Lots of Water and Beautiful Birds & One Very Large Dam: Argentina & Brazil (& Paraguay)

Sometime in January I headed up on a flight to Puerto de Iguazu via airplane (instead of catching the 19 or so hour bus). The flight only took a little over an hour, maybe more. I will have to say if you’re going to fly around South America, check into LAN. I really do like that airline. They still believe in handing out drinks and snacks, and they always play the funniest shows. Plus, twice now my bags have exceeded the 20 kilo weight limit, not by much but even when Ross’s bag came in at a hefty 28 kilos, they didn’t charge either one of us, something that definitely doesn’t happen with other airlines as I’m sure some of you have figured out already. I know I’ve had to pay three times in my life so far. Thank you United...Not!

It didn’t take us long to get settled into our new little home, a cool hostel on the outskirts of town. This was my first hostel with a pool that actually had water in it, which came in handy given how steamy it was. Ross described it as a summer camp with alcohol, and I’d have to say that’s pretty accurate. They had great meals there at bargain prices, although there was some false advertising. In my opinion, bar-b-que, means bar-b-que, not just meat cooked on the grill. No matter what you want to call it, the food was good. They even had a tango show one night. Like I said, a pretty cool place.

The following day, we took an odd tour of the Argentinean side of Iguazu. We got picked up okay, then once we arrived, the driver said, just pay the entrance fee and you’ll see some people in yellow shirts. Well, sounds easy enough but for what we paid, this was one of the most unorganized tours I took the whole time I was in South America. We did finally find the guys in yellow and took a jungle tour (it was just a truck ride) to the river. We all loaded on the boat and were headed up the river to the falls when something didn’t seem right. Our driver thought so as well, so they called for another boat to pick us up. Instead of turning around and going back to the dock, they brought the other boat nose-to-nose with ours, in swift currents, and got all the people to transfer to the new boat. Those of you who know me well, know I’m a sailor and one of the cardinal boating rules is NEVER step into a boat with anything in your hands. But here we were, hands jam-packed with our daypacks, cameras, video recorders, etc. stepping from one boat to another, in a current most excellent swimmers would have had trouble surviving, if they had fallen overboard. I’m not a safety freak but I obviously wasn’t too happy about the way that was handled.

After our drenching boat ride, our so called organized “tour” was over and we were free for the rest of the day to wander around to all the various look out points. It was a little cloudy that day and it seems to take forever for us to dry but by mid-afternoon, the sun had come out and it was baking hot. We had a brilliant time wandering from vista to vista and took probably a gazillion photos. I remember Ross and I having a discussion about the park and saying that someone should have told us this little tidbit of infomation. So, just so you know, you really do have to be paying attention to the train schedule if you’re going to be picked up by a tour company at the gate later in the day. The trains run pretty frequently but it’s easy to get caught up with all the stops on the way out to the big stop, La Garganta del Diablo, and not make the train back to the main gate in time. I guess is what I’m saying is plan ahead and keep track of the time. We made it, but it was only because we were really fast walkers and were a bit lucky.

We ran into some guys on our bus (one of whom had the worst sunburn I’ve ever seen in my life…on his foot) who said that you didn’t need to bother going to the Brazilian side of the falls. And if it hadn’t been for a strange turn of events I would have missed out, big time. So, here’s the rest of the story…

The next day, Ross and I went into town to figure out how to get to Paraguay. He needed to replace his camera and we had heard that was the best place to do it. At least that’s where everyone in South America goes to buy electronic equipment. Plus, do you know anyone who’s been to Paraguay? More than likely not, I only know three people and Ross and I are two of them.

We finally found a tour agency that said they could get me to Paraguay without going through Brazil. It had never been done before but it would work. One of the frequent problems I ran into is being American. And the reason why seems to be because it’s so difficult to get into America. If we charge a lot for a Brazilian to enter the States you can bet that it will cost you a fortune to enter Brazil. Because I wanted to head to The Galapagos (where I’m headed to tomorrow) I had pretty much made peace with the fact that I’d just have to come back to Brazil…150 dollars for a 30 day visa is pretty pricey, especially when I just wanted to go see water. Plus, I knew I was already going to have to pay $45 to get into Paraguay and then another $135 to get into Bolivia. I didn’t like the fact that I was going to miss Brazil but as I said, I had made peace with it and I had supposedly found a way to bypass the Brazilian visa and still go to Paraguay so we were set. Until the taxi driver came to pick us up the next morning.

