Ok - this was a draft that went astray, but we do want to let you know how Argentina went, despite the fact that we’ve been gone a few weeks already…..
This was drafted while we were there:
Wow… we’ve been here almost 4 weeks already. We’re still enjoying the weather, ice cream, empanadas, fresh fruits and the city in general. Over the last 2 weekends we had a chance to venture a bit outside of Buenos Aires. Two weeks ago we spent the Saturday at a gaucho (the Argentine equivalent of a cowboy) ranch and Sunday we followed the crowds of locals to Tigre: a town 20-some miles north of Buenos on the delta of Parana river.
The day at the gaucho ranch was nice and relaxing: a bus picked us in BA and drove us 100-some miles to the ranch where we were fed and entertained (dancing, singing, horse racing, etc) all day long and we got dropped off back to our apartment later in the evening. The next day, however, was a bit more demanding as we decided to go for a 4-hour long kayaking trip on the Parana river in Tigre.
Last weekend we flew up north to see the mighty Iguazu falls (the alternative 17 hour bus trip didn’t sound too appealing). Since the waterfall is located on the Brazilian and Argentinian border we spent one day on each side. The waterfall (or rather the waterfalls) is absolutely beautiful and words can’t describe it so we’re not even going to try. We do have to say that if you’re looking for steam bath spa treatment this is a place to be. It certainly made up for the lack of summer weather we’ve had for a year and a half.
This is now:
Iguazu Falls can’t even be described through photographs - it has to be experienced in person to get the full sensory effect of the rushing water, flying steam, pounding sun, and those incredible views. I can’t remember the smell, per se, but maybe because the body had to knock out a sensory organ to make room for the mind to take it all in.
In brief, we really did enjoy our time in Buenos Aires and the surrounding area. We also took a ferry trip to Uruguay and spent a relaxing weekend in Colonia and Montevideo. Our Spanish lessons went well - Heather re-located her Spanish vocabulary and misplaced her ability to speak Polish; Radek really improved his spoken Spanish in every way, particularly in shopping for their delicious fruits and ordering ice cream. We learned some difficult lessons for the next time, including questioning the quality of internet (so we can be sure to work without problems), believing the previous tenant when they say the apartment is located on a loud street, and bringing two backpacks so one person isn’t stuck lugging around everything for a weekend trip.
And “the next time” has already arrived - we are currently in Santa Fe, New Mexico - “Land of Enchantment” or in our opinion, land of chili peppers, pink dirt, native history, and beautiful scenery. More later….. hopefully not in another month……
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Argentina