Author: Lindsay and Igor

Days 308 & 309: Buenos Aires

Our last two experiences at Argentinean airports taught us that it does not pay to arrive too early (even when you have passes to an executive lounge) as the airlines refuse to let you check-in more than 2 hours before your flight. So, we took our time in the morning, and arrived exactly 2 hours early for our 1PM flight. We only had carry-on luggage with us, so ticketing was a breeze and we were ready to go through security right away.

As we reach the security desk, we watch as the two female security agents check-in the people ahead of us (one of who we were pretty sure was on the same flight we were). When we approached Maria E. Ramírez, she looked at our ticket than handed it back and said, “Your flight is not boarding until 12.” We were dumbfounded.

“We can’t go through security?”

“No.”

“Sooooo…we just have to sit here for an hour?” Maria shrugged. “But we have passes to the lounge inside,” Lindsay pulled up the picture on Igor’s phone, “can we please go in now?” Master & Commander Ramírez pointed us to the “Customer Service” phone and told us we could call and ask – of course the woman on the phone backed up the security guard and told us to wait. When we turned back to the desk, both guards had disappeared and closed the doors to the terminal behind them. Through the glass doors we could see them inside, *having a fucking mate break*.

Over the course of the next hour and fifteen minutes (because the security guards did *not* return from their mate break on time), the empty hall filled up with every single person on our flight, queueing up in a line, waiting to get through security. Seriously, it would have been so much more efficient to just check in people early, to avoid all the crowding. But no – these women just wanted a power trip.

 

Sitting outside security for OVER AN HOUR because the fucking ticket checkers need to feel important

 

When Lindsay called their “Customer Service,” she was told that she would have to wait an hour – Hey! Just enough time for a LINE to form! ARGENTINOS LOVE LINES.

When we finally got into the terminal, we only had 15min before boarding started. We looked around for the lounge, hoping we still had time to grab a cup of coffee before getting on the flight, however, there was no lounge! It wasn’t until we were actually boarding that we finally saw the doors to the lounge – only accessible though the locked doors to the flight bridge, hidden in the (now defunct) international wing of the airport. OK, given that you are not permitted to go through security until an hour before departure and the entrance is inaccessible, does anyone ever use it?!? Argentina – you are not doing it right!

By the time we got to Buenos Aires, we were pretty frustrated and feeling relieved that we had booked such a short stay in the capital. We returned to our hotel, picked up our big bag, and went up to our room to relax and plan our evening. Buenos Aires is known for its nightlife, so we were looking forward to a nice dinner and some Argentine tango. Igor found a highly rated “farm to table” bistro in the Palermo neighborhood, and Lindsay found a milonga (tango dancehall) within walking distance. We made an absurdly early reservation (by BA standards) at 8PM, planning to arrive at the milonga around 10:30PM. Even then we would be insanely early – apparently the band wasn’t scheduled to go on until *1:30AM*. Yeah, we’re too old to stay up that late, so we knew full well we would miss the main attraction but at least we would get a glimpse of the REAL tango culture.

 

Dinner date in Buenos Aires

 

Fancy-shmancy bread and *delicious* Patagonian Pinot Noir

 

OK – we admit it: Argentinos make really good food. Fucking awesome dinner.

So, most tourists go to “dance & dinner” shows to see Argentine Tango in Buenos Aires. Those can be very entertaining, but we can do that back home in NYC. We wanted to see the REAL dance scene, so we decided to visit the milonga at Salon Canning. The experience was very interesting and educational for us. First of all, NO WE DID NOT DANCE. Argentine Tango is a very intricate dance (nothing like International Tango, which Igor does know), and the dancers here were so deadly serious on the dance floor, we knew they would not appreciate a pair of newbies bumping about awkwardly. Second, the mood is so different from other social dances we’ve been to. We’re no experts, but we’ve been to a dozen or so salsa clubs over the years – in comparison to salsa (which is fun & flirty, usually in a low-lit bar scene) tango feels like passionate foreplay (which is really weird considering all the lights were on). What made it feel really naughty, was the fact that strangers would meet up and dance together in these halls – I mean, it looks like these people are emotionally cheating on their spouses! And Third, there is a very formal etiquette to the milonga: if a woman is invited to dance (indicated by a knowing look from across the room – which she can “pretend not to see” to reject), the man is obliged to dance a set of 4 songs with her. We noticed that each set of 4 tangos was punctuated by a non-tango song (usually pop or a cha-cha), signaling the couples to leave the dancefloor.