No, you can’t get to Paraguay without going to Brazil and buying a Brazilian visa first. So, as you can imagine, it was like a circus trying to get our money back from the agency. And since I had to buy a visa for Brazil, Ross and I decided to make the best of it; we were going to the Brazilian side of the Iguazu Falls. And man, am I ever glad we did. Anyone who says you don’t need to go to both sides is a dork. It’s like two totally different worlds. On the Argentinean side you’re actually on top of the falls for the most part. On the Brazilian side you’re underneath them. It’s a completely different angle.

If you’re ever going to head to Foz do Iguaçu, then you really should stay at Hostel Natura. It’s a great little family-run hostel. It’s out in the middle of nowhere but it’s really worth the effort to get out there. (Just don’t try to walk down the dirt road after it rains…unbelievably muddy.) They’ve got a pool, excellent food, and lots of space to just chill out. It’s almost like being at home except for the place was spotless. I don’t have any desire to clean that much.

Besides going to the waterfalls, there is also a water park which has really cool water slides. Andrew, Andy, Ross, and I took turns acting like we were 12 again, high-tailing it back up the stairs almost as soon as we had hit the water. I don’t have any pictures but Andrew did have a waterproof camera so he does have some pictures and video. Hopefully he’ll remember to send it on once he’s recovered from Carnaval in Salvador.

Another completely cool thing to do in Foz do Iguaçu is to go to the Parque des Aves (Bird Park, for those of you who don’t speak Portuguese). They had an incredible amount of birds there. They even had several cages you could walk through, although I can see how that could be dangerous. There were a few signs about birds being a little aggressive but I was more worried about falling objects i.e. poo. They not only had birds there but they also had a great butterfly exhibit, some monkeys, and snakes. One of my favorite exhibits was the enormous hummingbird exhibit. When you walked through the place you could hear (and see) hummingbirds zipping around which was a little wild and nerve-racking but also really cool. Just as you’re about to finish your self-guided tour there’s an open area where they have a parrot and a snake that you can hold. Of course, Ross and I couldn’t resist.

And the fun doesn't stop there. Before leaving for Paraguay via taxi, we decided to go have a look at the Itaipu Dam which is between Brazil and Paraguay. I've been on a tour of Hoover Dam and this makes that one look rinky-dink. It is enormous! As far as size goes, it's not the biggest dam in the world (I believe that one's located in China) but even not being at full capacity, they produce the most energy. Technically, Ross and I went on the "Spanish" tour so we wouldn't have to wait another couple of hours (bad planning on our part) but it worked out alright and most of the time the girl would explain to us in English as well. Translating isn't too hard but some figures are unbelievable and when you go to repeat them, you go, "Nah, I couldn't have heard that right." But sure enough, you did.

We had a great time on the tour. Both Brazil and Paraguay have their own tours. They actually share the dam 50-50 and both people from both countries work side by side. Even though Paraguay is South America's poorest country (next to Bolivia), the technology they have available to them is incredible. A portion of the dam may be located in a 3rd world country but it's a 1st rate facility. Right now, they are able to produce 90% of Paraguay's energy needs and 20% of Brazil's consumption. They also give you cool shoes and a little hard hat to wear. It doesn't get much better than that as far as I'm concerned!

The next portion of this journey is the part I have already written but don’t have. I did have it. I had it on a 16 gig memory stick I bought for $6 in Cuidad del Este. The memory stick is now in the trash somewhere in Peru. Ross, who is also at Carnaval but in Rio has promised to email it to me when he gets back to Ireland, which won’t be long.

The Things I Remember About Argentina & Uruguay...Seriously

It’s hard to count on one hand the number of stories I’ve started but for one reason or another was never able to post. I’m sitting right now in the Lima airport thinking that this place isn’t so intimidating the second time around. It seems like such a long time ago I came through here as confused as a person could be just hoping and praying I would make it out of the airport and to the hotel. Today, it’s a different story. I can carry on a conversation with the taxi driver, not get totally hosed on the fare, and can read the majority of the signs along the way. But on to more something more interesting...

I’m not exactly sure when I last wrote but I think it was before I reached Buenos Aires, which was almost a month ago. My grand plan was to keep these blogs in order, more for me than you (sorry) but sometimes life doesn’t work out the way you planned. At least that’s the story of my life.

