I got to Buenos Aires on Saturday morning, a bit groggy after a flight from ATL to MIA, a 5-hour layover, then an 8-hour flight from MIA to EZE, the international airport of B.A. I took a bus to the domestic airport, Aeroparque, and thereupon experienced the long-awaited reunion moment with my dear Heather. We set out immediately on a flight to the extreme north of the country.
After arriving in Puerto Iguazú, we didn't have time to take a trip to the falls, so instead we walked through town, and downstream along the Rio Iguazú River to the point where it joins the Rio Paraná, also the point where the countries of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay meet. While viewing the confluence, we realized a few trivia facts: for each of us, (1) this was the first time we'd ever seen three countries at once, and (2) Brazil and Paraguay are now the only countries that we've seen but not visited (not including countries seen while in an airplane).
Along the river we came across this interesting set of murals, and nice rocks to climb on.
Here is the confluence of the Iguazú into the Paraná, with Argentina in the foreground, Brazil on the right, and Paraguay in the background.
"Argentina: a country of paradise" …as you can see in this picture. Take that, Paraguay (left background) and Brazil (right background)!
The next day, we set out for the falls, or "cataracas." A half-hour bus ride and walk through the jungle took us first to the upper trail, where we first saw the jungle valley open up below us, exposing several of the majestic, roaring tendrils of falling water that make up the 2-km-wide expanse of the falls.
The falls are roughly split in half into a Brazilian side and an Argentine side. In the next picture, you can get a sense of how wide they extend: only the barely-glimpsed falls near the horizon are on the Brazilian half; the land in the upper left part of the picture is the (Argentine-owned) island below the falls that splits it in half, and all the nearer falls are on the Argentine side.
After seeing the Argentine side from above, we went on the lower trail, which offered majestic views of the falls from in front. Here we are, with a view of about 1/2 of the Argentine side. You can also see the island beach where we later took a dip!
The day was extremely hot, and it felt so nice to feel the spray of one of the cascades from up close.
But sometimes a little spray just isn't enough. Luckily, the park offers boat rides that put you through an experience aptly called "baptism." Here, a boat gets ready to enter the fray...
That waterfall isn't kidding around. We got totally drenched!
After the baptism, we took the free ferry over to the island, where after climbing up a bunch of stairs we were rewarded with some astounding, up-close views of the Argentine side.
The trail headed on to the other side of the island, where we caught a view of the Brazilian half of the falls—perhaps bigger, more powerful, and more panoramic, but less beautiful and personal (in terms of the closeness of the view) than the Argentine half. This picture shows about 1/2 of the Brazilian side, including a bit of the Devil's Throat.
Next, we headed to the beach on the island, where we joined a bunch of (mostly Argentine) waders for a dip in the river.
Finally, we headed back towards the park entrance, then on a mini-train upriver a ways to the "Devil's Throat" trail, about 1 km worth of walkways over the river leading to an overlook of the Brazilian side of the falls. When we reached the overlook, our eyes and ears were overwhelmed by the power of the Devil's Throat itself, a massive semicircle of continuously downpouring water that disappears below into a pool of fog created by the force of the fall.
The Devil's Throat overlook also gave us a great view of rest of the majestic Brazilian side of the falls.
All-in-all, the Iguazú experience pretty much ruined all my future visits to waterfalls.
Such an unspoiled, beautiful, awesome, jaw-dropping spectacleI liken it to the Grand Canyon for canyons. I'm very glad we worked it into our travel plans, because it will be a site, and experience, to remember.
After the hot, exhausting day, it was nice to return to our comfortable, homey hostel, where we sipped maté (the national drink, similar to green tea) in the pool!
The next day was a day of travel. Specifically, a 22.5-hour bus ride from Puerto Iguazú to Córdoba. In fact, coupled with the 18.5-hour bus ride today from Córdoba to Puerto Madryn, and numerous bus rides in Buenos Aires, Iguazú, and the Córdoba area, I just calculated that I spent about 46-48 hours in a bus this week—yeah, 2/7 of my time in Argentina has been spent on a bus! Luckily, the long-distance buses in Argentina are very comfortable. We've been riding in "semi-cama" (half-bed) seats, which recline quite far and have a leg-rest; plus, we're fed meals (similar to airplane food) and have movie entertainment. In addition, Heather booked our tickets well enough in advance to secure the front seats on the 2nd floor (these are 2-story buses) for both long trips! Here we are, stretching out during our trip south through the jungles of Northern Argentina.
