dos besos en las mejillas

This past weekend I went on my first ISA excursion to Puerto Iguazú. I had been avoiding excursions with ISA because I hate traveling in big groups, but I couldn't turn down this already-paid-for excursion to Iguazú...especially since everyone had been raving about this AMAZING asado. Thursday after school we boarded a cochecama omnibus and embarked on a twelve hour ride to Posadas, in the provincia of Misiones. We arrived early the next morning and transferred onto a smaller bus where we drove forty minutes to the small pueblo of San Ignacio. We arrived at Las Ruinas de San Ignacio sleepy, but ready to take on the busy day ahead of us. With the red clay contrasting with the bright blue (cloudless!) sky and luminously green flora, these Jesuit missions reminded me a little bit of the Mayan ruins I have seen in Yucatán, Mexico. After wandering around las ruinas for a while, we went into the centro of San Ignacio to the mercado de artesanía. The roads in San Ignacio were pure tierra colorada, giving this pueblito a very unique onda.

Our next stop was Estancia La Chaca, another forty-minute ride from San Ignacio. This estancia was so relaxing; when we arrived we were able to swim in the pool, lie on the hammocks, or play soccer, volleyball, tennis, or ping-pong. But when the food was brought out, everyone dropped whatever it was that they were doing, as this estancia is famous for having the best parrilla. The most delicious empanadas I have had in Argentina (which belive me, is a LOT) was at this estancia. They were so sweetly juicy with a perfect consistency. I dream about having these empanadas again. Then they brought out the choripan, probably my favorite thing about Argentina. Obviously, I had two. They had this pico de gallo-esque sauce to put on it, which gave it even more flavor. Finally was the delicious parrilla, complete with bife de chorizo, vacío, tira de asado, and everything else in between.

After I overstuffed myself (as I tend to do at parrillas), we were taken on a maté tour near the estancia. We were shown the difference between yerba maté leaves and regular tealeaves; las hojas de yerba maté tend to be a lighter green. We walked to the maté factory, where we saw the maté leaves being harvested and processed. During the processing of the yerba they are baked in this room where the leaves are directly exposed to heat, in an effort to destroy the ferments and avoid oxidation. Needless to say, we were only in this small room for a short period of time, as we overheated within seconds. In the next room there were piles and piles of Costco-size bags of yerba maté…¡mi sueño! We headed back to the estancia and had postre and cold maté, something I had never tried before; once with cold water, once with jugo de limón (¡BUENÍSIMO!). After we finished with the maté, we got back on the bus and drove four hours to our hotel in Puerto Iguazú, where we were greeted with fresh licuados, followed by an all you can eat buffet (including a fresh parrilla station, with lots of chorizo and morcilla…yum!).

We woke up early the next day to a complete breakfast buffet (just think: endless medialunas and dulce de leche), and left for the Parque Nacional Iguazú around 8:30hs. When we got to the park we took a train to the beginning of the paseo to Garganta del Diablo and walked across many, many puentes to the big waterfall. All I can say is OH. MY. GOD. I was sin palabras when we got to this magnificent sight. Thick mist and water everywhere, we were inevitably drenched at the top of the waterfall, but couldn’t even notice because it was just that spectacular. Everyone who had been to Iguazú before me had told me how powerful, emotional, and energizing the falls actually are, but I thought they were all full of it. I just couldn’t fathom the vivacity of the falls. But it is so true. Everyone was so energized. I don’t even know how to describe how I felt. It was so powerful and peaceful; I simply felt that it was just the falls and me. The exuberance I felt was real, and unlike anything I had ever felt before.

The park persisted to amaze me as we continued walking through the jungle, with endless waterfalls in sight. There are over 250 waterfalls in the park, but it feels like so much more than that. Basically, Niagra Falls is an embarrassment compared to Iguazú. We then went on a speedboat that took us underneath the falls. Yes, we knew about the speedboat the crashed a few months ago…but we were willing to take the risk. In our trajes de baño ready to get soaked, the boat would circle around a waterfall a few times, each time inching closer to the base. It was absolutely thrilling, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn’t screaming like a little girl.

Mid-afternoon we headed to Tres Fronteras: the point at which Río Paraguay and Río Paraná come together, creating the borders between Argentina, Brasil, and Paraguay (Paraguay on the left, Brasil on the right). It was pretty neat being only a few kilometers away from these two countries, both of which I hope to visit. We were there as the sun was setting, and while a group of Guaraní children sang some of their traditional songs it created the most perfect, relaxing end to an amazing day.

The next day we visited a Guaraní village. We boarded an open-air truck, which took us from our hotel to the pueblito. We wandered through the selva with our Guaraní guide, Luis, who taught us about their language, culture, and even hunting tactics. We then came across a group of Guaraní people, who sang us a few of their traditional canciones (much like the ones we heard the day prior at Tres Fronteras). I find Guaraní songs to be very melodic and soothing, so I bought a CD in hopes of using it for relaxation. Here’s a video that I took of one of the songs they sang to us (peep the kid swinging from the roof in the background):

They held a small market for us afterwards, selling their sacred virgin beads, rosaries, and other Guaraní artisan crafts. Once we finished browsing through the mercado, we headed back to the hotel (inadvertently tracking mud throughout the lobby…oops!). An asado was obviously my choice for lunch, and after quickly nomming we were off to the airport, headed back to BA. Being in the northeast part of Argentina for the weekend, we missed the sudden change in clima in BA and were in for quite a shock when we arrived and it was 12ºC. I have definitely developed a tolerancia porteña to the cold; it has been ranging in the teens (55ºF-65ºF) this week, and I have whipped out my faithful Barbour (who gets me through the hostile winters in Vermont).

Traveling with ISA was nice, considering it was already paid for and I could let someone else worry about the logistics and planning, but I definitely prefer traveling on my own in a smaller group. There’s just no way to travel efficiently when there is nearly fifty students. Plus, I found the program's excursion regulations to hinder on my characteristic independent spirit...sorry I'm not sorry.

Next adventure on the agenda is an indigenous journey to the provincias of Jujuy and Salta (including Quebrada de Humahuaca!) in northwestern Argentina at the end of the month. Just booked my plane tickets today! Until then, I will be hacking away at my extensive bucket list, studying for my parciales, and getting ready for the Superclásico next weekend (River Plate vs. Boca Juniors…said to be one of the greatest sport rivalries in the world)!

Chau,
audgentina.