Iguazú Falls, Argentina

Iguazú Falls´ Parana River separates Brazil and Argentina, slightly upstream from where the Parana and Rio Grande converge at the borders of the two countries along with that of Paraguay, as well. (picture of me standing on Argentine ground with Paraguay behind to the left and Brazil behind to the right.)

We spent 17 hours in a bus both ways to a from Northern Argentina to see the falls. But this was not your ordinary Greyhound: this was full service, reclining chairs, movies, double decker bus with meals, blankets, and pillows included. It was like first class air travel on ground. Did I mention free wine and champagne? When we arrived we stayed in a huge hostel in the small town that is Puerto Iguazú, equipt with a freezing cold pool (I was the only one to enjoy myself a nice two lap workout before I promptly got out in order to use my lungs again,) and nightly shows. We were lucky enough to have a Brazilian Samba performance (Youtube it if it sparks your interest; pictures to risqué to include) with two lovely ladies and a one man. He wore a shiny silvery shirt and played a tiny hand tambourine-like drum, and they wore more or less nipple covers, thongs, and heals. Samba music is lively and fun, with lots of shaking. I was sitting in front, and, because from the beginning Samba-man saw my enthusiasm and that good music pulses through me even as I try to sit still, I was favored the whole time and so picked to dance with a bunch of other girls learning the samba in front of the hostel and later was samba-man's personal partner at the end when the dancing was most interactive. One more notch on my dance belt: brazilian samba. This was Saturday evening after a huge asado, or Argentine BBQ with lots of meat, salads, glorious food, and this time free all you could want Brazilian Caipirinhas (thus dancing came a little more fluidly to everyone.)

The falls were amazing. It cost $60 pesos to get into the park (that's the foreigner price; it costs Latin Americans $20) but it was well worth it. Aparently it's a fairly dry season and so the falls were less strong, but I was suficiently impressed. All of the water comes from the Amazon, not from any mountains. I cannot even fathom how that much water can be created any place on earth; the park is absolutely spectacular with waterfall after waterfall for miles.

And sorry for the picture on its side. That's the computer's fault. Not mine.