 

We pass by the entrance to the milonga hall twice before we finally spot it – inside the dancefloor is packed with locals

 

Lindsay and Igor watch from the bar. These dancers are intimidating – they are VERY good and they are so SERIOUS

For our only full day in Buenos Aires, we had to pack in as much sight-seeing as possible. Both of our foot/leg injuries were healing nicely, but we didn’t want to risk messing anything up this close to our dive trip, so we opted for the Hop On, Hop Off bus. It may be a bit corny, but we had never actually gone on one of these tours before, so we decided to try it out. We jumped on around 8AM and rode the entire route of all three bus circuits, giving us a passing glimpse of all the most famous neighborhoods of Buenos Aires – Recoleta & Palermo on the Red Line, the Center, Monserrat, San Telmo & La Boca on the Blue Line, and the northern part of the city on the Green Line. The only places we explored on foot were La Boca (a wildly colorful tourist trap) and the Recoleta Cemetery just outside of our hotel. By the time we staggered back into our room around 5PM, we were exhausted. No more late nights for us – we picked up a bottle of Argentinean sparkling and camped out in our jammies for the rest of the night.

 

Exploring BA the lazy way – the Hop On, Hop Off tourist bus

 

Buenos Aires proudly calls itself the “Paris of South America” – indeed, its buildings are very European

 

Buenos Aires – loudly colorful!

 

Artsy-fartsy graffiti: it’s street art

 

It’s a beautiful, sunny summer day in Buenos Aires – perfect for sitting atop the open-air bus and driving through the tree-lined streets of Buenos Aires

 

The Obelisk of Buenos Aires – commemorating the federalization of the country’s capital in 1880

 

Protesters evoking the image of Evita Perón

 

The colorful streets of the über-touristy La Camineta

 

Several cafés have tango performers dancing in front of the outdoor tables, attracting cruisers like flies to honey

 

Street art in La Boca, depicting political protesters

 

Random sights around BA: Floralis Genérica – a steel sculpture of a flower that opens every morning and closes everynight; and the gateway arch to BA’s Barrio Chino – a “gift” from the People’s Republic of China that was initially refused by the city government and installed *without* their permission.

 

The tour’s information overload lulled Lindsay to sleep, so we stopped for a sugar-rush at one of BA’s many ice-creameries

 

Wandering through the elaborate tombs of the Recoleta Cemetary

 

Cobweb-covered statues holding a withering bouquet of flowers – delightfully creepy!

 

We were shocked to see that many of the mausoleums have broken doors and windows – some are even being used as storage closets for the cemetery groundskeeper! Doesn’t seem very respectful.

 

A teeny little dinner of cheese and eggs, with a healthy serving of bubbles!

Day 307: Güirá Oga, Puerto Iguazú

After reviewing the numerous, amazing pictures we took at Iguazú Falls yesterday, we decided we didn’t need to return to the park for a second day (even if admission would be half priced). It’s still a good idea to give yourself at least 2 days to see Iguazú, since you really want to see the falls on a sunny day if possible (more butterflies and rainbows!) – we just lucked out and got perfect weather on Day 1!

We spent the morning hiding in our cozy, air-conditioned cabin, using their Wifi and relaxing. In the afternoon, we started to get a little stir-crazy, so we borrowed their bicycles again and headed all the way through town toward a little wildlife refuge center called Güirá Oga. It was a long, hot and hilly ride, but we made it just in time for their final tour of the day at 4:30PM. Unfortunately, the tour was in Spanish (English is available sometimes, but not today apparently) – Lindsay was able to pick out a few tidbits here and there, but her vocabulary isn’t big enough to understand the stories the guide was telling about the rescued animals. We just followed along at the back of the group and looked at the birds, monkeys and other mammals.

 

We bike across Puerto Iguazu to the Güirá Oga Wildlife Refuge and take a guide tour

 

Igor checking out the blue and scarlet macaws

 

A Toco Toucan and a Red-Breasted Toucan

 

Igor dances along the boardwalk as a Capuchin Monkey watches jealously from his enclosure

 

An incubator full of freshly hatched chicks, and a pair of falcons

 

An Ocelot paces madly in its enclosure, and an otter swims back and forth in its little pool. Poor guys really want to go back to the wild

As we were finishing the tour, dark thunder clouds rolled in and threatened to dump a torrent of rain on us. We jumped on the bikes and peddled as hard as we could back to town. Luckily, the shade from the clouds and the refreshing breeze made the biking much easier and we made it to a grocery store just as thick droplets were starting to fall. We took our time shopping – picking up everything we needed to cook burgers back at the cabin – and found that the storm had passed by the time we came out of the store. When we got down to cooking later that night, we realized we had shopped with our stomachs a little bit – the burgers were HUGE and we each had a baked potato on the side! We fell asleep with massive food comas that night.

