Last weekend, we went on an excursion from Rosario, Argentina to the province of Cordoba, also in Argentina, and we stayed in a town called Villa Carlos Paz. It was a much shorter bus trip than the trip to Iguazu, which was good. But this time we left at 3 in the morning, which was an adventure all on it’s own.

And our bus was smaller.

But after our early start, the trip shaped up to be really amazing. We ziplined, did archery, got to ride on a chairlift, and trekked through the mountains of Carlos Paz. We also got to try the famous alfajores of Cordoba, which are a classic Argentine pastry, and Cordoba is supposed to be the best producer of them.

Chairlifts miiight have been the best part.

Another thing that was awesome about the Cordoba trip is that we finally got to bond with some of the people from the other group that’s here studying, which worked out great. They’re mostly students from the University of Oregon, and it’s nice to be able to talk about some familiar things at home, and to meet other students.

On the way home, our bus driver mysteriously stopped the bus twice, and we all started talking about who we would eat first, since we were now in the Hunger Games. It doesn’t matter that that isn’t how the Hunger Games works. And we never did reach a consensus on who it would be before the bus started back up again.

We also visited several museums, including the house of Che Guevara and Manuel de Falla, a Spanish composer who lived in Argentina. While in Manuel de Falla’s house there was a slight incident where a burning log flew out of the fireplace.

Note the burned ash all over the ground.

Luckily no one was injured, and we set off on our 6 hour bus ride back to Rosario. It was a great weekend!

This weekend I traveled all the way to the border of Argentina and Brazil to one of the newly named wonders of the world Iguazu Falls. This trip required an 18 hour bus ride on the way there. I sat on the second story of a double-decker bus anxious to start our journey. My four travel partners, all girls, and I planned on leaving Friday night and arriving in the afternoon Saturday. That would give us time to explore the city a little and secure a place to stay the night. Sunday would be spent all day at the waterfalls and then we would ride the bus through the night Sunday night to return home the next Monday. This was the perfect weekend to take this extensive trip because that Monday was the Argentine Independence Day (July 9^th). They use it as a day of rest and to get together with family; we would use it for a day to travel.

“I see friends shaking hands…..sayin.. how do you do”

As I sat on the bus, the sky was already dark. We left the station and I watched the lights of the city slowly pass. Soon the lights crossed my window faster and faster as the fast pace of the city faded away. I saw some soccer players practicing under light just before everything was out of sight. Just darkness remained out of my window. The voices in the bus were real low as the girls in my group sat in a row. I sat in front of them next to a small young looking girl. She gazed out the same window I noticed her waving through earlier to a very nice looking elderly couple, probably her grandparents. All of a sudden there was a little bit of a scramble as someone was fallowed up the stairs by one of the bus employees. After a while it subsided. I looked over to the girl next to me and mouthed the words in English, “What, just, happen?” She shrugged and that broke the ice. For the next several hours I talked to her about many things. I found out her name is Anita and she was just finishing high school and is 18 like my sister. I felt like Katniss in The Hunger Game when she meets Rue. She reminds her of her sister Prim and finally has an ally in the arena. I too now had an ally in this arena. I asked her basic questions about herself and told her about me. I learned a lot as she was patient with me. She also wants to be a teacher and I know she will be a great one with how well she taught me.

 “I see trees of green…….. Red roses too”

We finally arrived in Puerto Iguazu, which is the city closest to Iguazu National Park. We explored the city and found somewhere to stay the night. I enjoyed being out of the city atmosphere. Seeing how the terrain changed as we continued north was very interesting. There were parts very similar to Oregon mixed with tropical features. I enjoyed seeing evergreens mixed with palm trees. Mostly there were just fields with or without cows. The province of Misiones is known for its red dirt. This unique ground became vibrant in contrast with sidewalks and tiles, now stained red.

“I see skies of blue….. clouds of white”

We finally arrived at the waterfalls Sunday morning and could not have asked for better weather. The day before was gray and overcast. Overnight, the clouds rolled away leaving and beautiful blue sky. At the park we split into two squadrons and dove right in. The “hike through the jungle” was not quite as rustic as Annie and I had imagined as we hurried ahead excited and with no idea how much time we would need to see all of this wonder. We walked and walked until we reached the first sign marked for a waterfall, “Garganta del Diablo” (Devils throat). We went for it not realizing how long our journey would be until we finally reached this massive waterfall. We continued over nearly a mile from island to island over the river that fed into the 500ft. across waterfall. We knew we were getting close when we could see the steam column that spit high in the air over the mouth of this beast caused by the blunt force of tons upon tons of water cast down 90 yards. This natural power forced out attention. I felt sucked in fascinated by this wonder. The spray felt cool against my face as I gazed hypnotized over the railing. I walked away in awe with just a couple of the drops of water that made up this massive marvel still on my face.

