June 18th

Hola,
Man, it feels like ages since the last time I wrote in my blog. I have been experiencing extreme difficulties with internet and phone connections that have inhibited me from staying in contact. To be completely honest, I have missed jotting down my experiences. Where to begin? First off, I need to wish a very happy birthday to my mom. She turned 44 June 16th! Second, I need to wish a happy Fathers Day to my dad. I wish I was able to call, but my “international phone card” isn’t exactly international.
The reason I have been unable to write recently has been because of the trip to Iguazu Falls I took this past weekend. It was somewhat on a whim, but I am so glad I did it. For those of you who don’t know, Iquazu Falls is a national park in the northern most tip of Argentina. There are enormous water falls that touch parts of Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil, but because of visa restrictions I was only able to see the falls in Argentina.
I started my 17 hour trek on Friday at about 7 pm. 17 hours sounds like a very long bus ride, but really, I slept for the majority of the trip. Upon arrival, myself and the two other kids I traveled with checked into our hostel. It actually was very nice. The majority of people staying there spoke English and all things considered, the room was very livable. However, nobody wanted to spend much time at the hostel, we wanted to go out and see the beautiful parks. Since Iguazu is 17 hours north of Buenos Aires, it is that much closer to the equator and lies in the Tropics of Capricorn. That being said, the weather was beautiful and warm, probably about 75 degrees.
The first adventure we went on was my favorite. A massive Jeep drove us through the extensive selva (jungle). We were able to do a bit of site seeing and get some information. The trees, flowers and the different fruits were very fun to see, but what was really cool was being able to see all of the different wild life. There were many oversized guinea pigs running around, coatis (a mix between a raccoon and a monkey) were everywhere, we saw monkeys swinging from trees, wild turkey wandering aimlessly, and even a few toucans singing from their perches.
At the end of site seeing, the Jeep took us to the bottom of a hill where there was a large body of water. We were told to put our valuables and shoes in a waterproof bag. It was evident that we were going to get wet. After doing so, the boat, which was more of a raft with a motor, raced off going about 25 mph (which seemed fast given how unstable the raft was). 5 minutes or so into the ride we could hear the sound of water crashing into something. Eager with anticipation, everyone on the raft, about 15 people in all, stood up and saw the most amazing waterfalls. They were everywhere and they were huge! There was so much water crashing into the river that numerous different rainbows were produced.
There was a lot of mist being sprayed from the falls, but not enough to require everyone to put their valuables and shoes into a waterproof bag. However, the tour guides had good reason in telling us to put everything away. We weren’t just going to see the falls, we were actually going to go under them! The first time under the falls about half of my stuff got wet. By the fourth time, after hearing everyone chant “otra vez!” (one more time), everyone was completely soaked, from head to toe. After the incredible water ride, we walked around other parts of the park, wet. We were able to see the falls from different angles and get some great shots ( I am in the midst of creating a page to upload all of my pictures).
The next day, after a very nice hostel stay, we went back to the park to see the other side of the falls. The other side required quite a bit of walking. I am very grateful to my brother, Ryan, for getting me such a nice pair of walking shoes. They definitely came in handy. The other side was just as impressive, if not more than the first side. It was very different because this time we were high off the ground looking down. This particular spot was neat because the falls nearly created a circle. There were so many of them so closely spaced that it looked similar to a funnel. The pictures do them very little justice, unable to capture the true power, but they are still pretty cool.
After seeing Garganta del Diablo (Devil’s Throat), we did my second favorite activity, intense hiking. The hike was pretty long, about 6 miles there and back. On the way we paired up with a couple of American’s who were heading in the same direction. It was nice because the kids we paired up with were a little more adventurous than the kids from my school. Part of the trail allowed us to climb down a massive hill and go swimming at the bottom of a smaller waterfall. However, there was a sign that informed us that the climb was difficult. The kids from my school wanted nothing to do with it, but the stragglers we picked up thought it sounded like a great idea. I parted ways with the kids from my school and continued hiking with my two new companions. Boy, am I glad I did. The bottom of the trail was absolutely amazing. We were able to see small creeks flowing into a small river, followed by the river flowing off a water fall. We chose not to swim, none of us had spare clothes or even a towel for that matter, but the water would have been great for swimming. It was very warm, very clear and contained minimal amounts of rock. I could have spent the entire day admiring the natural beauties, but because of time restrictions I had to hike back.
I bid farewell to my new friends, headed back to the hostel, and prepared myself for another 17 hour bus ride. On the bus there was the loudest snorer I have ever heard in my entire life, but all things considered, I returned to Buenos Aires having had no complications. The trip was a success and I look forward to my next weekend adventure.
Ciao,
Christopher