Saturday, December 12, 2009
Week in Cordoba day 1 Nov. 16 lunes
At 645am Uli rng my buzzer so we could go to the bus station. turned out he brought a fairly good-sized backpack for his clothes. originally, he was going to bring just a regular backpack , but i told him we were ging for a week...not a day. but, it was a good thing we bought the other one because we will need a smaller one on the motorbike. we had medialunas and cafe in Retiro at the omnibus station and fresh-squeezed orange juice...not too shabby. here was the fun part...trying to find which bus was ours - any one between platforms 15 and 40. the bulletin board was not up to date and 830 was fast approaching. we were looking for Chevallier because that was who we bought our tickets from, but we were wrong! the empresa (company) was Urquiza and finally we asked someone who said "you better run because it's leaving"...and so we ran...thank god we found it. guess what...we spent 13 hours on that bus! definitely the longest bus ride i've ever been on. there wasn't much to see but flat land and cows and the different towns we had to pass through. we stopped so many times to pick people up and drop them off. i slept a little bit. we were going to drink on the bus, but someone left his wine bottle opener in his bag which was underneath the bus! by the end i was ready to die...we had to sit in the seats under the top floor about 15 min before we got off the bus since we were the last ones, and the bathroom was down there. i was really starting to feel sick because after 13 hours on a bus with who knows many people were using it...eck! there really are mountains here...i almost couldn't believe it just because the land was so flat for so long! they were so beautiful...looked very dry- all sort of a brownish colour. saw the sun set on the bus...we arrived in the dark to Villa Giardino and walked to Hospidaje Anita where Uli had stayed before. we ran into some people that he knew on the street and they invited us over. first we settled into our room, finally...we are staying in a kind of hostel that is a converted house but we are the only guests...it is beautiful...lots of plants and wooden furniture...very home-like. there are about 10 rooms or so. she is so nice and hospitable. her name is Susanna. as time goes by, i understand a bit more. she gives us breakfast between 9 and 11am and cleans and changes everything. she is so nice...she always calls me "mi amor". she's like a mommy away from home. we opened a bottle of wine and started drinking and talking about personal things until Roxanna and her boyfriend came by and asked us what was taking so long. so away we went. there house was cute. bare, but cute. the mother, Betty, had a little dog named Cleto who wouldn't leave me alone. we ate pizza, talked and looked at photos from when Uli was there before. and around 1230, i told Uli we had to go, so we did. He snored a shit ton...so both of us didn't get much sleep because i had to keep telling him to be quiet.
Return from Iguazu Sun. Nov. 15
i had a rude awakening. at 5am (and onward), some locals on the road by the river decided they were going to blast music from their cars. that was pretty disruptive. so at 7am i couldn't take it anymore and got up for breakfast buffet. i ran into Jose, Fabiana and Jorge who all said "what are you doing up so early?" and i said "ay, la musica de los jovenes en la calle afuera de mi ventana...no pide dormir!" F and Jleft to go on their tour of the Brazilian side of the falls. i couldn't do that because just like those damn Americans, i need a visa too. i wandered around and took more pictures of the hotel. then i had to wait an hour and a half for my ride to the airport. i had lost my watch at the fals so i had a difficulttime trying to keep an eye on the time. also, the sky was looking very dark - like thundercloud dark - it even started raining and i thought "i bet my flight will be delayed". so my ride showed up and we cahhted in the van and by this point it was pouring rain and thundering and lightning...i knew my flight would be delayed. got to the airport and sure enough, it was delayed by half an hour (which meant an hour). i wndered around and went into a couple of shops and looked for presents for people. it was a bit pricey for Argentina. but i found some bookmarks and almost a really good present for Steffy. looking outside it was thunderstorming. there was only one security gate and it took 40 min. to get everyone through. apparently, it took so long not only because of the one security gate, but also because they had to input you passport again...i chatted with an older couple from Canada (Toronto, wee!) in line behind me about this. they had been in the amazon and were going to Bs. As. first for a night, then South and then back. they were nice but complaining a lot about the inefficiency of this airport. finally i got on the plane. it was still Aerolineas Argentinas, pero Austral, a different mini-company in an MD Serie 80 jet. unlike the Boeing, its wings were closer to the back and had 3 seats on one side, 2 on the other and no first class. the ascent wasn't too bumpy. they fed us another ham and cheese sandwich and a mini alfahor. it only took us 1.5 hours this time. being ale to see Bs. As. from the air was incredible. in Toronto, you see the downtown as having the tallest buildings...but for Bs. As. it's almost impossible! there are tall buildings everywhere! it's impressive! i couldn't believe it! when i was leaving the airport, i couldnt' believe how long the line was for people needing taxis. i walked a little over the way and just hailed one off the road...muy facil! i spent the rest of the evening trying to pack and had dinner with Uli so we could talk about the plan for the morning...the day was going to come really early.