 

Igor is in charge of cooking tonight, and makes us MASSIVE burgers

Day 306: Iguazú Falls National Park

In comparison to Victoria Falls, Iguazú is just a little bit shorter (82M vs 108M) but it is a LOT wider, stretching 2.7KM (one kilometer longer than Vic Falls). As a result, Iguazú feels grander. Also, Victoria Falls flows into a very narrow ravine, so it’s hard to view the whole thing – you can only see pieces of it here and there. Iguazú, on the other hand, opens up into a much larger canyon, and there are many viewpoints where you can appreciate the vastness of the falls before you. Not that there’s a competition or anything, but in our humble opinion, Iguazú does it betta’.

When visiting Iguazú, you have two choices on where to view the falls: the Argentinean side (called Iguazú) or the Brazilian side (called Iguaçu). Many people choose to visit both, and we would have as well, except Brazil requires a tourist visa for Americans and does not allow an online e-visa – you have to visit a consulate and physically leave your passport for 1-5 business days (however long it happens to take to process that week). Had we planned to visit Brazil ahead of time, we could have taken care of it in the USA, but since we changed our plans to include South American while we were already on the road, we had no opportunity to surrender of passport for up to 5 days. We were a bit bummed at first, but now that we have fully explored the Argentinean side and we could see the Brazilian platform across the river, we don’t think we missed much.

So, even though the guide books all say you can’t (or shouldn’t) do Iguazú Falls in one day, that’s exactly what we did. And while the Argentinean side of the falls has a much bigger park than the Brazilian side, it’s still not gigantic and we were easily able to cover all three of the main trails starting around 8:30AM, just after the park opened, going at an easy pace (Igor’s foot was FINALLY healed, but Lindsay’s pinched nerve or whatever was wrong with her leg was still hurting) until about 4PM. If we had had the energy, we could have fit in the last nature trail before the park closed at 6PM, but we had little hope of seeing any wildlife so we decided to skip it.

 

Riding the 7:45AM bus from Puerto Iguazu to the National Park. Little surprise the ticket cost for foreigners is 65% more than the cost for Argentineans (gotta subsidize the locals’ vacations!)

 

We saw a lot of these piles of black worms all over the park trail in the morning. At first, we just thought they were piles of poo left by some small animal, until we noticed a fellow tourist taking a picture. Most people don’t take photos of poop (although, Argentineans are weirdos…LOL) so we decided to get a closer look: these are worms that most together en mass to appear bigger so birds don’t eat them. Very clever defense strategy, but very freaky in appearance – they reminded Lindsay of the demonic cursed worms from the movie “Princess Mononoke”!

We started our exploration of the National Park by hiking the Lower Trail – a path that meanders through the jungle and eventually all the way down to the river bank. Since there were so many ups and downs, it was much less crowded than the flat, Upper Trail. There are several boat ride options from the Argentinean side as well – many require an extra cost and take you on a tour along the river and even within a “splash zine” of the falls themselves. We skipped the paid excursions – we just wanted to take the free 1min ferry across the river to San Martín Island where you get an AMAZING view of the San Martín half of the falls. Igor had read that the park limits the number of visitors who can go to the island every day, so we wanted to make sure we were first in line so we didn’t miss our chance.

When we reached the bottom of the trail, there was no one there. Apparently, the park does not run the boat everyday – it’s dependent on the height of the river on any given day and they make the call whether or not to run the boat around 9:30AM (an hour after the park opens). We waited around until 10AM, when the tour operators for the paid excursions showed up – guess the water level was just fine for their money-making operation! We followed them to the riverbank to see if we could figure out what was going on. We finally found some park rangers at the bottom, sitting in the park’s boat, chatting and drinking mate (a bitter, messy, loose-leaf tea that Argentinos are fucking obsessed with – seriously, who drinks HOT TEA in the JUNGLE?). They seemed a little annoyed that park guests were showing up, and it took them another couple of minutes before they could be bothered to take us across the river, however, the views from the island were our favorite in the park and totally worth the effort.

 

Starting our exploration of the park on the Lower (Blue) Trail

 

The path leads us through the jungle and opens up on some minor falls and the lower part of the river, before we get our first sight of the San Martín section of Iguazú Falls

The San Martín section of Iguazú Falls – it is a wider curtain of smaller waterfalls, and incredibly pretty!

