Wow, I just realized how long it's been since my last update post. Sorry about that yall. So last I wrote I was on the Brazilian side of Iguazu falls. On Christmas I took a tour to the Argentina (AR) side with the intention that they'd drop me off at my hostel on the way back. Doing this, I not only got to see the AR side, but I avoided the dangerous for robberies middle ground between boarders. Oh, and it isn't just a bridge, there's about 3km, which would have been really though with the 20 kilos I am carrying in 35 degree heat. So, because the tour was missing a guide and because the hostel dude was being nice, he took $5 off and the tour cost almost the exact amount it would have if I tried to do it all by myself and with none of the hassle. I just wish I wasn't having stomach issues on the 24 and 25. Both days they'd go away about 1pm, but on the 25th I didn't have the option of staying in the hostel till they went away. No, I was Iguazu falls and I was going to see them come hell or high watermelon. I powered through and a tip of the hat to the AR Parks system for they're excellent selection of restrooms. The only thing that I couldn't do was a small waterfall a ways away from the falls. Well, and the middle island cause it was closed for a while.
The falls are amazing. I hope my pictures and videos help, but trust me none actually come close to getting the real thing across. Also, if you go, please try to do both sides. If you can't cause of Brazil visa issues (of which there are many that other travellers ran into) the AR side is the better of the two. And it has teenage girls that call you handsome. Although, the BR side had bungi jumping and canopy stuff to try to compensate for something.
I ended up staying in Puerto de Iguazu (that's the town on the AR side of the falls). It's quite a bit smaller than Foz do Iguassu and I really enjoyed it. For only being split by a river, The differences were incredible. AR had very quaint homes. Many reminded me of cottages from the countrysides back home, which the somehow seemlessly integrated with run down shitty places. AR was missing all the amazing fruit that BR has, but made up for it by having the amazing grilled meat that BR pretty much lacks. They have yerba maté which I love and bought a pack, a gourd, and a bombilla for about 10 bucks. Also, the wine here is super cheap and good. I'm talking $4 for good wine from Mendoza. I could tell I'm in trouble... this country better not have any skiing. Fuck.
After a 4 day stay I figured I should move on to Buenos Aires. The bus was 17 hours and goes overnight, but they are also luxury buses. They play movies, the seats recline (depending on the level you buy to) way past airlines, there is quite a bit of leg room, they serve edible food, and free booze (depending the level). The levels are semi-cama, cama, and super cama. This bus was camaraderie, so I got blankets, booze, and my seat went practically flat. However, due to someone on board with illegal merchandise getting caught at a patrol, we were delayed 2 hours. This meant I had to wait till midnight for dinner and went about 3 hours without water. Whatever, I made it and maybe it was some sort of karmic way of preventing me from getting pickpocketed in Buenos Aires (BA).
BA was fun. I stayed in the Palermo neighborhood, which is pretty. The architecture in BA has obvious European influence, but there is also modern, which they do a pretty good job of blending. I ended up making a few London and Ozzie friends, which is always trouble. What this means is that the mornings were spent nursing hangovers, the afternoons were spent exploring the close surrounding areas (max of one neighborhood away), and the nights were spent making sure that would repeat itself.
New Years was relatively relaxed, meaning I spent midnight on the hostler roof terrace with about 40 people. It did not mean that I did not drink too much. At about one, we all decided to go to a club. Once I reached the club, I realized two things. A, I remembered I hate clubs and B, that I was too intoxicated to put up with a club and all the bullshit. I turned and headed back, apparently buying pizza on the way home.
Oh yeah and that was done on a twisted ankle. I sustained this injury at roughly 11pm. It was a combination of foot attire, booze, and water on the dark half of the roof that I decided to walk through on the way to the bathroom. Replace the word decided with took a cartoonishly ridiculous fall. I think I should be recovered in a few days.
However, this leads me to my current predicament. I took another overnight bus (this one decided we didn't need blankets, but that we did need the air con on at full blast) to Bariloche. It also had a teenage couple who groped one another, with the only breaks being to stare at me. Once I arrived I began a love/hate relationship with the place. The place is extremely beautiful, set amongst alpine lakes and giant mountains. The town has a Swiss or Bavarian feel to it. I hate it though... because of Peru.