Nov 14 - Day at Iguazu Argentinian Side
NB: taken from info.in my hotel room: " the Iguazu port is located in the northern area of the Misiones province; it is the gateway to visit Iguazu national park, site of the worldwide famous Iguazu falls with its 275 falls. The city, located at 15km from the Iguazu falls provides all the complementary services to this wonderful n atural tourist destination. the city, founded on Sept. 10, 1901 as "Aguirre Port", has celebrated its first 100 years of existence. it is located in the northeastern extreme of the Misiones Province. the small city has 30,000 inhabitants and several attraction points for enthralling tourists. one of them is the Three Frontier Landmark where you can observe the Iguazu river floating into the Parana river at the geographic limit of the 3 countires: Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. The guaranies settled in the Argentine territory between the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century. the Misiones province and neighbouring areas of Paraguay and Brazil presently shelter the mbya, descendants from the guaranies who refused to participate in the Jesuit Misiones. besides the mbya, groups of pai tareytera and chiripas live in the Misiones province."
My day began very early - oh by the way, the planes locally don't have tv screens - the flight attendants have to do their seatbelt/mask demonstration totally alone with someone on the intercom. So, anyway...really early - breakfast buffet with pastries, eggs, different freshly squeezed fruit juices (me encanta), cheese and meat and of course, coffee. Jose was there again and took care of me of course. At 8am, i was picked up by a mini-van on behalf of Travel Raisen with another couple from Bs. As. We had to go into the Ciudad de Iguazu to a hostel to pick up another couple. They didn't talk much the whole day. the guide's name was David and his English was pretty limited...I thought "oh hell, wy wouldn't they give me an English tourguide, im screwed. thankfully, the first couple who got in the van with me spoke some English and said they would translate for me. their names were Jorge and Fabiana and they live outside Bs. As. in la provincia. They are here celebrating their 22nd anniversary and have 3 sons - Fabiana is a lawyer and Jorge works in insurance. Jorge told me that David was explaining that there are 3 parks the one we are going to is Iguazu National Park with 67,000 ha; there is another one south, and one in Brazil that is 100-something ha. The park is considered subtropical rainforest and is not completely natural - only about 70 years old. we got to the park and walked through to find a mini-train. the park was beautiful so far: everything so green and lush, the ground so red and fertile, we saw various beginnings of trails and stores for merchandise. it almost looked like it could have been an amusemnt park. while we were walking, we walked through a forest and ate some random yellow fruit off the ground. i forget what David called them. they were sweet and bitter at the same time and really juicy. we also saw a palm tree which is specifically for "palmito that people use an ingredient in cooking. apparently, it takes a really long time to grow party of it - 15 years or so - and they use the shoots to cook with. so, if all the shoots are used, there is no new part of the tree growing. they essentially kill it. we also saw a Coati, which is a mammal that looks like a raccoon and has a really long tail. we had strict instructions not to feed them because they will eat anything. i snagged a picture of the cute creature (mostly to show papa that at least he didnt have to chase these things out of the garbage in Toronto, just regular raccoons) and then we got to the train station. it was called "Estacion Central" - central station - how original! we waited en un cola larga (large line) and at that point you could feel the humidity as the sweat uncontrollably dripped down my face. i talked with Fabiana and Jorge and then we just stuck together for the rest of the day. Mariposas were everywhere (butterflies!). They were many beautiful colours...blue, red, yellow, orange and would try to feed off the salt minerals on us. on our tran ride the mariposas were everywhere...flying all aroun, trying to hitch rides on people. it was very pleasant. we arrived at Estacion Garganta so we could go to Garganta del Diablo - a very powerful, circular area of the falls a bit like Niagra Falls. We had to walk about 1km over metal pathwys over the Iguazu river. it had just rained so the water was a bit higher than usual. However, it is very possible that these pathways can be flooded if the river rises too quickly. the walk was cool - well, cool as in interesting, and the sun was definitely beating down on us. and ofcourse, mariposas everywhere as we walked! i didn't see any crocodiles (apparently there are some) and all of a sudden you could see (and hear) the tops of some very big waterfalls (cataratas). it was unbelievable - i took tons of photos....half of it belongs to Brazil but most is Argentina. The mist was so thick and beautiful and the sound of them....there were these birds that kept flying in and out of the mist - apparently they make nests in caves by the water. you couldn't see the water down below because of the mist. Union and Mitre are the names of the two major sides of these falls up here. The Diablo part is just after the water drops down below and you cant see the bottom because of all the