Right after returning from Patagonia, it was time to celebrate my 21st birthday! Something that my friends and I here have really been missing about the United States is brunch- it is culturally not a common thing to have a big breakfast here in Argentina. But on my birthday, we found a wonderful cafe in the neighborhood Villa Crespo where they had a delicious Sunday brunch. A group of us girls went and enjoyed ourselves immensely! After doing some window shopping, we went to a park near my house for some mate (a very popular tea here in Argentina that is shared amongst friends and family). After a brief
siesta, my housemate Frances and I had a great dinner with our host mom, complete with
helado (ice cream) and champagne! Afterwards, we went to a friend's apartment, and then a gay club (which is apparently
the place to be on Sunday nights) full of attractive gay Argentine men! We danced all night, made some friends, and went to bed happy in the wee hours of the morning. Overall, it was an awesome birthday, but I don't think I'll really feel 21 until I'm asked for my ID in the good ol' US of A.
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| Lovely brunch with the ladies |
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| Mate! |
We started a new term in school, and I'm now in the advanced spanish class, which is only three hours a day, giving us lots of free time, which is great because I still have so much to explore in Buenos Aires!
In the meantime, this weekend our entire program traveled to Iguazú Falls in the very north of Argentina. Iguazú Falls are one of the new 7 wonders of the world and the widest waterfalls in the world, spanning about 2 miles. To get there, we took a 20-hour bus ride from Buenos Aires, which seems hellish, but Argentina buses are actually quite luxurious, especially if you buy a cama (bed) ticket. The seats recline back almost all the way, meals are served, there's a bathroom, and they show films. It was a long but relatively comfortable journey. I especially enjoyed watching the surrounding landscape change from city to farmland to tropical jungle. Once we arrived at our hostel, we immediately jumped in the pool to wash off our travels, which needless to say felt amazing. Afterward, we walked to town and visited Tres Fronteras (Three Borders), where were were able to see Brazil and Paraguay while standing on Argentine soil.
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| Paraguay is on the left, Brazil on the right, I'm standing in Argentina. |
On Saturday, we headed to the national park to see the waterfalls. We hiked around and saw some smaller falls, then took a wild boat ride where we literally drove into the falls, getting absolutely soaked in the process! The pressure of the water was insane; I thought my contacts were going to fly out of my eyeballs! Next we walked along the upper decks above the falls, giving us a different perspective. The park was full of wildlife, including butterflies, birds, coati (a kind of raccoon/anteater hybrid), and monkeys!!! Apparently we were very fortunate to see the monkeys as they are kind of a rarity. Our last activity of the day was visiting the Gargantas del Diablo, which are massive falls that form almost a full circle that we could look at from above. The falls were so powerful, yet so incredibly beautiful, with rainbows continuously appearing and reappearing, and mist constantly rising from the base of the falls. The pictures honestly don't do it justice, but you'll have to take my word for it- these waterfalls are certainly a wonder of the world.
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| Coati! |
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| The crazy boat ride. |
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| Gargantas del Diablo |
After we returned from the falls, we spent some more time relaxing by the pool, and that evening there was an asado and a dance show! On Sunday we started out on the long journey back to Buenos Aires. It was such a fun and relaxing weekend- it's going to be hard to get back into the daily grind after being so spoiled with all of this traveling!
P.S. As always, for more photos you can check out my Facebook page!
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