Traveling in South America has been an incredible experience. Even the experiences and places I’ve been that haven’t been all that have been an integral part of this journey. And the people I’ve met along the way? I couldn’t replace them if I tried. As I type, I am now traveling solo once again, something I haven’t done in eight weeks. I didn’t even realize that I had it in me to be around someone for that long, especially when you consider it was pretty much 24-7. Most married couples don’t spend that much time together. It was a good experience though and I couldn’t have asked for a better traveling buddy than Ross. He’s in Rio now enjoying his last week of his journey (at Carnaval, of course) and I’m sure is getting a little nervous about heading back to Ireland (it seems as they have more problems there than in the States).

My journey should have ended almost a month ago. However, there are some things that you can and should put off and one of them for me was going home. I could have done things a little differently and might have been able to fit in everything I wanted to do but I’m so glad I didn’t make that flight. I do hope I make this one though. I’m patiently awaiting a TACA flight to Guayaguil, Ecuador, that is supposed to take off at 11 o’clock this morning. From there, I am hoping to find a dive shop so I can get certified for open water diving. It’s amazing how quickly 18 years slips by. I had taken the course and the test once before but due to a broken leg wasn’t able to do my logged dives. I’ve been scuba diving several times but apparently you have to have your license here, so I figured what the heck! I also want to spend several days in the Galapagos Islands so it looks like my plans to hang out in Columbia have been cut in half already. I will have to travel up that way, as I do have a ticket back to Miami from Bogota. And I am really looking forward to going there before it becomes part of the infamous “gringo trail”.

Since I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to post my story from Paraguay at some point I’m going to skip that for now and start, well, gee, I might as well go all the way back to Buenos Aires, although I really do have some fantastic things to say about Bolivia. So, Buenos Aires it is.

If I were asked to come up with a saying for Buenos Aires it would be: Buenos Aires, a city full of passion. They really did go all out when they built the city (think Paris) and if you consider Eva Peron and her history with the people of Buenos Aires, and the tango, the dance of passion, you will understand my thinking. It seems like everything there is more full of life than in the rest of Argentina or maybe it’s because sometimes I can be a bit sappy and sentimental. But I did love it. I loved it so much that I’m pretty sure in total I spent almost two weeks there. I’m not even sure how that happened.

Ross and I took a city tour, guided by a college economics student (he did a great job), which was extremely interesting and free, to boot. For three hours we walked around the main points of the city, found out who Roca was and why people are constantly throwing paint at his statue, and stood in a square that had more clock towers than there are in all of Oklahoma. If I were writing this a month ago I could give you all kinds of interesting details but then again you can also go on Wikipedia, so I’m going to let them handle the statistical information.

The hostel where Ross and I were staying had free tango lessons so we took advantage of that one night. That’s when I fell in love, not with Ross, with tango. What a dance! I enjoyed doing it but I especially enjoyed the Complejo Tango Show we went to see. I have no doubt that all those dancers were just friends but the way they danced made you believe they were lovers. I really do hope that no matter where I end up, that I’ll be able to keep up my salsa, merengue, and now tango dancing. We also went on our own walking tour which according to Lonely Planet was supposed to take a couple of hours…it took us two days.

There are three things I really remember about our self-guided tour. The first is the Recoleta Cemetery. Most people go there to see Eva Peron’s crypt, if you’re not sure who I’m talking about think, “Don’t cry for me Argentina…” which no matter who you are for some reason this song will play over and over again in your head. (Well, at least it did in mine.) But the cemetery has so much more to offer than that. It’s like its own little city with these ornate, little houses…filled with dead people or at least their ashes. I got a kick out of counting how many urns or caskets I could find inside one crypt. They really are close-knit families here. And the cats! Who could forget the cats? Ross, who at first was really giving me a hard time about petting them, talking to them, and taking their photos, also ended up, by the time we left, taking photos of crazy cats as well. My Aunt Minerva would have loved the place (who’s the biggest cat fan I know).

I almost didn’t see Eva’s crypt though. It’s hard to imagine that after spending almost three hours in a cemetery that probably only takes up three city blocks that you couldn’t find someone. But it’s true. I had to ask someone who had a map for directions. I thought about leaving without seeing it, it might have been better than way. By the way, hers is pretty non-descript, a simple black marble, family crypt. The only difference is hers is always covered in flowers.

The second thing I remember about our tour what right outside the cemetery there was a band playing music in the street. I remember this couple who where walking by, just like us, and they just stopped walking, turned towards each other, and then started dancing. I don’t know how long they had been together but they definitely looked like they were in love and enjoyed each other’s company.

