Iguazu Falls
Our time was rapidly counting down in Argentina .. which was funny considering that we had already changed our flights twice to increase our time in the country from 4 weeks to 6 weeks! Given that our time was really running out we thought it would be wise to actually see the most famous sight in the country before we left ... Iguazu Falls!
Puerto Iguazu is a sleepy little town and pretty much only geared towards providing tourists with food, shelter and gimmicky souvenirs in between their trips to the waterfalls. The only thing to do here is head to the waterfalls, either from the Argentinean side or hopping the border to Brazil and looking at the waterfalls from there ... so here we go:
Iguazu Falls from the Brazilian side
Brazil Side
The Brazilian entry to the waterfalls had amazing views from the side and above. So we decided to firstly see them from here to get a perspective on things before we explored right up close to the waterfalls on the Argentinean side.
We ‘skipped’ the border to Brazil and entered the national park. In between watching silly tourists feeding the animals along the pathway (not smart), we saw some amazing views of the waterfalls and felt the immense power of the water when the platform weaved near the bottom of the ‘Devil’s Throat’. This is the most immense part of the waterfalls where an unbelievable quantity of water comes crashing down from multiple angles at once.
A friendly little critter eating some healthy natural food
Another critter with curious facial hair in front of the waterfalls
Kate and the falls
Tiny pathway leads right into the Devil´s throat
(Unfortunately no pictures from that walkway, way too much water!)
Argentina Side of the falls
After getting our perspective from the Brazil side, on our second day we explored the falls from the Argentinean side. This time the paths weaved around and through the falls, giving a far closer experience. We went even closer when we took a boat ride right up to the bottom of the falls ... the boat went WAAAY closer to the pounding water than we thought it would and the power of the spray was intense. Drenched to the bone, we then walked around to the top of the ‘Devil’s Throat’, which was even more amazing from the top. Words can’t describe it and our pictures hardly do it justice, but here they are anyway...
It doesn´t look too bad, but 50m around that corner is...
Kate and the Devil´s Throat
Dave (minus his beard!) with the Devil´s Throat
Anything apart from the waterfalls?
While the falls themselves were clearly the highlight of our time here, there were other points of note. Firstly, this was the point in time on the trip when Dave finally cracked and shaved off his 2.5 month old beard ... as he was starting to resemble Tom Hanks from Castaway. There were some experimental designs shaved into the beard before it all came away (resembling something between a leprechaun and a convict) ... however the photos will not be committed to the internet ... yet.
Secondly, we found the funniest little hostel in Puerto Iguazu which had the most laid back management we have ever seen ... they sat around playing playstation all day (if some of the world’s most amazing waterfalls weren’t around the corner, Dave would have owned them at FIFA 09). They also didn’t take a single detail from us during our entire stay (for example our names) and whenever we tried to pay them for the room we were met with ´tranquilo .. mas tarde´ (relax, later!). After months of passport photocopies, credit card guarantees and deposits for bath towels, this was a nice change of pace!!
Final Fling with Argentina´s amazing Buses
With a 20hr ride to Buenos Aires ahead of us, we decided to splurge and travel ¨first class¨ for our final bus ride. With movies, meals, wine, whiskey and a seat that belonged in a plane´s first-class cabin, we floated down to Buenos Aires, knowing that we were unlikely to ride on buses like this for the remainder of our trip!
Buenos Aires
We absolutely loved Buenos Aires. In fact, it was so amazing that we once again tested the patience of our AMAZING travel agent and delayed our stay in Argentina for the third time while we were here (up from the original 4 weeks to 7 weeks).
Buenos Aires feels like a beautiful mix between South America and Europe ... and has an amazing balance: It’s stylish but still grungy. A big Argentine spirit, but with influences from all over the world. World-class eating/drinking, but at an amazing value.
The Food
It appears that all of our clothes became decidedly smaller (especially around the waistlines) while we were in BA. We blame the laundromats ... however it might also have had something to do with the amazing food and wine.
