A few weeks ago I went to Iguazu Falls with the Joes for a few days! It truly was amazing, completely understand why they call it a wonder of the world,
completely worth the 40 hour roundtrip there! Put this location high on your places-to-go-before-I-die list!!!! i think what really made it, is they have catwalks which lead you right over, right next to, right infront of the falls -it's not just a grand view. it allows you to become a part of it and you get this whole other experience of seeing it rush under your feet or look over the railing right below to see where it lands. magical!
We took a 20 hours bus ride and it was great! I was really dreading the trip, ya know, considering i have like 4 feet of legs to squish in between seats. but oh my! i'm even going to go as far as saying these buses are better than first class on an airplane! i guess when that's the prime way to travel here they make it goooood! loads and loads of leg room, comfy seats, free flowing alcohol, questionable dinner, english movies. on the way there, the server dude kept coming back to us to re-fill our drinks, instead of re-filling the other costumers -guess we musta looked thirsty! so that was sweet! and then the server goes and hides for the night, and the kitchen is up top (it's a double decker and we were on top, both times); so naturally, we just helped ourselves to more! but on the way home, i had to move to the back of the bus, cuz my recliner wouldn't stay reclined! well the server was hitting on me like no tomorrow; which in one way was great -more alcohol, and he found out the joes were my friends, so he kept filling them up as well! but then i had to deal with the slimy, luckily they only serve ya twice! eww gross, just remembering that dude. ick!
(above pic: at the 3 frontiers. i'm in arg., pushing brazil, on the right, away from paraguay, on the left).
we rolled in on saturday afternoon. we had just missed a brutal storm. the city was a mess! trees were down, electricity out in sections,...so we found a hostel (that was an adventure in itself. this one hostel wanted us to stay in the pitch black, one candle to light our room) and wound up at a really sweet one. we strolled around the city, and went to the point where you can see 3 countries at once (arg, paraguay and BRAZIL). so rad!! and brazil was soooooo close (i have a burning passion to go and travel around that country)!!! ...which we didn't go to the brazil side of the falls cuz the visa is mucho expensivo, even though i've heard lots that it isn't necessary and/or it's easy to escape the visa part -but we decided not to chance it. we also didn't go into paraguay (which is supposed to be super good for cheap shopping) cuz it just sounded highly unattractive -so dirty and crazy busy. plus, i'm with boys, i gotta be in the mood to shop myself, so shopping?! ya right! pass!
the next day, or should i say at the butt crack of dawn, we made it to the falls. it was a bit overcast, but absolutely breathtaking no less. we also saw our very first couple sighting -which was the game of the weekend. now, they aren't just any kinda couples. these couples, where the SAME EXACT thing (see below pic)! down to the shoes! so much so, they make you wonder if he's wearing a matching bra and if she's wearing boxers or briefs! ridiculous! and there must have been a special somewhere in town (his and hers for the price of one) bcuz there were loads of these in the park! who told them that this was ok? high spotting time: they come out primarily early am, making it harder to spot later in the day. anyways, that was fun to constantly look out for, as well as all the other wild animals in the park!
other animals you ask? MONKEYS!!! i've always wanted to see one, heck i used to want one when i was little, and we spotted a few in the trees! cute little monkeys!!! AWESOME! we also saw these weird anteater (but smaller) looking things. they come right out and snatch food away from the tourists (see below pic)! they looks so cute so people get up and close to them, taking pics left and right. i heard they can be quite vicious, so i didn't get too close, but joe sure did. i'm still trying to figure out how he didn't get bit! ooo but speaking of which, he was bitten, by a bug, and his left hand ballooned -no joke! it looked like it was going to float away! it was madly swollen for days! unfortunate! the whole time the boys, esp joey, were like girls jumping everytime they thought they felt a bug. me and david, this guy in our hostel room that hung out with us, were both like oy vay whilst shaking our heads. those boys would not survive canada! actually, joe was pretty good about it, up until the bite, but then it was downhill after that. so he had good reason. lets see, also saw little baby looking toucan sams!!! that was neat! and then i craved fruit loops...also, loads of butterflies everywhere! they even land on you!! lots were huge and had amazing, vibrant colors. one in particular was like this silky, shiny, bold blue. incredible. didn't see fishes though. was hoping to see some try to jump up stream before falling down the mass waterfall (is that mean?...i think so, dang) but no such luck -and trust me, i looked.
apparently the river has been flooded for the past 5 months! which means we couldn't go to the island in the center. nor could we do a lot of other activities they offer there. BUT, we were able to still take a boat which takes you right INTO the falls!! it was soooo rad!!! well worth it!! plus, i have to say, we were lucky it's flooded. this makes the falls that much more powerful and makes it that much better! plus, i met a guy at our hostel who said his parents came last year (they're from italy) for their anniversary, and it was dried up! went to go see WATERfalls and there was no WATER. weird. whoddathunk this thing actually dries up?! so we were super lucky there was too much water!