mist. I was in complete awe...so much so that I didn't realize there was a bee sitting on my arm (bee=avejas) and i watched it sting me. i freaked out, grabbed it and threw it, and ripped the stinger out of my arm as best i could! Fabiana and Jorge came over and squeezed it to make sure the stinger was out and asked me if i was alergic...i didn't think so. i was pissed off, but okay. we looked at these falls a bt more, then had to walk back across the catwalks to catch the train again. this time, we went to Estacion Cataratas (i think) or Central, where we were going to do a forrest trail in a bit open truck and then our boat ride into the falls. We got to this big open outback truck where we were pretty much had people from everywhere in the world present (except Russia and Africa) - well major countries, that is. we were driving down the main road and then all of a sudden we veered off down Sendero Yacaratia. the drive was going to take us through Iguazu forest for about 8km. there wasn't much to see. a lizard was scurrying away from the truck at one point and near a puddle, a bunch of mariposas flew all around the truck like something out of a movie! the forest is pretty tangled and thick in some places...and the trees are more tall than thick because all of them are competing for the same sunlight. Our guide for the open truck ride was nice...her name was Paula (pronounced Paola). She said that 30% of Argentina's plant species are are in the park and 50% of the animals. There are big cats present in the park too but I didn't see any. She told us about the palmitas. Anyway, it wasn't very long, but it was definitely enjoyable. I, of course, tok some pictures of trees. We disembarked and were going on to the boat trip. We had to walkdown some long, uneven stairs to get down there and were warned it would suck climbing back up. The mariposas were still everywhere. We waited to get onto a raft and then onto the boats that were attached to it. They gave you thick, waterproof bags to put your stuff in. The boat could fit quite a few people and one of the guys who worked there was filming us so people could buy the experience on DVD for 100p. The wait itself was insane. They gave us lifejackets of course and we went on a pretty fast boat ride up the Rio Iguazu inferior. It was nice feeling the wind in my hair and Brazil was on one side, with Argentina on the other. Took more pictures! All of a sudden, you could see some waterfalls ahead...it was like these big monsters looming in front of us. We stopped for pictures a bit of distance away...we were going to go almost right under the Salto Tres Mosqueteros (3 muskateers). It was suspenseful as we watched other boats ahead of us go into them and float with the river...and we were about to do the same - we waved and cheered to other boats and then, in we went. We were soaked and it was hard to see the water coming down into our eyes. But, I tried my best and saw the water coming down ontop of me...breathtaking! We turned around and went round to pause at a bunch of more waterfalls...Bossetti, Eva, Adan, San Martin, Mbigua and another that I can't make out the name. I took so many pictures...even a couple of videos because the pictures didn't show the full effect of the unbelievable beauty and power of these. all of a sudden, in we went again - even more breathtaking looking up at the water falling down on me...i thought of so manny people that should have been there with me. after, we wanted to go in again, but went to another raft dock closer to these falls. we docked, soaking wet and gathered our belongings. David, our tourguide was waiting for us. we proceeded to climb an insane amount of stairs in the forested cliffs and had little balconies here and there that gave us different views of different falls as we wound our way around them, beside them and up to the top of them again. I got a bunch of pictures- David was nice enough to take a few of me and I took some for Jorge and Fabiana as well. we got so close to the fals even on foot on a balcony on one of the catwalks. when we finally made it to the top again, there were 2 men selling handmade tiles and magnets painted with pictures of Iguazu and tucans (i didn't see any tucans...maybe in Brazil). i bought a few of them as souvenirs. beautiful! perfect gifts...im now on a gift-hunting mission. we walked over more catwalks - the humidity made it difficult because our clothes weren't drying and made us all uncomfortable. around 2, we were starving and myself, Fabiana and Jorge had a pizza at one of the fast food places - it was quite good actually. then, at 3, we met david at the gate and piled back into the van. we were exhausted. we went our separate ways for the afternoon and were going to meet for dinner at 9. i spent the rest of the late afternoon resting, watching a movie and writing outside on one of the lunge beds...i forget what they are called in castellano. met my new friends at 9 after Jose had already come out and brought me a Dakiri - i love being able to put things on a tab (even the mini-fridge) because the exchange makes it all super cheap! It was good to not have to have dinner alone again. they had the buffet and i ordered steak with potatoes in a cream sauce. it was wicked! F and J are so nice. they told me if i wasn't going home for Christmas, i could come spend it with them...i think i will take them up on the offer. it was muy amable de ellos. we chatted for a little while after dinner on the front deck. then, i said adios.
