These two places are really incredible. We started the trip to Foz do Iguacu, Brazil about 9 days ago and it was a pretty standard bus ride. Not really anything interesting to look at on the trip. We got to Foz with no problems and decided to take a nap because the bus trip was another all nighter. We had decided in Curitiba to take a good bus company so the air conditioning would be strong the whole way to Foz but at the first rest stop on the route, the bitchy old hag behind us complained to the bus driver that the bus was too cold. This wreaked havoc on every other passenger for the remaining 9 hours aboard the bus. Lauren and I gathered our portuguese together in an attempt to get the air conditioner turned back on but the old hag lady went back up and complained again. Everyone on the bus just thought the air conditioning had broken but Lauren and I were in the front row so we knew what was going on. So we didn't sleep a bit that night on the bus so a nap was in order as soon as we got to Foz do Iguacu. Our hostel was ok and a little bit of a walk from the bus station. The people spoke english and the internet was broken, as usual. After a 3 hour nap we hopped on the bus outside our hostel and rode 30 minutes to the national park at Iguazu Falls. It was pretty cheap to get in and then we had to get on another bus up to the falls themselves. We got off at a fancy hotel and could immediately hear the roar of the falls. I had read about these falls in the guide books but I really had no idea what to expect. It was a million times more than what I had pictured! These dwarf Niagara! From the Brazil side you really cannot get very close to the falls but you can see the damn thing, which is difficult. There are 275 waterfalls total. The biggest was La Gargantua and it was perfectly named. We got pretty close to it and got SOAKED! It was worth it because it was extremely hot outside.
The next day we hopped on another public bus that took us to Puerto Iguazu, Argentina. Time for another passport stamp. I had lost the piece of paper that the Brazillian immigration officer had given me 3 weeks before, which is punishable by a fine of $90 USD. They won't give you an exit stamp if you don't have that piece of paper! You only get a citation and then you have to go to the embassy in your home country when you get back, pay them the $90, and then they give you your exit stamp. I knew all of this before heading to the border. Well for me playing dumb at the border wasn't too difficult since I don't know any portuguese AT ALL. The officer held up the paper I was supposed to have and I just made some grunts and random english words, followed by shoving my passport towards him and saying 'STAMP'repeatedly! After pointing at the paper a few more times and saying some other angry portuguese back to me he laughed at my lack of Brazilian culture and stamped my passport and let me go free! I don't know how it worked but it did and that I am thankful for!
Once in Puerto Iguazu, we chilled out at our amazing hostel, which had air conditioning, and then went to bed so we could explore the Argentina side of the falls the next day. Next day we woke up to the worst thunder storms we had seen since we started our trip! It didn't let up all day so we just lounged around the hostel and looked for a plane ticket to Buenos Aires for the next day. We ended up getting a night bus to Buenos Aires because we learned that bus travel in Argentina is an art form. We'll get to the bus later. It didn't leave until 2pm the next day so we had to get up early to see the falls before the bus left. It was worth every bit, except the exorbitant fees they charge to go in a national park if you are a foreigner. It was bullshit in my book. It was $5 for people from Argentina or $20 for anyone else! I got over the price scheme pretty quick as we headed straight for La Gargantua. We walked through the woods on a path where we saw a family of Coatis, a little racoon like anteater, then found the cat walk that took us over the river to the biggest waterfall I have ever seen and may ever see. As we walked up all I could see was mist rising and water being sucked down. I am not even going to try to describe the Argentina side of Iguazu Falls because it is impossible to do it justice. It is the most incredible natural site I have ever seen. On the Argentina side you can walk around the bottom of the falls and around the top of the falls on a very extensive system of cat walks. The whole time our mouths were open in awe. I took a ton of pictures and should have them up on Snapfish soon. I haven't totally figured out how to use that site very well so if anyone has any idea how to share my whole library, let me know please!!
I haven't spent a lot of time in Argentina yet, but so far the food kicks ass. I got a "simple cheeseburger" the other day and it had burger, ham, and fried egg on it!! I called it the gaucho burger and when I spend an extended period of time in Buenos Aires I will find the best one there!
