Iguazu Falls

My first day in Buenos Aires was quite the whirlwind. I arrived in Buenos Aires at 9:30 a.m. and left on a 18 hour bus ride to Iguazu Falls at 19:30 p.m. I found out very quickly that "Bussing" could be done in style in South America. We walked on the Bus into an interior with leather seats, full reclining chairs, and personal T.V.'s. I was shocked given the standard of Greyhound in the United States. Not to mention this bus fed me more delicious food that never ceased to surprise me. There were very few people on the bus that evening which meant that we got extra drinks. I had an incredible chicken dinner with several delicious sides and Pepsi that was poured very frequently. They served me wine, cocktails, and deserts throughout dinner time. While this incredible parade of food was going on, they were playing music videos to a lot of my favorite Spanish songs, which Jeremy was shocked at my knowledge of every word of the songs that were playing. After the Music videos were finished, they played two chick flicks that Jeremy was dying throughout because there was no escape from them on the bus! Then it was bedtime and we slept very nicely on the bus. The next thing I knew...breakfast was served. It consisted of a variety of Galletitas (sugar cookies) that were so delicious! I wanted more. Throughout breakfast, the pouring of Pepsi continued. Shortly after breakfast we arrived at Iguazu!

Once we arrived at Iguazu, we quickly checked into our hostel which was across the street from the bus station. The hostel was beautiful. It really looked like a little Oasis. It had a pool, nice patio BBQ area, and a trendy looking bar. We had our own room which was nice because we did not have to share with strangers. Several people from Jeremy's program happened to be staying at the same hostel that weekend. It was nice to meet some of them. Shortly after checking in, we walked to the Tres Fronteras lookout point. From this look out point we could see Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina of course. It was beautiful! Only a river was between us and these countries. The only unfortunate thing is that we could not go to Brazil because we did not have a visa. There was a way to take a taxi to Brazil illegally and we considered it, but then we remembered that it was Brazil and not France. As far as Paraguay...the Argentines really do not like the people from Paraguay and thus, have yet to construct a bridge across the river to Paraguay. One would have to cross into Brazil in order to get to Paraguay! Hilarious! So to this day, I can say that I have seen Brazil and Paraguay, and someday I will set foot on them. 

After Tres Fronteras, we decided to take advantage of the happy hour special at the hostel which started at 7 and lasted until 9. Jeremy and I finished 6 1 liter bottles of Quilmes during happy hour and visited with the people from his program and this very nice Newlywed couple who was from San Diego! Small world! The husband knew exactly where I was from in San Diego and where my grandparents house was in Greagle/Blairsden, California, which made me laugh because I was sitting in South America talking to someone about California geography. 

Anyways, after the happy hour, we ventured to dinner. We found a great steak restaurant with live music. The music was fantastic and we decided to have two more 1 liter bottles of Quilmes after dinner. We had a wonderful time at dinner but decided that since we had to go to the park in the morning that a night club was not the best idea. 

In the morning we rose early and took the bus to the park. The first water fall that we went to go see was Garganta del Diablo. It was enormous. I could not even fit it into one picture! I imagined the 1812 Overture playing as the water was falling just due to the impressive sight that was before my eyes. There were hundreds of birds flying in front of the waterfall and there was mist shooting up many feet. The mist was so thick that you could barely see the river below for a decent distance. It was one of the most impressive sights that I have seen in a long time. 

After Garganta del Diablo we went and walked the lower trail in the park. There were so many different wonderful waterfalls. My favorite view was the panoramic view in which on the right you could see the other falls and then on the left you could see Garganta del Diablo in the distance. We hiked next to all of the waterfalls and took many beautiful pictures. We then took a speed boat and went into two different waterfalls. Jeremy and I were in the front seat and got soaked! It was worth it! Also, the view on the actual river of the waterfalls was truly breathtaking. In order to dry off after the ultimate shower, we took a boat to the Isla de San Martin which had a nice beach area with a view of the falls. The view was so beautiful but we could only stay for a short time because the last boat to the mainland was leaving. 

We went back to the hostel after Isla San Martin and found an adorable Parilla (BBQ) for dinner. I ate so many different types of meat! My favorite was the Chorizo. It was so fantastic they brought a tiny grill to the table and the meat finished cooking in front of us. They also brought various salads and I tried everything on the table. After dinner, we went to bed early in hopes of going back to the park in the morning. However, it poured all day! I mean poured to the point of I have never seen that much rain in my entire life! I now know why that area is so green! 

The next morning we got up very early in order to see the last trail of the park before our bus was scheduled to leave at 14:00 p.m. We walked the upper trail and saw all of the tops of the waterfalls which was an entirely new perspective then we had seen before. All of the waterfalls had nearly doubled since the massive rain storm. At the end we went to Garganta del Diablo again and it was enormous!!! I could not believe how much the storm had aided the amount of water in the waterfall!!! Then sadly, we had to head back to the bus station. 

We sat and ate empendadas at the bus station and I realized that I hadn't gotten any souvenir of the waterfalls. So I rushed to a gift store and bought an adorable magnet. That way I will have something to put in my new apartment! After the purchase of the magnet, we boarded the bus and began the long 18 hour journey back to Buenos Aires. There were way too many people on the bus so the ride was not as luxurious. But in the end we still managed to have a nice dinner, some good movies (including 21, which Jeremy really liked) and of course, some great Spanish music! 

We arrived safely in Buenos Aires and then my adventures of getting to know the city truly began... until next time! <3 Jacque