"cataratas" that means waterfalls in argentine

Apologies for the delay in posting. I'm back from Iguazu. Not that anyone reads this shit anyway. Guess I should start insulting people more.

Here's a little re-cap of the trip....starting with my 19 hour bus ride.

Dec. 3. 2009.

18:30 hrs: Anywhere else in the world being somewhere 30 minutes before departure is a normal assumption. But in South America? Mind as well have showed up a day early, by the look on the guy's face when I asked where the platform was.

18:40 hrs: Sandwiched on the bench between two Argentine women and a crazy homeless woman. Normally I don't make accusations. But I gotta call this one the way I see it. At least she wiped the seat off when she got up.

18:50 hrs: The two (non-crazy) women next to me started a conversation with me. They wanted to give me advice and tips on my trip. Kind Argentines. Always knowing whats best for others. They ended the conversation by telling me my Spanish was good. Maybe they were crazy after all.

19:00hrs. On the bus. Alone for the first few minutes. Then in storms six very loud obnoxious Argentine men. This is going to be good. At least I have a seat separate from the others. Damn it! why don't I have an iPod?!

19:30hrs: I start journaling and looking out the window. I'm amazing at the river views the city has to offer. How have I never noticed this before.

20:20hrs: Argentine men and these two random (non-Argentine) guys are getting restless. They start helping themselves to the coke and coffee. At least they offered me some. How kind.

21:15hrs: Dinner is served. Chicken and mashed potatoes. And some mystery sausage meat. Reminds me of the crap my brother buys from Sam's Club. I bet he would love this.

22:00hrs: After dinner everyone settles into the movie. While a fellow traveler starts up a conversation with me. Come to find out him and his friend are from Holland traveling around Argentina. I suppose a few hours of conversation with a stranger is better than an iPod. What do you know?

Dec. 4. 2009.

07:25hrs: Wake up to the motion of the bus stopping. Being thankful for the eye mask I'm wearing, I don't have to expose my precious eyes to sunlight quite yet.

07:30hrs: Spoke to soon. The group of Argentine men are sharing stories of their sueños. Well, maybe. It's too early to hear all this talking. Much less, in Spanish.

10:00hrs: Argentine men are gone. Just me and the two Dutch guys and two women in the back traveling with their son.

11:00hrs: Being conversation with the other Dutch guy. I really want to brush my teeth.

12:00hrs: Just me and the two Dutch guys now. Having good conversation. Attempting to watch the movie Frost Nixon on the screen, not really going so well. Then the Dutch guys (Nick and Mathieu) start cracking jokes about The U.S. government. Took them long enough.

12:15hrs: Mathieu makes friends with the French girl that's sitting upstairs on the bus.

13:00hrs: OK. are we there yet? I come back from the bathroom and the Dutch boys are doing flips across the seats. Later they start playing football in the aisles.

13:42hrs: ARRIVAL!!! Survival of first 19-hour bus ride!!! Plus I have three new friends.

Dec. 5. 2009.

Day one at the park: walking. wild animals almost eating our lunch. waterfalls. joking. (the Dutch guys come with jokes, apparently). a boat tour. being soaking. eating our lunch in our underwear while our clothes dry. Two Dutch guys, a French girl, and an American eating lunch on a rock in front of the waterfalls can get a little attention from passer-byers. But it really doesn't get much better than this view, dudes.

Lazy and cheap I fill my water bottle up tap water. Vamos a ver.

Sunburn as hell. shit. that's going to hurt tomorrow.

Dec. 6. 2009.

Day two at the park: I was right about the sunburn. Me and my new German friend, Michael, head for the park. Exploring for tucans on the nature trail. I even brought Fruit Loops to lure them in. No luck. But we did see some beautiful butterflies. And a lizard without a tail.

It's Nick's, the Dutch guy, birthday. All of us go out to dinner at the "fancy" restaurant in Iguazu. I say twinkle lights qualify for fancy in this town.

Dec. 7. 2009.

Say goodbye to my new Dutch friends as they head off for their next journey. Celia (the French girl) and I head off to the threesome point. Paraguay, Brasil and Argentine meet as one at the river. Neato. But's it's too damn hot for a walk like this today. Catch the bus back to town and eat some delicious pumpkin gnocchi at a local restaurant. delicious.

Time for 19-hour bus ride. take two.

I really regret drinking that tap water a few days ago. Why do I have to be so cheap sometimes. Gotta learn. Gotta learn. somehow.

Not nearly as interesting. Lots of sleep. But I did successfully watch Changling only with Spanish subtitles.

Dec. 8. 2009.

Back to the city. Did someone order pollution with a side of dirty men cat calling at me?

p.s. Still regretting drinking the Iguazu tap water. My poor intestines.


So that was my trip. In a nutshell. I'm back. And it's hot as hell here in the city. I'm writing on my bed with the lights off because I'm trying not to create anymore heat than possible. My dumb fan is just circulating the warm air back onto me. How do people live without air conditioners? I'll be shriveled by the end of February. But at least my laundry will dry faster now.

About 85 percent of my students stopped taking classes for the summer. This should be good. No work until March. How fun! I love being poor and unemployed. Actually, a student offered to hook me up with a job a friends hostel. He's Argentine, so we'll see.

Meg is coming at the end of the month. We're set to head for the South around the 11 of January. After my short weekend away in Iguazu I'm ready for some travel.

Now I just have to figure out what to do in spare time until then. I think searching for the best public swimming pool in the city is a clever use of my time. Or riding the subte and have endless summer subte love affairs (a simple task of briefly fantasizing about the stranger next to you on the metro given the thrill that you'll never see them again). Or hit up all the hostels looking for a second job. Seems like the most productive use of my time. Probably end up take the subte, instead. Or maybe some Spanish lessons?