 

Igor stands on the lower viewing platform beneath the San Martín Falls

 

We climb all the way down to the river to catch a free boat to San Martín Island, which sits in the middle of the river, right in front of the falls

 

Waiting for the Argentinos to finish their friggin’ mate break before they escort us the short 200M across the river to the island

Looking up at the falls from the beach

Panoramic view of the San Martín Falls

 

We continue along the trail around San Martín Island, where we get our first glimpse of the Devil’s Throat & the Brazilian side of the falls in the distance, plus a clear view of the Iguazú River as it flows down toward the Paraná River and the border with Paraguay

 

The San Martín Falls are pretty and worth the effort to see up close, but man that hike back up the trail in the hot summer sun is a BITCH

 

We brought our own snacks for lunch, but after our hike we couldn’t resist the smell of hot, savory empanadas! We share a trio of cheese & spinach stuffed handpies – YUM!

 

We see a few curious animals hanging around the picnic area: a Plush-Crested Jay and a Giant Tegu

 

The end of the Lower Trails takes us to the entrance to the Sheraton – the only hotel in the park. While it would be a perk to have access to the park before/after hours to avoid the crowds, at USD$500/night (for a non-falls facing room) it’s way out of our price range!

It was already noon by the time we started the Upper Trail section of the park. This part was our least favorite – the San Martín falls are more scenic than powerful, and the view from the top of the falls isn’t that impressive. Plus, the trail is absolutely packed with tourists since this is the easier trek as there is no up and down. And even though the trail was supposed to be a one-way loop, there were tons of annoying visitors who decided to return the wrong way, just to spend more time on the edge of the falls, rather than taking the “backwater” return trail.

Joining the crowds of tourists on the Upper Trail at the top of the San Martín Falls

 

The trail is a loop – going along the top of the falls on way, then snaking back on a quiet boardwalk over the river behind the falls on the return. Even though there was no view, we preferred the peace and quiet of the return trail

The final section of the park is the Big Daddy: the Devil’s Throat! A huge basin of the river dumps down a relatively small opening on the cliff ledge, creating an absolute torrent of water thundering down ~80M below (this is the tallest section of the falls). The force of the water was so strong here and there is so much spray, we actually had difficulty taking photos before our camera lenses were completely covered in drops (especially since we also had to contend with a large crowd of selfie-snapping fellow guests). It took a little patience, but we finally got our “money shot” of the Great Iguazú.

 

Lindsay’s gimpy leg is starting to bother her after so much walking, so we take the free choo-choo 5KM to the Devil’s Throat

 

We spot some pretty butterflies and HUGE catfish along the trail

 

We watch as a dumb tourist pulls out a package of crackers and starting feeding the coatis (a type of jungle raccoon). Not only is she encouraging aggressive behavior (these guys can bite when they think you are withholding food), she’s fucking up his poor little tummy. These are WILD animals, people, and they are supposed to eat NATURAL things like plants and bugs – not cookies filled with synthetic preservatives and partially hydrogenated corn syrup.

 

We see a mist coming up from a precipice in the water – we join the throng of people on the viewing platform and fight for a spot on the railing

A river of water disappearing at the top of the falls

The Devil’s Throat – the most MASSIVE waterfall we have ever seen!

 

Powerful, thunderous and awe-inspiring – the Devil’s Throat of Iguazú Falls

By the time we took the tourist train back to the center of the park, we were exhausted. We went back to the ticket counter to get our tickets validated (you can get half-off admission the next day if you register your ticket before leaving) just in case we decided to return tomorrow. We then caught the return shuttle back to Puerto Iguazú.

Unfortunately for us, we didn’t realize that it was Sunday, and all the grocery stores would be closed by midday. We were so tired – we really didn’t have the energy to walk all the way back into town for dinner, and would have preferred to stay in and cook again – even pasta! – but everyone was shuttered down for the day. Since we were only a few blocks away from the touristy area of the Three Frontiers, we decided to walk over to the restaurant on the riverbank. It was pretty pricey, but it had a nice view and we ordered the cheapest things on the menu (plus a bottle of wine!).

 

Sunday night dinner with a view of the 3 frontiers

Day 304 & 305: Journey to Puerto Iguazú

Our journey to Puerto Iguazú was a long, 2-day affair. Day One was purely a travel day, as we flew from Punta Areas to Puerto Montt to Santiago and finally to Buenos Aires. We arrived pretty late in the evening – it was about 8:30PM by the time we checked into our hotel and we were exhausted. Even though the dinner scene in Buenos Aires doesn’t really get started until 9PM (so we technically had plenty of time to go out), we really just wanted a quiet night in, since we had an early flight the next morning and we still had to repack our bags (we were planning to leave our big suitcase in BA for a few days and only take carry-on luggage with us to Iguazú). Luckily for us, there was a grocery store that was only a block away, so we were able to pick up some pasta, sauce, cheese and wine (very important!) and we enjoyed a simple yet satisfying dinner in our hotel room.