I ran into one of the inevitable problems that people with a time limit on their trip run into. There are so many places that I want to go here. I want to go south to see penguins and glaciers and really cool town as far south as you can get. I want to hike the W on the Chilean side of the lakes area. I want to visit Mendoza and Salta. I also, want to give myself more than 2 weeks in Bolivia and at least 2 in Peru. I have 2 months before I leave South America and I still don't have the time I need - not even close. I absolutely don't have time to go more south than El Bolson. My ankle isn't in the condition to hike the W (a 5 day trek), nor do I have the gear. I'm pretty sure I can rent it, but not positive. Also, I'm not comfortable going it alone. What all that means is that I need time; I'm sure it would all come together, but it might take a few days and my slack time is starting to run out.
Of course there are options, I could change my flight and spend more time here, I could skip certain places, but my favorite option so far is... I could come back. I already know I will. How do I know - the beauty and the... skiing. I HAVE to come back; it is out of my hands. And probably something like several months and probably working here. If you were here you'd understand why.
That being said there has been a noticeable loss in the magic. There could be many factors like, the realization that I don't have enough time here, the change in style of travel (more movement), the fact that Argentina is pretty westernized, etc. Maybe it's a combo of all, but I can't feel it anymore. It will sound totally crazy to those who haven't done this, but there is this flow, this energy, this magic that is out there. If you are aware of it while you are travelling AND you open yourself to it and are positive, things happen that almost seem too coincidental. Something you needed turns up randomly at the exact moment you need it. Or you feel an impulse to take a right (or visit a place) for no reason and it turns up something indescribably amazing. My guess is that due to some reason I am no longer quiet enough to hear/feel it (and yes, sometimes you can actually feel this energy). I miss it being there.
I have been spending a lot of time with people; I even traveled here with a girl, B from London, from the last hostel. While it has been nice to have her around, I think I need to spend some time alone again. My next few days I think I'll do some hiking in the Parks here alone and and see if that helps some.
As I'm writing this, I realized that I don't have time to hike the W; it will have to wait. I can't move that much; it will stretch me too thin. I'm not saying don't name plans to see or do things like the W, but you need to listen to yourself. Being stretched to thin would really put a damper on this trip. There is only so much anyone can see. We need to be OK with not seeing everything. I'd love to hike the W, but I'm OK with not. Plus, it leaves me open for that flow to guide me to something that could be equally incredible.
The falls are amazing. I hope my pictures and videos help, but trust me none actually come close to getting the real thing across. Also, if you go, please try to do both sides. If you can't cause of Brazil visa issues (of which there are many that other travellers ran into) the AR side is the better of the two. And it has teenage girls that call you handsome. Although, the BR side had bungi jumping and canopy stuff to try to compensate for something.
I ended up staying in Puerto de Iguazu (that's the town on the AR side of the falls). It's quite a bit smaller than Foz do Iguassu and I really enjoyed it. For only being split by a river, The differences were incredible. AR had very quaint homes. Many reminded me of cottages from the countrysides back home, which the somehow seemlessly integrated with run down shitty places. AR was missing all the amazing fruit that BR has, but made up for it by having the amazing grilled meat that BR pretty much lacks. They have yerba maté which I love and bought a pack, a gourd, and a bombilla for about 10 bucks. Also, the wine here is super cheap and good. I'm talking $4 for good wine from Mendoza. I could tell I'm in trouble... this country better not have any skiing. Fuck.
After a 4 day stay I figured I should move on to Buenos Aires. The bus was 17 hours and goes overnight, but they are also luxury buses. They play movies, the seats recline (depending on the level you buy to) way past airlines, there is quite a bit of leg room, they serve edible food, and free booze (depending the level). The levels are semi-cama, cama, and super cama. This bus was camaraderie, so I got blankets, booze, and my seat went practically flat. However, due to someone on board with illegal merchandise getting caught at a patrol, we were delayed 2 hours. This meant I had to wait till midnight for dinner and went about 3 hours without water. Whatever, I made it and maybe it was some sort of karmic way of preventing me from getting pickpocketed in Buenos Aires (BA).
