Buenassssss~ this is essentially a play-by-play of my iguazu weekend - specially designed for my family members who truly want to read every detail but lack the internet connection on both ends to facetime. Que disfrutan! (Enjoy) :)
It is currently 10:35 AM on a gorgeous day in Cataratas, Argentina. I'm sitting on a charter bus about 19 hours out of Buenos Aires. Cassidy, Jordan and I took a long weekend trip to see the world famous Iguazu Falls, one of the new 7 natural wonders of the world. We signed up to travel with Argentina For All, an organization that takes big groups of international students and porteños to the falls. $2450 pesos ($199 USD) bought each of us a seat on the 20 hour bus ride both ways, two nights in a very homey hostel, free entry to Club Casanova for two nights, and last but not least, free breakfasts (three large croutons and coffee..lol). I would say it's a good deal, but for those of you who might be interested in following our lead, take the trip privately or through a different group- ours was pretty disorganized and inefficient. Logistical flaws aside, it was an incredible experience and I urge all travelers in Argentina to take the time to go see the falls.
Friday: We had to be on the other side of town around 3pm. Poor Jordan and Cassidy thought I had slept through all my alarms or just vanished because we couldn't communicate since all forms of communication had mysteriously failed us. The wild goose chase for the missing person ended when Cassidy ninja-ed her way into my apartamento and whisked me away to the magical Subway across the street to grab sandwiches before our departure.
We then picked up Jordan and cabbed to the buses, where we quickly realized that we Americans were vastly outnumbered by loud, friendly Spaniards, hilarious Germans, lovely Danish girls and of course some Frenchies. Most are about our age. There were actually about ten other Americans on our trip, who unfortunately were simply the most obnoxious humans I've ever met. I was actually really glad though because that gave us the opportunity to exit our comfort zone and fraternize with people from other places. The bus ride ended much more quickly than I had anticipated and we were dropped off at our hostels. Because there were 250+ of us we had to stay in different places. At Hotel Raíces, each room (cabaña) sleeps 5, so the three of us had to very quickly recruit two lucky ladies to share a living space for the weekend. We lucked out with Katie and Sarah, two of the sweetest, most adorable German girls I have ever met. First of all, their English is truly amazing. Katie speaks impeccably. I was pretty mind blown that they came to Argentina to learn their THIRD language, but as it turns out, most people from other countries are bilingual (judging by the people on this trip).
Saturday: We arrived around 11 AM, so we hit the ground running. And by running I meant sitting because all of the 200 others headed to the Brazil side of Iguazu. We Americans have to jump through many hoops to get the visa to cross Brazil's borders, along with paying a super expensive reciprocity fee, so we sat that one out. (I will definitely make my way to Brazil this semester though, mark my words!) We instead walked about the tiny town and lunched with one of our program leaders, Barry. Although we certainly enjoyed ourselves, it was a little disappointing to not be able to see the falls until day two. BUT the wait was definitely so worth it! That night, all 250+ of us walked parade-style to Casanova, a local boliche. Terrified of a hangover, we went home "early," at about 4 AM. We laughed because the next day we overheard the Americans boasting about how they'd stayed out til 4:30. Nerds!!!
We woke up a few hours later for our crouton breakfast and hit the road to Iguazu National Park. This area is much farther north than BA, so it's SUPER warm and sunny and wonderful outside. Without a cloud in the big blue sky, the day could not have been more perfect to see the falls. We arrived at noon and spent about 5 hours in the park. It's pretty massive so we took a cute little tram closer to the falls. We freely explored the upper trails for an hour where we were standing right at the top of the falls and could watch the tons of water cascading down hundreds of feet.
It's just so incredibly cool. The air was super fresh as well, which is a refreshing change of pace from being in a big city with lots of smokers. After we enjoyed an authentic Argentinian lunch (aka a ham and cheese sandwich.. They can't get enough of the stuff), we set off for our Grand Excursion. The excursion was the best part by far- I'm so happy we bit the bullet and paid up because it was such an experience. We rode in a big ATV on a tour of part of the park while a guide with a microphone excitedly discussed the wildlife, etc. They dropped us off at the falls where we descended many stairs to board a big speedboat. It drove us through the murky rapids first, stopping for several photo ops at every angle of every waterfall. Finally, as our guide says, we got "the shower of the lifetime." (Broken English gets me every time lol).. But seriously y'all they drove us under the waterfalls several times and greatly enjoyed every second of the spectacle we made- we tourists were screaming in terror and delight all at the same time as we were soaked to the bone in some super fresh (but demasiado chilly) agua.
(right before we drove right into that waterfall ^)
My favorite part was walking back up the steps carved out of the cliff and covered in moss. Not only was it a fantastic view, but it was also the perfect spot for the perfect selfie (we had far too many efforts in vain earlier). We then headed home, ordered some brilliantly cheap empanadas (empanada delivery for $3 USD/person = yes) and prepared for our second night out. It was supposed to be a costume party-scratch that-it WAS a costume party.. There was just one too many sexy sailor costume for us to hop on that train, but we went out and ended up having a lot of fun dancing to the YMCA, among other other classics. The rude wakeup call at 7:30 was nothing once we had our gourmet crouton breakfast and immediately boarded the bus to continue our slumber.
~~~~~
It is now 5:35 PM. After only 3 hours of driving, we stopped at San Ignacio to see the ruins of a super old Jesuit church. The detour turned out to be three hours long. I don't think I'll ever get completely used to the way Argentines use their time, but the ruins were quite spectacular.
We are finally back on the road heading south! I'm seated next to Mona, the most beautiful and kind girl I've met here so far. She's from Denmark which is pretty cool because I knew less than nothing about her country until she sat with us on our porch last night and told us all about the culture and the very happy citizens. I've really enjoyed learning about other people, their homes and their cultures, especially outside of the Latin American perspective that I'm so accustomed to learning.
We're supposed to get back around 6am. I can't wait- I miss my Elena! This weekend has been a combination of wonderful, strange and downright hysterical. We faced some frustration, but even more laughter. I'm glad we went with a group for our first trip, but from now on I believe we will fly solo. Next stop: Mendoza with my awesome parents who are visiting for my 21st birthday next month! Woohoo! Good times are all we've got down here y'all. I hope that was detailed enough for you, Mom, Dad, Jack, Granna & Papa! (You too, Brad).
~~~~~~~~
Update: my ankles are covered in poison ivy but it's all good because Argentine pharmacies basically dole out anything you could possibly need OTC. Somewhat concerning, but hey, I lucked out. Just a few blocks from my casa, the farmacía was full of friendly faces and an extremely kind, helpful woman who supplied me with all the medicine I need. Phew. It's always something....
More to come in a few days - we're going to our first parilla tomorrow! om nom.
Besitos!
No comments:
Post a Comment