Water, Water Everywhere

Iguazu Falls are on any top ten list of things to do in Argentina. Now, I understand why. The Falls are my favorite thing that we have seen in Argentina. The enormity of this UNESCO World Heritage Sight first hit us during the plane ride into Iguazu. During the plane's descent, we looked out the window and could see the mist from the Falls rising out of the jungle from miles away.

We were trying to catch a bus out of the town that evening, and we wanted to beat the crowds to the Falls, so we woke up early and caught one of the first buses to the National Park. A public bus leaves every half hour from the town center and the ride costs $5 pesos. We took the second bus of the morning out to the park at 7:30AM, and the workers were still opening up the ticket windows and stores when we arrived. There were a few other foreign travelers on the bus, but it was too early for Argentines. As we entered the park, and rushed to find the train to the falls, I felt like we were in Wally World. All the information booths and stores were empty and no one else was around.

The park cost $60 peso for foreigners to enter and, once inside, we were happy to see that those pesos were being put to good use. Everything in the park was very well maintained. From the train, to the extensive walkways leading to the falls, everything was first rate. Because we arrived so early, we had the park practically to ourselves for about an hour or so. This isolation made it easier for James and I to speculate about what it would have been like to stumble upon this sight when the Americas were first being explored. We imagined a European explorer being guided down one of the rivers and hearing the rumbling of the falls getting louder and louder as he approached.

A train takes visitors to the starting point of trails where the waterfalls can be seen from various angles. The falls can be viewed from both Argentina and Brazil. Apparently, Brazil provides a panoramic view of the falls and Argentina's side has more vantage points and close contact views. I do not know this from experience, because the visa to enter Brazil was pricey (for citizens of the U.S.). However, I was more than satisfied with the Argentine angle and did not feel like I was missing out on anything.

Credit should be given the the National Park Service of Argentina. Iguazu is an enormous tourist attraction, but the Park is able to maintain the natural wonder of the area despite the large flow of tourists. Restaurants and cafes are simple and there are few tacky or gimmicky aspects of the experience. I was later told by an overzealous tour guide in the city of Santa Fe (that's a story for another day) that President Reagan had the same observation of the Park. He apparently appreciated the nature surrounding Iguazu Falls and made a comparison with the lack thereof surrounding Niagra Falls.

Now, for some pictures: one of the resident birds, a coati (which roam freely about the Park), and the Falls:

New York's Finest

We just got back from a long trip up to Iguazu in northeastern Argentina. There is a lot to say about the trip, but I wanted to start off with a quick post about the cab ride to the airport. Because the journey is so long, and we didn't have tons of time, we decided to fly up and take buses for the 20 hour journey back. Our cab driver to the airport was a nice guy, probably in his late fifties or early sixties. When we got close to the airport, we started making small-talk about where we were going, where we were from, etc. When I told the guy that we were from the U.S., he looked at me in the rearview mirror and (with a sraight face) told me in Spanish that he was from New York. Not one to question an elder, I simply replied, "cool." He then went on to explain that his family had left the U.S. because of the Vietnam War. I didn't want to get into it, but I was pretty surprised that he had managed to forget all his English considering he had to have been in his teens when he left. Anyways, the incident provided us with a few laughs on the short LAN airlines flight between Buenos Aires and Iguazu.

More To Come

We are currently traveling. Hopefully, we will have some great pictures for when we return. I´ll just say, we went to my favorite place yet.

Flower Power

We went to a free Earth Day concert a few weeks back. I took a few pictures of this giant flower sculpture that was in the park where the concert was held. I thought it looked cool. I wasn't sure at the time, but I could have sworn that the flower had been more open earlier in the day and started to close. I found out later from my Top 10 Buenos Aires book that it is actually quite a famous sculpture. It is called the Floralis Generica and was made by an Argentine sculptor, Eduardo Catalano. The flower actually blooms at 8 AM and closes at dusk. I was relieved to learn that I was not completely insane.

Uruguay

Last weekend we took a trip across the Rio Plata to Uruguay. Many expats who live here make this trip every three months or so to renew their 90-day tourist visas. We didn't need to renew our visas (because of our jaunt into Chile), but we had a couple friends who needed to, so we figured we'd tag along.

We left Friday morning on the 11:30AM Buquebus ferry for Colonia. One of our friends, Flora, took the slow boat (much cheaper) at 9:30, and our other friend, Chris, was on our ferry. Because Holly and I bought our tickets late, we rode 1st Class for the way there. After going through Argentine exit procedures in Puerto Madero, we boarded the ferry along with about fifty Americans wearing nametags and shorts.* Chris had a tourist class ticket so, while we were waiting to board the ferry, we were joking about what he would be subjected to while we were sipping our champagne in 1st class. After we boarded, and showed our tickets to gain access to the 1st class area, we were actually greeted with flutes of champagne and our choice of either an Argentine or Uruguayan newspaper. Other than that, there was very little difference between 1st class and tourist.