 

After three flights, we finally arrive in Buenos Aires, feeling a little punchy. We buy a bus/taxi combo deal from EZE airport to our hotel in Recoleta

 

Igor takes a shower while Lindsay whips up a quick pasta dinner in our little kitchenette

 

In the morning, we discover that our hotel room has a stunning view of the Recoleta Cemetery! We plan to explore when we return to BA in a few days

The next morning our hotel ordered a USD $10 taxi to the Aeroparque domestic airport (located right in the city). Even though it was a domestic flight, our hotel recommended that we arrive 2hrs early – we soon discovered why. Argentineans LOVE lines. Lines, lines, long, long lines for everything! Long line to check in, long line to get to security, long line to board the plane. We started to grumble to ourselves, but then we had to step back for a moment and reflect that things could be worse: at least Argentineans don’t *cut* in lines, the way the Chinese do!

When we finally got to the head of the line for the security check, we discovered what the holdup was. The actual security station (metal detector & x-ray scanning) was practically empty, so it wasn’t the security team that was taking forever; it was the two agents checking everyone’s ID beforehand. Turns out, domestic airfare is about *half the cost* if you have an Argentinean resident card (thanks to ridiculously high taxes for government subsidies) and they wanted to make sure no foreigners were trying to sneak through with online tickets purchased with the “local” price! We had heard about this before coming to Argentina, so we paid the foreigner fare as we didn’t want to risk getting booted from the plane if we got caught.

 

Tickets in hand, we are ready to join the loooooong queue for security (we are learning that Argentineans LOVE to wait in lines!)

 

We enjoy our LAN Argentina snack box (admittedly, food is very good in Argentina) on the short flight to IGR

When we arrived in the Puerto Iguazú Airport, we spent a good 20min trying to find the “local” bus (Igor had read someone’s blog where they claimed to only pay USD $2 for a bus into town). Whether or not this bus exists, we’ll never know – we tried asking the airport staff and transport operators where it was, and they all told us there was no public bus. Our only options for getting into town were a taxi or a shared minibus (granted, the transport operators had a vested interest in lying to us, if there really was a bus – maybe they just don’t want foreigners using their public transportation?). We opted for the minibus since the guy promised it would be leaving in about 5min. I guess “cinco minutos” is a loose term in Spanish, as we actually waited a half an hour for them to get enough customers to fill up the 20-seater bus.

Once the bus was finally loaded up, we finally started making our way into town. About halfway down the road, however, our minibus pulled over to the side of the road, along with a big tourist bus. A guy wearing a “turistica” polo-shirt came on and asked us if we all spoke English. A few of us said, “Yes,” and he then proceeded to inform us that everyone on board had to pay a USD $1.50 Tourist Tax (literally – the receipt says “Tasa Turística” on it). We noticed none of the taxis were pulled over – I guess they only target buses. We made sure to keep our receipt on us for the rest of the trip just in case they tried to hit us up again.

 

We buy tickets for the shared minibus, which gets pulled over halfway to town for everyone on board to pay a tourist tax

Instead of staying in a hostel, Igor found us a homestay where we would get our own private cabin, with a kitchen, pool & BBQ access and free bike rental. The only catch was that it was not in the downtown area, but located in a residential neighborhood on the edge of town. While the minibus was supposed to make hotel stops, they told us they couldn’t go all the way to our part of town – instead they dropped us off 4 blocks away where the paved road meets gravel. It was a short but very hot walk to our homestay. However, once we go there, we found the cabin to be very comfortable and homey.

Even though they lived in Argentina, we suspected our hosts were actually Brazilians (the mother and daughter wore bikinis all day long, and when we asked them to help us light the BBQ later that night, they were kinda clueless on how to light a grill – not very Argentinean). The daughter, Paola, was the only one who spoke English, but she was incredibly kind and helpful, giving us directions for everything from where to find the best grocery store to how we could catch the bus into the park the next day. She told us we were welcome to borrow their pair of bicycles so we could visit the scenic riverside (where we could see the meeting of the 3 countries: Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay) and do our grocery shopping in town. We picked up a big steak and a bottle of red for dinner – buen provecho, Argentina!

 

Our cabin in Puerto Iguazú has a full kitchen, two bedrooms, and decent Wifi

 

We borrow our host’s bicycles and ride into town for groceries, stopping by the “Tres Fronteras” (3 frontiers) where Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay meet

 

Our host’s kitty cat keeps us company as we chill in the backyard

 

Our hosts help us light up their grill in the evening

 

We nibble on a cheese appetizer while we wait for the coals to get red-hot for our steak dinner