The Retiro bus station is confusing/dangerous, especially if you don't know what you are doing. Luckily I had been there a few times, so I knew how to get around there. However, I had always had my ticket beforehand, so I had to find the ticket booth. I was walking around, looking for signs to tell me where to go but was still kind of confused. All the sudden, this guy, dressed in a red shirt with a clipboard came up to me and asked if I needed help. I realized his accent was weird, and it turns out, he is from New Zealand and is working in Argentina for a couple months. His job is to help travelers reserve a hostel for their next destination. Anyway, he helped me find the booth I needed and I met the girls at the bus a little later. Since I was so frantic beforehand, I didn't realize how much I packed until I met the girls at the bus and they looked at my pack and said, "What did you bring?!" I brought enough outfits for three days when I all I really needed were some t-shirts, comfortable pants, and sweatshirt. We were gone three nights, but since the bus ride was about 15-16 hours each way, we spent two nights on the bus. On the way to Iguazú, we watched the worst movie ever, 2012. Basically, it's about the end of the world and everyone in the world dies....uplifting, right? People on the buses have the worst taste in movies because on the way back to Buenos Aires, we watched Planet of the Apes and Terminator 4. Ah.
Iguazú
We got to Iguazú around 2ish on Friday and took a bus to our hostel/checked in. And by hostel, I mean a hostel palace. It was one of the nicest/biggest hostels I have ever stayed at and it was fairly cheap, about 48 pesos (which is like 12 american dollars). We shared a dorm room with 6 other girls and even had a private bathroom. After getting our room, we took a bus into town and found a place to eat since we hadn't eaten lunch/hadn't eaten much since the bus food was kind of gross. We ate around 5 and bought some food for lunch/snacks for the next day. There wasn't much to see in town so we headed back to the hostel and had some wine and talked to some other students staying in the hostel. My friend, Freddie, ended up seeing a mutual friend in the hostel. One of her friends from school in the States is studying in Buenos Aires on the Butler program and some kids from that program were at the same hostel as us. Small, small world. Around 8, we all went back to our room and fell asleep around 10 to a movie. We were all exhausted from the bus ride and wanted to get up around 6:30 the next morning to make it to the park right when it opened.
On Saturday, we made it to the park a little before open and it turned out to be a beautiful day! Iguazú is right on the border of Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina and is one of the biggest waterfalls in the world. A lot of people like to see the falls from the Brazilian side, too but in order for Americans to get into Brazil, we would have to apply for a visa, which can be a hassle. First, we took a train from the entrance to Devil's throat and there were man-made bridges across the river. All of the sudden, these enormous waterfalls appeared and they were just stunning. I can't desrcibe it well, and looking at picutres doesn't do it justice- it was just breathtaking...the amount of water and sounds the falls made was crazy. I learned that when Eleanor Roosevelt saw Iguazú Falls for the first time, she exclaimed, "Poor Niagara!" In any case, we stayed at this stop for awhile, mesmerized by the water and took a bunch of photos. Then, we took the train down again and there were more walking trails that leads to other falls. There are also different places people can view the falls and they were all awesome. I really liked the way the park was set up and of course, I took a lot of pictures. We stayed there until 2:30, checked out of the hostel, and caught our bus at 4:30 back to Buenos Aires. And here I am! We got back at 9:30 this morning and now I'm trying to get everthing organized for next week.
It was a great mini getaway and I am SO glad I eneded up going, even though Thursday was so crazy. If anyone has a chance to go, it is definitely worth the trip.
Some pictures:
On the way up
Cataratas (Waterfalls)
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