Colonia was a quiet, quiet town. Our ferry boat probably doubled the town's population. The entire old town section of Colonia is a UNESCO World heritage site. As you can see in the following photos, there are many well preserved older buildings and cobblestone streets. There was also a small collection of old cars parked in one of the squares. A group of Argentines with old timey cars was doing a tour across South America and happened to be in Colonia the same weekend we were there.

The weather was really nice that weekend. Its just turning autumn down here, so the air had the crisp feeling of fall, the leaves were falling off the trees, and you could smell the woodburning fireplaces. After checking into our hostel and walking around for a bit, we ate lunch outside. The weather was perfect for outdoor dining. The air was cool, but the sun made everything warm and bright. I don't remember the name of what I ate, but it was french fries, scrambled eggs, ham, cheese, onions and peas all mixed together. It was delicious and filling. After popping round to various cafes, we went down to the waterfront to watch the sunset.


Supposedly the sunsets in Colonia are glorious. Its also rare that you are able to watch the sunset over the water on the East coast of South America, but because Colonia is out on a peninsula, you can look back over the water to watch it. The sunset lived up to its billing.

After it got dark, we sought shelter indoors at a resto bar offering "hot Jazz en vivo". We sat near a roaring fire, had some whiskey and wine, ate a couple steaks, and listened to a jazz trio. Afterwards, we went out in search of another bar where we could drink some cheap local whiskey and maybe play some games. A kind hippie with terrible breath informed us of a nice place to go where we "wouldn't get punched in the face," called the Kayman Bar. We saw it had a pool table, so we decided to go inside. Holly and I played a couple of games of pool against some Uruguayans and Brazilians. Although their rules were slightly different, we emerged victorious in both games thanks to Holly's hustling. After the girls went home, Chris and I hit up a late night food cart, where we proceeded to spend all our remaining Uruguayan pesos on hot dogs, empanadas, and milanesa sandwiches.

The next morning we woke up rather groggy and made our way to Montevideo.

*Editor's Note: The photo of the swine flu protections was taken here in Puerto Madero.

A La Moda

I decided to start doing some posts on the fashion of Buenos Aires in honor of one of my favorite blogs, Project Rungay (out of Philly). I am starting with the most pervasive trend that surprised me the most: the drop-crotch pant (harem pants). The crotch on these pants may stop at any point varying from mid-thigh to ankles. I knew this trend had been seen on the runways and on a few actresses in the US, but I had only recently seen it in more mainstream stores there.

I don't want to hear anything about people in New York wearing them. They were not like this. They are everywhere in Buenos Aires. They have been around long enough for my Argentine friend to say that she used to wear them a while back, but doesn't anymore. I have seen every length crotch pant imaginable. I have seen them in almost any material, including leather. It will be only a matter of time before I see them in corduroy as the weather cools off.

It was difficult to snag some photos without being too obvious, but I did my best.

One of the lowest varieties. Not my cup of tea but it doesn't look like a load in your pants like some of the others.

Animal print!

This was taken in Uruguay but it's close enough to B.A. These are half leggings / half harem.

These just look like she is wearing a saggy diaper.

I couldn't resist adding in a little swine flu fashion.

More Buenos Aires fashion to come!

March Madness

Protests are a pastime in Buenos Aires and, at times, a job. I would not be surprised if some houses had a special pan in the house just for marches or blank placards in the closet available for the next grievance. This is not to make light of some of the serious problems that they are protesting. It's just that some of the impact of a protest is lost when they are an everyday occurence.

Walking through the city, it is not uncommon to stumble upon a protest. At first, we were intrigued and we would try to figure out the issue, but now our main concern is whether we can get past the protestors or if we have to take a detour. Although these are generally peaceful marches, I still find the sight of a cop in full riot gear a little disconcerting. I feel it is best to walk in the opposite direction of the police.

Our Spanish classes are at the Universidad de Buenos Aires, near many bank offices. It is prime protesting ground. On our walk to class, we often see that a march has already come and gone, evidenced by thousands of fliers littering the streets. I wonder how this could have already happened and be over, it's as if they spontaneously start and end just as quickly.

Friday, May 1 was a labor day holiday in Argentina. The day before, we had class and transit was a mess. Protests were blocking the streets. My teacher explained that many people protest on Thursday and then relax on the actual holiday. One of the guys in my class asked if there was a day that there wasn't protests in Buenos Aires. My teacher cocked her head to the side, thoughtfully paused and said, "Monday. Usually, they don't march on Monday. "

The other day a larger and more disruptive than usual manifestation was held. They were setting off fireworks, leaflet bombs, and smoke flares. Class continued as loud crackles and bangs came from outside. After class, we saw workers trying to clean spray paint off bank buildings. This was clearly not par for the course as we saw businessmen standing around in the streets surprised by the grafitti.


A march does not necessarily mean those people are passionate about their cause and took to the streets. My teacher also told our class that it is a profession for some. Political parties or businesses can pay picketers to make it appear that an issue or candidate has support.