On Tuesday morning, we finally arrived in Córdoba, Argentina's second largest city and Heather's place of residence for the past 2.5 months. The weather here was only slightly less hot than in Iguazú, but our adventures began immediately. From the bus station, we were picked up by Pablo, a friend-of-a-friend of Heather's who happens to run a paragliding business out in the Córdoba sierras, a stretch of dry hills lying west of the city somewhat reminiscent of Southern California. Pablo drove us out to his home city of La Cumbre in the Valle de Punilla—a 2-hour drive that would have taken 2.5 hours if Pablo had been more attentive to rules of the road. See picture.
La Cumbre is a sleepy town that is known as a world-class destination for the sport of paragliding. Planning our adventure, Heather had looked up paragliding instructors in her Lonely Planet guide, but had also heard from her friend about Pablo, and she was torn in who to go to until she found out that Pablo was in fact one of the two instructors recommended by the guidebook! The other one was a guy named Fechu, who is a buddy of Pablo's, and who turned out to be my instructor.
We reached the launch spot, on top of a nondescript hill, by way of dodging cattle along a deserted, dusty road. We had heard the wind wasn't perfect, but in fact were able to take off almost immediately after we reached the top and put on our gear. We were each strapped into a harness attached to our instructors, who manned the lines connected to the parachute (or whatever it's called). After little instruction "run towards the edge of the cliff, and when I tell you, sit down," we were aloft, and flying high over the dry, dusty hills, wind whistling in the ears and relieving some of the sun's blasting heat.
None of the photos I took while flying came out that well, but I took several movies that captured the experience pretty well. I also took several pictures of Heather and Pablo's lift-off:
Uno…
Dos…
Tres!
With Fechu, we coasted down a ways, then caught a thermal (rising hot air) that lifted us slightly above our starting spot, after which we coasted back down to the ground. Pablo was able to ride the thermal extremely well, and he and Heather ended up over 1000 meters (!!) above the starting point. We landed in different locations—I, near a stream where several locals were splashing around and sunbathing. I took a dip (getting my clothes all wet) and, after a half hour or so, joined a truck returning to the top, where I reunited with Heather.
Pablo's crazy driving gave us a few extra hours in the day, which we used by sharing a meal and a beer in La Cumbre, then taking a 6-km hike up a dirt road to an old Jesuit estancia (ranch) in the hills.
Heather's workplace, an old country hospital that has turned into a state science laboratory, is located in the Valle de Punilla, so we stayed in the Sierras that night at her friend Valéria's house (who had left on vacation already) nearby.
On Wednesday, we took the short bus ride to Santa Maria de Punilla, then took the 2-km walk (with our HEAVY bags—we still hadn't been to Heather's host mother's home in Córdoba yet) up to CEPROCOR (the laboratory where Heather works). Here's a bridge we crossed on the walk:
And here's part of the hospital/laboratory compound.
I got to experience a day at work with Heather, taking microscope pictures of progesterone crystals, touring the building and chatting with several friendly coworkers, and enjoying a lazy, peaceful lunch out in the shade with Heather's friend/coworker Nádia and several other people.
Heather in her lab!
That afternoon, we took the bus back to Córdoba, spent some time at an outside café with Nádia and her playful, hyper daughter Rocio, had a dinner date at a restaurant with a delightful rooftop eating terrace, and observed a bit of the thriving Córdobean nightlife. Although, we were a bit early for that—Argentines generally never have dinner before 9 PM, and the nightlife starts around midnight or 1 AM! Even American college students would be impressed.
Thursday was our day to visit the city where Heather's been living. We walked around town, through open plazas and crowded pedestrian malls. We also visited the school that Heather's program has a connection with (where she can hook up with fellow international students, use their internet, etc.) And we even went for a run (my first one here—it felt REALLY good) along the river nearby Heather's house. Córdoba is full of culture and life, and I was glad to get a taste of what Heather will miss so much when she leaves this place.
Waiting for Nádia and her daughter on a busy street
By la cañada (the canal)
A bustling pedestrian mall
2 comments:
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MOM
Paragliding looks like a lot of fun. I'd like a full report at some point... Merry Christmas!
Reed
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