Las Saltas/Las Cascadas/LAS CATARATAS!

Without wasting any time, I'm just gonna jump right into talking about Iguazú! Let's begin with a quick video that I was able to take before my camera practically started sparking from the rain...not really but I was afraid that was gonna happen at any moment...

I can hardly believe the force of the falling water. It was so loud too! I've probably said it about a million times now, but I think it was just so incredible. Unfortunately due to the rain a lot of my experience couldn't be captured on film but here's the facebook album anyway:
 "Do you think they sell mates here?" Rosario/Iguazú/Grande Finale FB Album

Also, I think to get a visual of it all can also be shown by lovely before and after shot...

Nice and dry in front of La Garganta del Diablo...

Anddd a couple hours later...wet dog status.

Despite the rain, going to the national park was easily my favorite day. But before we dedicated a full day to that on Saturday, we did quite a few other activities as well. Here's the breakdown:

The Horrid Bus Ride: Considering it was about 40 hours total roundtrip on a bus, I'd say "the horrid bus ride" deserves its own little section and explanation. The excitement on the way there made the time pass quite a bit faster than on the way back, but it was still miserable trying to get comfortable to sleep throughout the night. It must have been some intense sleeping too because somehow, someway, there's a little tear in my tiger neck pillow :( I was also a little concerned about permanent damage to my blood circulation with some of the positions I was falling asleep in. I awoke countless times without being able to feel the lower half of my body, so I'd say that's probably never a good thing. The seats did recline a little bit, but nothing like the big double-decker buses we took to Córdoba and Mendoza. Plus the seats are just less cushy and roomy in general. Then on the ride back to Rosario...my god...the smell. All of us had packed away our wet clothes/shoes from the day before when we were walking around the park drenched all day and it just started to smell like moldy gym clothes. Mix that with everyone's sleeping breath in a tight space and basically just call it death. Whenever we stopped at a gas station and then got back on the bus, the rancidness only increased it seemed. So yeah, overall the bus wasn't the most enjoyable situation. But hey, probably worth it to be able to see 1 of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World (are you getting sick of hearing me say that yet??)

Visiting the Ruins of Las Misiones: We did this on Thursday morning after driving all night and stopping for breakfast in San Ignacio, a town about 3 hours from Iguazú. It was a chilly, foggy morning so that sort of added the effect of it all. Pretty wild to look at structures that were built so long ago. I've noticed that the rich red dirt is all throughout Argentina and is basically like a dye--it's still on the white parts of my tennis shoes!

Rock Repelling/Ziplining: For starters, this is what we rode around in on this chilly morning--

Unfortunately I don't have many pictures of the action of doing the rock repelling or ziplining, but both were pretty awesome and new firsts for me. The rock repelling wasn't very scary in comparison to my paragliding experience! Plus when it was all said and done it literally lasted less than 30 seconds. You're at the top and then before you know it you're hopping down the rock and then you're at the bottom. As for the ziplining, there were 3 different stations that you zip to. That was really cool cause we were between all the trees and stuff in the jungle. I personally preferred the ziplining over the rock repel and I think most of the others in our group would say the same.

3 Borders: Of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, that is. I think this simple map shows the relation of where the falls and the countries are to make it more clear for you all:

Iguazú Park: Woah man, where to begin. Insane! As I've mentioned before, the rain was a little bit of a downer, but I don't think it took away too much from the amazing sight I was able to see. Definitely made me realize how special this experience is that I have in Argentina in general and how lucky I am to be able to say I've visited! Whenever I've seen pictures it's normally of the big part, La Garganta del Diablo, but I honestly had no clue about all the other subsets of waterfalls that run through the park as well. Those are pretty immense and tall as well, just without the major force that La Garganta has. Along with the aspect of rain, the majority of the people in my program are from Oregon--hence it is always raining there. One day when it rained here in Rosario I heard one of them say, "Aww, this weather is making me miss home." That sort of blew my mind, because I think that affiliating the rain as an object of comfort is a little repulsive. Who likes to be wet and cold?! Not me. I guess they could say the same for me with the frozen tundra/snowland that is Minnesota. I guess it's all about what is familiar to us. However, all of them were probably a bit more comfortable than me because they have these fancy legit Northface's (but raincoat material. I've explained that I have a Northface too... but it's fleece so that certainly wouldn't help me out even if I had brought it to Argentina...) I am also out of the Oregonian loop because I don't own one of those ridiculously large hiker's backpacks, of which I do not even wish for a second that I had. Anyways, I was thankful that I had Yuppy's "raincoat," which I am putting in quotations because it did not keep out hardly any water as a raincoat should, but it was an extra layer and better than nothing so I don't want to complain too much. I tried to put on my happy face when I was soaking wet and shivering, but for some parts of the day it was challenging. Seeing the waterfalls made me feel better though, I'll say that much. I wanted the view of a big ole' rainbow too, but what can ya do? My experience was certainly unique and memorable. Just look! As my Grandma Boomer would say, "Wow-eeee!"

Photo taken by my friend Greg. Love the GREEN!

Other than the falls, I wasn't quick enough or even able to take out my camera for some of the animals we saw. I was surprised any were even out in the open due to the rain but they were! We saw an alligator, an anteater-like creature, a huge pack of bunny/guinea pig-like creatures, one of those crazy wild monkeys with a long tail that you do not dare touch or feed because they claw and bite, and also some birds. Clearly I'm not bit into details cause I don't know the names of any of these. Oops and oh well. I can only remember so much!
In Our Free Time: We had a pool at our hotel! And a little bar where we could buy wine and beer. Enough said.

New Vocab!
anuncios- advertisements
arma de doble filo- double edged sword
milagro- miracle
la pulga- flea
peludo- hairy
desabrido- bland
rebasa/oferta- deal
destacarse- to stand out
irse- to go away, to leave
pasota- indifferent
merienda/merendar- snack, to snack
quejarse/queja- to complain, complaint
pilas- batteries
mojado- wet
maloliente- smelly
trueno- thunder
relámpago- lightning
conseguir- to get
disminuir- to diminish
arengar- to cheer on
prolongación eléctrica/zapatilla- power strip
cronómetro- stopwatch
advertir- to warn
timbre- doorbell

I think all that pretty much wraps up the trip! Looking ahead now, I only have 16 days remaining in Argentina :( We have nixed the trip to Uruguay this weekend because it was looking to be more expensive than we originally anticipated, so I think I'm done with any major travel until I come back to the USA on June 22. Within the last week I've been in contact with friends and family quite a bit and I have loved this experience but am also excited for the experience that awaits me when I return. I've learned so much about a new culture, a new language, a new country, and mostly myself. I know it's not over yet so I don't want to get into any major wrapping up of my thoughts just yet, but I'm starting to get to that point of reflection of everything I've gone through thus far and trying to make sense of it all. I'm not sure that's every really going to be possible though because when I return to the states, it doesn't mean the journey isn't still continuing, you know? I'd like to think I'll keep in touch with the people I've met and maybe we'll all follow through with a planned reunion over in Oregon. I've never been, so I don't see why not?! Plus I've really enjoyed getting to know the people in my program and would like to see them again at some point in my life! We were all on this crazy ride in South America together and I think that's definitely something special that we shared.

All right all right, I think I'm getting a little too in-depth here with my thoughts, but I think you get the gist. All of this is once-in-a-lifetime, so I think I'm trying to get out every last detail of what happens here and what I'm thinking. I suppose that's the point of a blog, right? Now that I'm all hyped up on this giant chocolate bar I just ate while typing this (surprise, surprise...), a little bit more of homework awaits me. I'll be back at some point to talk about something! There's always something :)