BA was fun. I stayed in the Palermo neighborhood, which is pretty. The architecture in BA has obvious European influence, but there is also modern, which they do a pretty good job of blending. I ended up making a few London and Ozzie friends, which is always trouble. What this means is that the mornings were spent nursing hangovers, the afternoons were spent exploring the close surrounding areas (max of one neighborhood away), and the nights were spent making sure that would repeat itself.
New Years was relatively relaxed, meaning I spent midnight on the hostler roof terrace with about 40 people. It did not mean that I did not drink too much. At about one, we all decided to go to a club. Once I reached the club, I realized two things. A, I remembered I hate clubs and B, that I was too intoxicated to put up with a club and all the bullshit. I turned and headed back, apparently buying pizza on the way home.
Oh yeah and that was done on a twisted ankle. I sustained this injury at roughly 11pm. It was a combination of foot attire, booze, and water on the dark half of the roof that I decided to walk through on the way to the bathroom. Replace the word decided with took a cartoonishly ridiculous fall. I think I should be recovered in a few days.
However, this leads me to my current predicament. I took another overnight bus (this one decided we didn't need blankets, but that we did need the air con on at full blast) to Bariloche. It also had a teenage couple who groped one another, with the only breaks being to stare at me. Once I arrived I began a love/hate relationship with the place. The place is extremely beautiful, set amongst alpine lakes and giant mountains. The town has a Swiss or Bavarian feel to it. I hate it though... because of Peru.
I ran into one of the inevitable problems that people with a time limit on their trip run into. There are so many places that I want to go here. I want to go south to see penguins and glaciers and really cool town as far south as you can get. I want to hike the W on the Chilean side of the lakes area. I want to visit Mendoza and Salta. I also, want to give myself more than 2 weeks in Bolivia and at least 2 in Peru. I have 2 months before I leave South America and I still don't have the time I need - not even close. I absolutely don't have time to go more south than El Bolson. My ankle isn't in the condition to hike the W (a 5 day trek), nor do I have the gear. I'm pretty sure I can rent it, but not positive. Also, I'm not comfortable going it alone. What all that means is that I need time; I'm sure it would all come together, but it might take a few days and my slack time is starting to run out.
Of course there are options, I could change my flight and spend more time here, I could skip certain places, but my favorite option so far is... I could come back. I already know I will. How do I know - the beauty and the... skiing. I HAVE to come back; it is out of my hands. And probably something like several months and probably working here. If you were here you'd understand why.
That being said there has been a noticeable loss in the magic. There could be many factors like, the realization that I don't have enough time here, the change in style of travel (more movement), the fact that Argentina is pretty westernized, etc. Maybe it's a combo of all, but I can't feel it anymore. It will sound totally crazy to those who haven't done this, but there is this flow, this energy, this magic that is out there. If you are aware of it while you are travelling AND you open yourself to it and are positive, things happen that almost seem too coincidental. Something you needed turns up randomly at the exact moment you need it. Or you feel an impulse to take a right (or visit a place) for no reason and it turns up something indescribably amazing. My guess is that due to some reason I am no longer quiet enough to hear/feel it (and yes, sometimes you can actually feel this energy). I miss it being there.
I have been spending a lot of time with people; I even traveled here with a girl, B from London, from the last hostel. While it has been nice to have her around, I think I need to spend some time alone again. My next few days I think I'll do some hiking in the Parks here alone and and see if that helps some.
As I'm writing this, I realized that I don't have time to hike the W; it will have to wait. I can't move that much; it will stretch me too thin. I'm not saying don't name plans to see or do things like the W, but you need to listen to yourself. Being stretched to thin would really put a damper on this trip. There is only so much anyone can see. We need to be OK with not seeing everything. I'd love to hike the W, but I'm OK with not. Plus, it leaves me open for that flow to guide me to something that could be equally incredible.
Two things I forgot about Buenos Aires.
ReplyDelete1 - its a gamble whether the ATMs will have cash.
2 - hide all your shit, people will steal anything, including used soap or dirty underwear
I'm planing to go there and now I know more
ReplyDeleteTo travel with more safety...
Thank's!
Sharon
Iguazu Hostels
Sharon,
ReplyDeleteGlad to help. BA is relatively safe. The thiefing was done by other people in the hostel. The only thing to watch out for on the street - mostly the subway - is pickpockets.