(the joes have a waterproof camera, this was taken right before we headed into the falls)
every time we went to the falls and walked all around, walking back and forth between them all (so many falls), they kept getting better and better. first day, took an obscene amount of photos. i tried not to take barely any the next day, trying to focus more on seeing it not through my camera lens..er..screen, but then it was just jaw dropping all over again (the weather got better) and made it all look sooo different! so obvi, i had to take more!! it's insane how many i have. there should be a limit to the amount you can take there.
anyways, other than that it was super relaxing time. one night, the joes, david and i went out for dinner. oh man, we got hosed. we went to a parilla (bbq place) and got the deal where they serve up a grill of mixed meat. well i think bcuz we're foreigners, they creamed us with the bulk of the intestines and kidneys and what not! gross! one of them looked like a long fried fat penne noodle. oh gross. joey was a champ though, ate all those innards! haha! and the rest of the meat was awful, and this is argentina!! wtf? anyways, i'm sure the restaurant folk were amused and we gotta story out of it.
back in ba, i've been landing teaching jobs left and right, but no classes to be had. summers fast approaching and nobody wants to spend it learning a language! hopefully that'll change soon, real soon!!
oh! halloween passed! i was the jolly green giant! super easy costume! great fun! we went to a club that had a halloween night, which was pretty much all expats/travelers, seeming as how this country doesn't celebrate it. it was loads of fun though! this one guy was dressed as a professional swimmer, goggles, speedo, swim cap, and all -pretty hilarious! it was more of a foreigner thing, so it got started pretty early (not at 3 am), which meant that if you came at the typical argentine time, you weren't gonna get in -or so we found out. i invited two diff groups of my argentine friends, they showed up well into that typical argentine clubbin time, and they weren't allowed in! the ticket lady had already gone home for the night! crazy!
lets see, a celebrated a few bdays here and there. the weather has been getting really nice out, so we've been enjoying plaza dorrego just blocks away from our house. only every time we go we come close to getting food poisoning! but it's just so beautiful out, and to be in the plaza, and there's tango dancers (they're just like street folk here, so they come and beg after the show), that we just don't give up! haha! lots of restaurants, there's gotta be one that has food which won't be questionable! right?! lots of sunday asados (bbqs) starting up, which i've taken full advantage of!
my spanish has been increasing at a turtle rate. looking to enroll in classes though! also, i know 2 italians who know spanish. so we've started up a cambio thing -they want to learn more english. so that has been fun, esp bcuz these boys cook real italian dishes, right down to the dough! unfortunately, that's gonna stop for a bit, they're both going back to the motherland for a while next week. otherwise, i've been trying to use my spanish while i'm out n about. but almost every time i do, i somehow manage to tell the employee that i'm some sort of degree of horny! lol! woopsy! one time, i tried to tell this lady it was really hot out, and instead, i told her i was really horny! Plus, i made the super hot action where you fan your face and close your eyes as you tilt your head back! lol! joe ran out of the store cuz he was laughing so hard when he heard me tell the lady! haha! dang! and i was so proud of myself too! well, at least i'm saying those sentences right?....no, no, that doesn't work. haha! oy vay!spanish classes here i come!! haha!
we're also moving out come december!! thank god!! today it stormed pretty hard, and iguazu falls is now in my living room. sweet. typically we get rain when there's rain, but this one tops the charts. whole bunch of new...i'd say holes but that sounds small and these def aren't! anyways, can't wait to get out and on to our new place!!! we're at the top of the building and apparently nobody uses the terrace (which is our roof), so we get it to ourselves!!! so stoked! plus, this place is in WAY better condition and bigger!!
anyways, buenos aires is still absolutely amazing. i can't say enough how great it is! all my new friends i've made here are awesome as well, and i'm super thankful for them!
on thursday, we moved into the new pad in san telmo! lots of onda (character) but a few minor problems that are still waiting to be fixed. our landlord has done a few things since, so i think she will actually get to doing all of them. san telmo is so quaint and cute! unfortunately, there aren’t as many trees. but everything is so close by and lots of cobblestone streets! in palermo (where we were before), everything was more spread out and it didn’t feel so homey.
saturday: the joes and i meet up at joaquin’s apt in belgrano to get a ride with him to baradero, located north of the city. we get there and find ribs stacked with meat on this huge pit/grill thing and a butterflied pig, head and all, grilling! crazy! this ranch had a pool, horses, pigs (minus one, and tasty one at that!), rabbits, chickens, and sheep! once their family friends came, hors d’oeuvres were served: homemade empanadas and choripan. note: empanadas can be a meal in themselves, think hot pocket sized. choripon, also a meal. it is chorizo cut down the middle and stuck in a fatty bun. and no, they were not cut into bite sizes for the typical appetizer portion! so we pretty much had two full meals -not to mention that within the hour, the actual meal was served!! aye dios mio!! but the ribs were to die for! just oozed off the bone with love! and don't get me started on how tasty it was! the ham was awesome too, and i don’t even like ham! i only eat pig in form of sausage! side dishes? not so much! this was a meat extravaganza here! they had buns, but nobody ate them, maybe a bite or two. salad, but again, barely touched! they just had heaps and heaps of meat!! lots of delicious argentinian wine was served as well! which i’m no connoisseur but ooo baby good stuff! and i don’t think it was bcuz i just came from awful wineville, aka turkey! super good! next: champagne and some kinda weird pastry thing was served for desert, along with their delicious coffee! food coma?! mmmm, is there something between food comma and food death? a food haze?!...fog?! ridiculous amount but really really ridiculously good!
afterwards, everyone pretty much upped and left including the host, santiago! they barely sat around and chilled like after an american style bbq, weird. so once everyone was gone, it was just me, the joes, and joqua! at that point, the sun was setting and it was so beautiful. the joes and i wanted to go horseback riding but they weren’t set up to do so. But! there was a horse with an antique carriage conveniently attached, so the joes each took me for a ride! joey was convinced he had found his calling, but then the horse just stopped to eat and wouldn’t budge! haha! spoke to soon! then we hit up the atv! they taught me how to drive manual! awesome! and joey raced around in a classic motorcycle! sa-weet!
cassie and brian playing romeo and juliet in our new and humble abode!!