So about the bus... We had 3 companies to choose from that offered Cama Suite, or Bed Suite, service to Buenos Aires. This was a must as it is an 18 hour trip. Two companies offered free wifi on the bus but we decided to go with another company that had a promotion for $60 US. For that price we got a leather seat that reclined into a bed like a first class international flight. As for meals, we were served three in 18 hours, including a 3 course dinner with salad, cold dinner, and hot dinner. Full bar service, for free the whole ride, and Argentine wine during dinner! We both stuffed ourselves and I had plenty of wine and whiskey. I think it was the best I had slept in 3 weeks! Anyways, bus service in this country is the best ever. I can't wait to take another bus in March.
Once in Buenos Aires we spent one night before heading to Uruguay for a week of exploration of a country I had never thought of before!
Uruguay is a manly country. I watched the Anthony Bourdain No Reservations on Montevideo a couple weeks before I left the states, so I knew I was in for a treat. First we went to a little town called Colonia de Sacremento. It was cool little town set up by the Portuguese to smuggle stuff across the bay into Buenos Aires! It looked like a mini Charleston or Savanna and we spent a day taking pictures of the old buildings and antique cars all over the streets. One of the restaurants we ate at had cars parked in the lot all around it that had been converted into booths. The engine was removed and replaced with speakers, which was really pretty cool.
I think Montevideo might be my favorite city I will visit in this continent! Everything about it is perfect! Low crime, extremely clean, good people, and the best food ever. I wish we had spent a week here because two days was not enough. We started the trip by going to our hostel in the upscale Pocitos neighborhood. It was cool place with a lot of character. We immediately headed up to the end of the block to the place where Anthony Bourdaine ate his first Chivito!
YouTube about Chivito Creation at the restaurant we went to by our hostel!!
The next day we headed on a tour of the city on some bikes we rented from the hostel. These were some badass cruisers that we were about to put to the test on a 12 hour adventure around Montevideo. Montevideo is unique because it has the "Rambla". The rambla is a road and sidewalk that stretches around the whole city like a belt inclosing all of the buildings and separating them from the ocean. The development of the city stops about 500 yds from the ocean to make room for parks, beaches, golf courses, fishing clubs, and one or two exclusive restaurants! The rambla walk way is two lanes, one for walking and one for bikes! It is perfect. We rode like 5 miles, or about an hour, up to the ciudad vieja neighborhood. For my dad, that means old city. This is where I started to love this city. The main avenue downtown terminates into a huge plaza flanked by ancient Portuguese Government buildings on all sides and the main avenue continues on the other end as a pedestrian street. It has all the nice cafes and shops and upscale apartments mixed with buildings and theatres from colonial times and the turn of the century. It was impressive and we took lots of pictures in anticipation of Montevideo's crown jewel, Mercado del Puerto. It is a market built at the turn of the century to house the bars and parillas down by the port! It is similar to what I think Heaven might be like. There are nearly 20 restaurants that are like none I've ever seen before. The typical layout is bar surrounding coolers full of meat or beer and the grandaddy of all grills covered in all sorts of meat, entrails, veggies for skewers, and all heated by wood fire. It was a spectacle of manlyness. Lauren and I both got filets and shared a beer that was 970ml. It was only $20!!! My filet didn't even fit on my plate and came with a salad and side and bread. We had an appetizer of spicy chorizo, fresh off the grill. An American girl doing the same thing we were came and sat down next to us and told us of a bar at the end of the market that invented a wine called media y media, or half and half. It is part dry white wine and part semi sweet white wine. Its really good and we drank a lot of it at the bar that invented it. The first glass is always on the house at that place. After this amazing afternoon exploring the city we rode our bikes back down the rambla and had to stop at the movie theatre because our asses were so sore from the hard plastic bike seats. We saw Changeling which is creepy and a little depressing but really good. 12 hours after first setting out for the market we made it back to the hostel, still full, skipped dinner and went to bed.
YouTube about Mercado del Puerto... not the same stand we went to but it was identical!!
So now we are back in Buenos Aires where we'll spend the rest of February and I'll get some practicar on my espanol. There should be another update soon enough.
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