“The colors of a rainbow…..so pretty ..in the sky”

Next, we went down below where you can get a panoramic view of all the waterfalls. I suffered from sensory overload with some of these scenes. I watched a perfect picture of a jungle get painted in front of me as I walked along the path. I did not want to look down for a second in fear of missing something. I saw exactly what I thought of if I were to imagine a tropical paradise. Birds flew above the trees of San Martin Island that was thick with rich jungle foliage. Massive waterfalls clashed on both sides of this island as a stood dazed. We stood under the waterfalls and watched the white water bend over the cliff and then rocket down towards us. The thunderous sound drowned out any worry in the world.

We then finished walked across the top of the waterfalls seeing the view the water has just before it curls down and plummets to the world below. The sun rays hitting the mist in the air made rainbows so vivid I swear I could have felt them. There was one point when there was even a double rainbow all the way! To say I enjoyed this once in a life time experience would be an understatement. The only thing I regret is not being able to harvest this amazement that was so tangible as my senses heightened to experience this wonder of the world.

~Cain

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This weekend was absolutely exceptional! I’ve been in Rosario for two weeks now, and the constant rush of the city is rather different than what I’m used to. It was very refreshing to have a break from the hussle and bussle and see the wonderful Iguazu Falls in Misiones, Argentina.

The trip started with an 18 hour bus ride from Rosario to Iguazu. After the night long trip we wandered around the city of Iguazu to find a hostel. My Spanish has been improving so much, that I didn’t feel nervous at all about asking for directions and prices for rooms. We ate some pizza and ice cream. (The shop in the picture is owned by a man who makes his own ice cream with all of his original recipees!)

After staying Saturday night at the hostel, we took another bus to to the falls. It was seriously the most breathtaking thing I have ever seen! There are 3 different trails to see the 150-300 different waterfalls! The river and the falls separate Brazil and Argentina It is an absolute spectacle, almost terrifying to to behold. There are three trails to see the different falls. One leads down to see under one of the falls, one is above, and the last leads to the Garganta del Diablo (the throat of the devil) which over half the river tumbles down.

On one of the trails a butterfly came and landed on my hand. He stayed there for about a half hour! (I don’t know why he liked me so much!) We also saw a Tucan! And, I got attacked by some coatis. I set my backpack down to rest for a moment, and about ten coatis (small rodent-like creatures) smelled the Oreo’s and started swarming. One jumped inside my backpack and wouldn’t let go! I was scared for my life for a breif moment…

After the falls, we had another 18 hour bus ride back to Rosario. I had bought my ticket separately then the rest of the group and I didn’t know that they bought the seats for the bottom floor of the bus, and I accidentally bought mine for the top floor. I was sad at first, to be all alone, but it was actually a blessing in disguise since I met some new friends!

The guy sitting next to me was named Eduardo, and we talked for about 5 hours about all the politics of Argentina. He was a computer scientist and is getting married next month. He explained that secondary education in Argentina is free, because Education should be accessible to everyone. I completely agree with this, and it has given me a new perspective of how a country can educate their people. This is something I am still grappling with, since Eduardo and also my host mother have talked about how it has it’s pro’s and con’s. We talked all about the politics of Argentina and the importance and also disadvantages of everyone having their own opinion in a society. I finally fell asleep at about 1am, and when I woke up Eduardo was gone.

Sitting on the other side of the isle was a group of guys making jokes and drinking mate. (The traditional green tea of Argentina. Everybody drinks Mate!!!! You drink from a small gourd and a metal straw, and all the of the shops sell them, and everyone and their grandmother can be seen drinking mate on street corners or at their work. It’s highly strong, caffeinated and addictive, and it has great health benefits!) Anyway, so they offered me some Mate and we started talking. Turns out they were a group of Marines from the Argentine army that has a base on the other side of Rosario. They were very nice, and they also taught me some useful Argentine slang. It made the rest of the trip a breeze!

So that was my wonderful weekend, it’s just one adventure after the last. I am excited and ready for whatever happens next!  Emily