The most difficult part about eating in Buenos Aires was simply choosing between the many amazing options each night. While we were loving South American food, we had been starved of other cultural foods during our recent travels ... not to mention the prior 12 months in Switzerland, where they were world leaders at adapting quickly to exciting new things from other cultures ;)
Firstly we (or more accurately, Dave) was craving some good Asian food ... which brought about some very satisfying trips to Japanese, Malaysian, Vietnamese and Indian restaurants in very quick time. The trips to the Malaysian and Indian restaurants unfortunately also showed us how much of our spice tolerance we had lost in the prior year ... we were chilli wimps!
During these trips to the Asian kitchens, we also found that BA was experimenting with Japanese/Peruvian fusion, where dishes were created using a combination of Japanese Sushi and Peruvian Ceviche techniques. Dave was extremely excited by this ... Kate a little less so.
Ceviche and a pisco sour ... awesome!
However at the end, despite all of the culturally diverse restaurants in the city, Parilla was still extremely well represented and it was playing a very unfair advantage. Each night, as we wandered the streets considering where to eat dinner, it was very difficult not to notice the smell of the Parilla smoke, combined with sizzling chorizo and steaks, wafting through the air at nearly every corner. With a few beers under one’s belt it was extremely difficult to refuse, and we were captured by some more amazing steak (matched with even more amazing Malbecs) on multiple occasions before we departed.
The Parilla at Don Julio in Palermo
(Photo from http://www.guiaoleo.com.ar ...
we were too busy eating to actually take our own photos)
Upon reflection, I think we’ve found the source of the clothing problem.
The Sights
In between eating and drinking, we actually found some time to do a little sightseeing! In Buenos Aires we wandered through the Recoleta cemetary, where famous Argentineans are laid to rest. Then, having seen the tomb of Evita Perón, we headed to see the Museo Evita, which was a far nicer way to learn about her life than watching a movie with Madonna in it.
Recoleta Cemetary
A boxer´s tomb in Recoleta Cemetary
The Duarte Family tomb,
final resting place of Evita Peron
Despite Kate being the Arts student, Dave was the one pushing to see the art in BA … dragging Kate to the amazing private collection of Maria Fortabat (an amazing woman herself, but with a mind-blowing collection including a portrait of her done by Andy Warhol) and the contemporary art museum (the MALBA).
The Fortabat Museum in Puerto Madero
(no cameras allowed inside, so no snaps of the art)
The Football
The art was nice. However nothing compared to the football! This was a big highlight for us, but not initially...
When we first came to town, our schedule only allowed us to see one of the two BA teams, the upper-class team of River Plate. We went with a tour group called ´Green Goal´ (which sounded a little bit too much like ´Gringo´ for us), sculled a few beers beforehand (no beer in the stadium!) and marvelled at the dancing/singing crowd. Unfortunately, Dave thought the team was a bunch of diving pansies so found it difficult to get behind the home side. Unfortunately, we were in the thick of the home supporters, so cheering for the opposition wasn´t an option either. Fortunately, Kate had a few beers under her belt, so was happy to dance and sing, without really caring about the game too much.
River Plate preparing to put on a diving exhibition
One of the reasons not to cheer against the home team
(note the shaving around the tattoo ... classy)
Fortunately, after we extended our stay in the city, we found out that we could see Boca Juniors (the working-class team, former home of Diego Maradona) at the famous ´La Bombanera´ stadium. This was simply amazing! Firstly, the stadium was alive with energy. The crowd sings from kickoff to the final whistle with so much passion. We were also able to considerably expand our Spanish vocabulary as a result of the comments directed at the opposite team (including from the 10 year old sitting behind us). The big plus was that this time, the team played real passionate football, more focused on getting the ball in the net than milking penalties. Dave was happy and Kate surprisingly made it through her second game of football in a week (once again, beer was a factor in making this happen).
Pictures can´t explain the energy in the stadium
Farewell Argentina
We came to Argentina with an ambitious plan to cover the country in 4 weeks. Even after stretching it to 7 weeks we have only scratched the surface. We found it extremely difficult to leave and cannot wait for the next opportunity to go back.
However our sadness was short lived, because our next destination after Buenos Aires was none other than Rio de Janeiro. However, this blog entry has already outstayed its welcome and we´ll cover Rio next time...
Hasta Luego!
Dave and Kate
Guys, your photos of the falls are amazing!
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