:

Monday we had a lie-in (for a change). In the afternoon Jhang, Tani, Murtaza and myself went to Sugar-Loaf mountain. We took a taxi to the place and bought our own tickets which saved us quite a bit of money over the tour company. We caught a cable-car to the top of the mountain. There we took some photos and took in the beautiful views and the fesh air. There were 2 helicopters there which were taking people on trips to see Rio from the air. The prices ranged from 40-200 quid. I was really keen to go on the helicopter but the rest were not too sure and could not committ. To do the trip, a minimum of 3 people were needed; so I called it off.

We caught another cable-car to the 2nd mountain. There we had some snack, took some photos and had a rest on the benches. We returned to the hotel about 3hrs later.This trip proved much better than the Corcovada tour as we did not waste to much time which meant that we had more time at the top. Since we organised it ourselves,it turned out to be much cheaper as well.

When we returned to the hotel, Jhang could not find his money. He had taken 495 quid out of the safe, in the morning, and had put it on the top of the safe. He was going to take it with him on the trip but forgot. We searched the room inside out but the money was not be found. Jhang was rather upset and went to complain to the hotel manager that money has gone missing from his room.

In the evening we went to a restuarant where over dinner we voted to all chip-in 20 quid and give Jhang 160 quid so he could do some shopping. He was relunctant to take the money but we shoved it into his pocket. Whilst we were at the restuarant,Tani took out some papers from his pocket and dropped a 20 quid note not realising at the time. The group decided that we were not going to chip in and help Tani as it was only 20 quid - he is loaded anyway.

Then we all headed our own way for some late shopping. Myself and Murtaza headed to out-of-town Barra shopping centre. It took us one hr to get there. The centre was classy but the prices were astronomical. We asked the price of Hugo Boss aftershave (sells for 25-30 quid in UK) and were quoted 68 quid. We thought the shop was taking the mickey. So we went to another shop and saw the price tag - 70 quid. It was like that on all things - clothing, electronics etc. I said to Murtaza, "Man, lets get out of this place, fast". We caught a taxi back to the hotel.

This video shows our time in Rio:

Tuesday we all got up a little late. After breakfast some of us went out for some last minute shopping whilst the young'uns went to Dominos Pizza where they found a 2-for-1 offer and enjoyed themselves. The transfer coach was supposed to pick us up at 2:30pm from the hotel but it turned up at 1:30pm which caused some problems as some of the lads were still packing. Anyway we all hurried along and got down to the lobby to be presented with a bill for over 200 quid for stuff ordered through room service (teas, cashews etc were all on the bill). It had to be paid. We boarded the coach and headed for the airport.

On the way to the airport we broke the news to Jhang that his money had not been lost at all; he was the subject of a big practical joke. What had happened was that he had taken the money out of the safe and put it on the bed whilst sorting out paperwork. He then left the room and came with us on the Sugar-Loaf mountain tour. When HRH Prince Yousaf returned from his trip out in the street, he saw the wad of money lying on the bed; he found it astonishing that Jhang would leave that amount of money on the bed. So he picked it up and hid it away. He collaborated with Tani and Billy to wind Jhang up. When Jhangir returned from the trip he remembered about the money and started to look. They turned the room upside down. Jhang then suggested that he was going to report the matter to the hotel manager but Billy had already spoken to the manager and took him in and the manager played along with the joke. Billy went around and gave everybody 20 quid each to donate to Jhang (thats 20 quid each out of Jhang's lost money). As planned we all donated 20 quid each to Jhang who was reluctant to accept it.

When we broke the news to him, he challanged us and claimed that he already knew about it as HRH Prince Yousaf could not keep a straight face when we donated the money.

Tani was also relieved to hear that his 20 quid was not lost. What happened was that he dropped the 20 quid note whilst in the restaurant and then walked away. Whilst leaving, I saw the note on his chair and picked it up. I took HRH yousaf and Billy into confidence and we wound up Tani for 20 hrs; he genuinly thought he had lost the 20 quid.  

When we reached the airport we checked in and then indulged in some duty-free shopping. The prices were not as cheap as the UK but at least they were not as high as down-town Rio. Tani still had tons of dollars left and was trying to sell them off to us for the duty-free.

We boarded the plane which set off on time for the 10 hr flight to Paris. As soon as the seatbelt sign came off, we were served with drinks. As we were drinking we experienced  turbulence which built up to such an extent that the plane dropped several hundred feet and then rose again like lightning. The net effect of that we all got scared to death, the drinks went flying and the drink trolleys fell  over. Murtaza and HRH Prince Yousaf were soaked in Coke. The turbulence died down a little after a while. After the clear-up, dinner was served with us receiving Muslim meals which tasted rather nice with the grilled chicken being outstanding. Maybe it tasted good
because we had struggled for Halal food all this time.

The turbulence continued for about another 2 hrs and then faded away. We were then able to go sleep; some of the lads at least. The flight arrived at Paris at 8am local time with applause breaking out on landing. Apparently they all applaud when the plane touches down in France and S America.

Well it is nice to be back home again and taste some real food. I tucked into some chicken roast and chicken masala.

We were impressed with Murtaza who spoke some spanish at teh start of the tour but got very fluent as tour went on. Later when we got to Brazil where they speak portugese, he managed to pick up the language. He was invaluable and was a great help when we got stuck with the language.

Time-keeping was somewhat poor on the tour. Murtaza pulled up his socks after being late twice on the first day. However, the Three Mosquitos (Jhang, Tani and HRH Yousaf) were late constantly for tours and other tours. Even with many warnings, they did not improve and kept us waiting on many occassions. We thought about leaving them behind many times but could not as they had the money.

Anyway the tour is over and we have to look forward to the next one. This tour was, in our view, outstanding and we all enjoyed ourselves. Although there were occassional moans, arguments, practical jokes and bored lads, the tour was, on the whole, very successful. We are glad that Billy has managed to tick off a few more boxes.

We feel sorry for the lads who did not go on this tour; they don't know what they have missed and will feel sick when they see the photos.

 Keep watching for the release of the photo album here and the red-carpet release of the video.