My day began very early - oh by the way, the planes locally don't have tv screens - the flight attendants have to do their seatbelt/mask demonstration totally alone with someone on the intercom. So, anyway...really early - breakfast buffet with pastries, eggs, different freshly squeezed fruit juices (me encanta), cheese and meat and of course, coffee. Jose was there again and took care of me of course. At 8am, i was picked up by a mini-van on behalf of Travel Raisen with another couple from Bs. As. We had to go into the Ciudad de Iguazu to a hostel to pick up another couple. They didn't talk much the whole day. the guide's name was David and his English was pretty limited...I thought "oh hell, wy wouldn't they give me an English tourguide, im screwed. thankfully, the first couple who got in the van with me spoke some English and said they would translate for me. their names were Jorge and Fabiana and they live outside Bs. As. in la provincia. They are here celebrating their 22nd anniversary and have 3 sons - Fabiana is a lawyer and Jorge works in insurance. Jorge told me that David was explaining that there are 3 parks the one we are going to is Iguazu National Park with 67,000 ha; there is another one south, and one in Brazil that is 100-something ha. The park is considered subtropical rainforest and is not completely natural - only about 70 years old. we got to the park and walked through to find a mini-train. the park was beautiful so far: everything so green and lush, the ground so red and fertile, we saw various beginnings of trails and stores for merchandise. it almost looked like it could have been an amusemnt park. while we were walking, we walked through a forest and ate some random yellow fruit off the ground. i forget what David called them. they were sweet and bitter at the same time and really juicy. we also saw a palm tree which is specifically for "palmito that people use an ingredient in cooking. apparently, it takes a really long time to grow party of it - 15 years or so - and they use the shoots to cook with. so, if all the shoots are used, there is no new part of the tree growing. they essentially kill it. we also saw a Coati, which is a mammal that looks like a raccoon and has a really long tail. we had strict instructions not to feed them because they will eat anything. i snagged a picture of the cute creature (mostly to show papa that at least he didnt have to chase these things out of the garbage in Toronto, just regular raccoons) and then we got to the train station. it was called "Estacion Central" - central station - how original! we waited en un cola larga (large line) and at that point you could feel the humidity as the sweat uncontrollably dripped down my face. i talked with Fabiana and Jorge and then we just stuck together for the rest of the day. Mariposas were everywhere (butterflies!). They were many beautiful colours...blue, red, yellow, orange and would try to feed off the salt minerals on us. on our tran ride the mariposas were everywhere...flying all aroun, trying to hitch rides on people. it was very pleasant. we arrived at Estacion Garganta so we could go to Garganta del Diablo - a very powerful, circular area of the falls a bit like Niagra Falls. We had to walk about 1km over metal pathwys over the Iguazu river. it had just rained so the water was a bit higher than usual. However, it is very possible that these pathways can be flooded if the river rises too quickly. the walk was cool - well, cool as in interesting, and the sun was definitely beating down on us. and ofcourse, mariposas everywhere as we walked! i didn't see any crocodiles (apparently there are some) and all of a sudden you could see (and hear) the tops of some very big waterfalls (cataratas). it was unbelievable - i took tons of photos....half of it belongs to Brazil but most is Argentina. The mist was so thick and beautiful and the sound of them....there were these birds that kept flying in and out of the mist - apparently they make nests in caves by the water. you couldn't see the water down below because of the mist. Union and Mitre are the names of the two major sides of these falls up here. The Diablo part is just after the water drops down below and you cant see the bottom because of all the mist. I was in complete awe...so much so that I didn't realize there was a bee sitting on my arm (bee=avejas) and i watched it sting me. i freaked out, grabbed it and threw it, and ripped the stinger out of my arm as best i could! Fabiana and Jorge came over and squeezed it to make sure the stinger was out and asked me if i was alergic...i didn't think so. i was pissed off, but okay. we looked at these falls a bt more, then had to walk back across the catwalks to catch the train again. this time, we went to Estacion Cataratas (i think) or Central, where we were going to do a forrest trail in a bit open truck and then our boat ride into the falls. We