This past weekend was a four-day weekend, thanks to no class on Fridays and "National Student's Day" on Monday. So, to celebrate our student-ness in Buenos Aires, we decided to leave the city, and take our first of many adventures outside of Bs. As. This weekend, we went to northeastern Argentina, to Puerto Iguazú, and saw the absolutely magnificent Iguazú Falls.
This trip marked the first of many exciting occasions for me. It was the first time I rode in a bus longer than 12 hours straight. It was also the first time I was on a bus with seats that reclined to about 150 degrees, had blankets and pillows, and included free movies, food, wine, and champagne. Add to the fact that on our way up there my friend Sadie and I were sitting in the last row ("in the kitchen!?!?" as she so excitedly proclaimed when she got onto the bus) behind a lovely group of generous international spanish students with ample amounts of just about every type of beverage possible, and it would be suffice to say that our trip was quite pleasant.
Now, I've been saying "we" in the collective sense because, as it turns out, just about our entire program decided to make this 18-hour voyage to Iguazú. However, when I say "we" stayed in Hostel Bambu, I mean only myself and Sadie. The rest of our group stayed at the Hostel Inn, which, while not located conveniently three blocks away from the bus station like us, made up for it's distance with a rather entertaining (and nude) Brazilian dance show preformed by its own staff. Next time, "we" will definitely do more research into future hostel accommodations, as well as actually listen to where people tell us to go.
But the bus trip and hostel stay were mere blips on the radar map of awesomeness of this trip. The overwhelmingly most memorable part was the Falls. Las Cataratas de Iguazú are located in the Northeastern corner of Argentina, and are fed by the Iguazú River. The falls can be seen from both an Argentina side and a Brazilian side, though I've been told that the Argentine side is far superior. Also, in terms of amount of water, width of falls, and height, they're currently ranked about an overall second or third place, and were a candidate to become one of the Seven New Wonders of the World. And in all serious, they are a Wonder. Standing next to even the smallest waterfall, you can't help but feel humbled and awed at how amazing nature can be. Then try standing next to "La Garganta del Diablo," the largest series of falls in Iguazú. I could have stood staring at the gushing water for hours, trying to answer one simple question: Where does all this water come from?
However, I did not stand for hours (only one), because we had so much to do in our short time there. Iguazú has tons of hiking trails that lead you to what seems like hundreds of hidden waterfalls. So the first day we were there (right off our bus ride in fact), we wandered around and took over a hundred pictures of falling water. And you know what we did the next day? The exact same thing. The second day we were there, the weather was gorgeous, and so we decided to be brave and take the infamous boat ride that puts you directly under the falls. Seriously. Not like, 100 feet away from them so you can feel the spray on your face. No, under the pounding water, so you get soaked head-to-toe but are left feeling like you were just reborn. Okay, maybe not that intense, but still, it was pretty awesome.
This trip was by far a much better alternative to spending the weekend hanging around the city, because I already feel like I've learned a lot about traveling around this country. I know that buses are my friends. I know that hostels are by and large not death traps, and some are even nicer than hotels I've stayed in. I know that I need to thoroughly research the area I'm traveling to so I know exactly what there is to do and how much time it takes. And I've learned that even if it's fun going with a huge group of people, the trip will be a lot less stressful and much more authentic if attempted with less people. While it was nice to see familiar faces during the trip, I think I had more fun meeting the new, international people on the bus on the way up (who we did actually end up seeing again at the Hostel Inn later in the trip). Plus, when traveling with that many people, it's hard to encourage everyone to speak Spanish, and I know that if I want to seriously improve, I need to speak it as often as possible, even if I sound like a 3-year-old. Which I have been told. Multiple times...
P.S. Here's a link to my photos on Facebook - I'll try to remember to include this as often as possible, for all of you who still don't have one (aka Dennis)...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2055514&id=1086630168
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