Enter La Casa Roja

Its nightime, but even in this little suburb there are people everywhere, mostly families. I find a little place to buy a pizza and a coca-cola light, we sit out on the street in the warm air. We go for a quick walk around the place, go to a supermercado and buy some water to brush our teeth with and a bottle of wine to get them dirty again. Back at the hotel, we're too tired to try and get into the bottle, so we go to bed. Our first night in South America. Completely exhausted, we go to sleep around 11. I thought this was a good sign that we had manged to trick our bodies into local time by forgoeing sleep back home and getting in just a little on the plane.

Barrio Brasil

We wake up at five in the evening the next day. At least it was a cheap day. A quick walk and breadroll later, we're back at the hotel and fast asleep- with an alarm set this time. Not before one shocking discovery is made however. The lonely planet says that in south america it is customary to dispose of used toilet paper NOT in the toilet but in the little basket next to it. A quick check of the bathroom does indeed reveal a basket in said spot, but it still doesn't sit properly with me. Off to the internet cafe to send emails and check up on this 'basket' thing. The internet reveals that, yes, this is the thing to do in South Amercia, but it seems that this is how people deal with toilet paper all over the world! Even some places in Europe! How did they manage to keep this a secret for so long?

Barrio Brasil

Sleep is still a game of chance- the dice is rolled when you shut your eyes and you can come in and out of consciousness at any time. A breakfast of bread and jam is served after an erratic nights rest and then we pack up and leave the quaint Hotel Los Arcos. La Casa Roja is a backpackers hostel around the corner that has popped up in research, and we decide to spend at least a couple of nights there.

La Casa Roja is a huge mansion that has been renovated and converted into a backpackers lodge by a cricket-mad Australian. After clip clopping down the long floorboarded hallway, we came out into the backyard, which featured a lush green lawn, a bar and a pool with a spa. Plus practice nets for the cricket of course. The next few days are spent in the tail end of recovery, and soon sleep becomes a natural activity, rather than some bizarre forced (or unwanted) period of lying down.