got to this big open outback truck where we were pretty much had people from everywhere in the world present (except Russia and Africa) - well major countries, that is. we were driving down the main road and then all of a sudden we veered off down Sendero Yacaratia. the drive was going to take us through Iguazu forest for about 8km. there wasn't much to see. a lizard was scurrying away from the truck at one point and near a puddle, a bunch of mariposas flew all around the truck like something out of a movie! the forest is pretty tangled and thick in some places...and the trees are more tall than thick because all of them are competing for the same sunlight. Our guide for the open truck ride was nice...her name was Paula (pronounced Paola). She said that 30% of Argentina's plant species are are in the park and 50% of the animals. There are big cats present in the park too but I didn't see any. She told us about the palmitas. Anyway, it wasn't very long, but it was definitely enjoyable. I, of course, tok some pictures of trees. We disembarked and were going on to the boat trip. We had to walkdown some long, uneven stairs to get down there and were warned it would suck climbing back up. The mariposas were still everywhere. We waited to get onto a raft and then onto the boats that were attached to it. They gave you thick, waterproof bags to put your stuff in. The boat could fit quite a few people and one of the guys who worked there was filming us so people could buy the experience on DVD for 100p. The wait itself was insane. They gave us lifejackets of course and we went on a pretty fast boat ride up the Rio Iguazu inferior. It was nice feeling the wind in my hair and Brazil was on one side, with Argentina on the other. Took more pictures! All of a sudden, you could see some waterfalls ahead...it was like these big monsters looming in front of us. We stopped for pictures a bit of distance away...we were going to go almost right under the Salto Tres Mosqueteros (3 muskateers). It was suspenseful as we watched other boats ahead of us go into them and float with the river...and we were about to do the same - we waved and cheered to other boats and then, in we went. We were soaked and it was hard to see the water coming down into our eyes. But, I tried my best and saw the water coming down ontop of me...breathtaking! We turned around and went round to pause at a bunch of more waterfalls...Bossetti, Eva, Adan, San Martin, Mbigua and another that I can't make out the name. I took so many pictures...even a couple of videos because the pictures didn't show the full effect of the unbelievable beauty and power of these. all of a sudden, in we went again - even more breathtaking looking up at the water falling down on me...i thought of so manny people that should have been there with me. after, we wanted to go in again, but went to another raft dock closer to these falls. we docked, soaking wet and gathered our belongings. David, our tourguide was waiting for us. we proceeded to climb an insane amount of stairs in the forested cliffs and had little balconies here and there that gave us different views of different falls as we wound our way around them, beside them and up to the top of them again. I got a bunch of pictures- David was nice enough to take a few of me and I took some for Jorge and Fabiana as well. we got so close to the fals even on foot on a balcony on one of the catwalks. when we finally made it to the top again, there were 2 men selling handmade tiles and magnets painted with pictures of Iguazu and tucans (i didn't see any tucans...maybe in Brazil). i bought a few of them as souvenirs. beautiful! perfect gifts...im now on a gift-hunting mission. we walked over more catwalks - the humidity made it difficult because our clothes weren't drying and made us all uncomfortable. around 2, we were starving and myself, Fabiana and Jorge had a pizza at one of the fast food places - it was quite good actually. then, at 3, we met david at the gate and piled back into the van. we were exhausted. we went our separate ways for the afternoon and were going to meet for dinner at 9. i spent the rest of the late afternoon resting, watching a movie and writing outside on one of the lunge beds...i forget what they are called in castellano. met my new friends at 9 after Jose had already come out and brought me a Dakiri - i love being able to put things on a tab (even the mini-fridge) because the exchange makes it all super cheap! It was good to not have to have dinner alone again. they had the buffet and i ordered steak with potatoes in a cream sauce. it was wicked! F and J are so nice. they told me if i wasn't going home for Christmas, i could come spend it with them...i think i will take them up on the offer. it was muy amable de ellos. we chatted for a little while after dinner on the front deck. then, i said adios.
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