The final thing I remember clearly about our tour is the biggest flower in probably the world. If you’ve ever been to Chicago, think the giant bean and you’re getting pretty close. At night, the petals close and it glows red. I didn’t get to see it at night, only during the day (I did see pictures), and although it’s one of those things you look at and go “Why?” it is still pretty incredible.

Between weeks in Buenos Aires, we caught a boat to Montevideo, Uruguay. It was an enormous boat, more like a ferry because along with people, they also shipped over vehicles. It was a nice trip; strange thing is that I remember much more about the boat than Uruguay. We stayed in Montevideo for a night then took off to Punta del Este, the beach resort where the who’s who of Buenos Aires goes to play. It is a nice beach area but if you were to ask Ross what he thought, he’d tell you those beaches could have been anywhere in the world. The coolest part about Punta del Este? The marina of course! I got up early one morning and headed out with my camera and fought the urge to take millions of sailboat pictures. I got to see the fishermen come in with their fresh catch and see the mini-fish market right next to where they docked their small boats. But the boats there! There is a lot of money sitting in that marina. Not what you’d expect to see in South America but there it was. And I’ll have to hand it to them; they’re a lot more creative with their names down here.

I also saw a male sea lion who had been injured by a prop. I’m hoping that he’s doing okay. Ross and I had seen him the night before when we walked down by the marina and a couple of people had thrown him some fish. In the morning the fish were gone and fresh flowers had been thrown down around him. The third time I saw him he was sitting up with his neck stretched up into the air. So maybe the big guy will make it.

And of course, you can’t go to Argentina and now try the meat, for which they are famous. And it is quite tasty. The wine is also something that you should definitely enjoy while there. There are so many varieties there that more than likely everyone can find something that tickles their fancy. As you can probably tell by the commentary on the meat, I wasn’t too impressed with the steak. We’ve got some pretty tasty stuff back home as well and my buddies back home with their grills could probably give any Argentinean a run for his money any day of the week.

As I’ve been typing it’s occurred to me that I failed to write anything about Puerto Madryn. Now, that place (which is around a 20 hour bus ride south of Buenos Aires), if you can visit at the right time of the year, would be amazing. In October to November there’s great whale watching. And, if you’re there in February you will be in one of only two places in the world where you can watch Orcas beach themselves to pluck baby sea lions off the beach. They also have elephant seals but I don’t remember what time of year you have to be around to see the males with their huge elephant like noses. Most of the time they’re out to sea, hunting for food. But the Orcas, who all have names, and are recognized by their dorsal fins, are pretty cool. If I’m ever back down there you can bet it’ll be in February.

One very freaky, scary, and totally cool thing happened while I was snorkeling. We were all kind of separated but close to the boat and a rock wall, dorking around in the water. I was out a little farther than everyone else at that point but close to the rock wall looking for fish and anything else that looked interesting. I was just about to get a little bored when I caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of my eye. My first though was “SHARK!!!!” and then, no, it’s not a shark. “OH MY GOSH!!! It’s a SEA LION!!!” For a minute I thought “Oh! How cool!” Then my next thought was, “Oh! I hope he’s not aggressive, ‘cause he is B-I-G.” He didn’t see me though and he continued to swim towards the little jetty where the rest of the sea lions were sunning themselves. It was pretty exciting there for a bit. I can imagine how people quickly use up all their oxygen while swimming with sharks.

Another event you can witness if you come during January is the Dakar Rally. Talk about cool stuff. It’s a motorcycle, car, and truck race that makes a gigantic loop through Argentina and Chile. It’s almost 19 days of pure adrenaline. On average, one person dies during the race each year. There was a motorcyclist who died this year but they weren’t really sure why, possibly a heart attack. I obtained this information from the 3rd place truck team (Go Holland!) who just happened to be celebrating at an Irish bar. Of course I didn’t have my camera so I have no proof but I do know that the guys who said they came in 5th didn’t, at least the guy who said he was the driver wasn’t the driver (he was at least wearing a team shirt). It’s pretty easy to verify pickup lines these days with the invention of the internet. Seriously.

So, that’s almost it for Argentina. I’m just missing Iguazu Falls. I didn’t miss it really, I just haven’t written about it yet. But that’s another story and my battery on my computer is almost dead so it’ll have to wait. Got some great pictures though and can’t wait to post them!