Dan and Carrie's Western Hemisphere Adventures

Please note that all the pictures/movies in this posting are from the Iguazu falls. If you would like to see pictures/movies of the Niagara falls, please see our Niagara Falls posting by clicking HERE.

Last summer we went to Niagara Falls and the next summer (which, thanks to changing hemispheres, was only four months later) we went to Iguazu Falls. The entire time I toured Iguazu falls, I couldn't help but compare them with Niagara. Niagara Falls are hands down the best falls in North America and Iguazu Falls are hands down the best falls in South America. However, the similarities don't stop there.

Niagara Falls are on the border between the USA and Canada, while Iguazu Falls are between Argentina and Brazil. The USA and Argentina are on the southern side of the falls, and both countries provide a much more intimate viewing of the their falls. At USA Niagara you can ride a boat called "Maid of the Mist" where they provide you with a rain jacket and you ride right up next to the falls. At Argentina Iguazu the boat ride is called the Nautic Adventure. There they don't even bother to give you a jacket because they ride up so close you literally can't see anything but water. Most people stripped down to their underwear or swimsuits for the ride. I wore my rain jacket, but the water poured down my neck and up my sleeves, so only the middle of my back stayed dry. Dan didn't wear the hood of his jacket so he got completely soaked. Below is a picture of us on the Nautic Adventure:

The USA and Argentina falls both also have catwalks where you can walk right next to the falls. The US catwalks are called "Cave of the Winds". Although you have to wait in a pretty long line, they give you a rain jacket and silly little slippers to wear. Then you get to walk so close to the falls that at times it is difficult to move forward because the wind/water is so strong. In Argentina they have the "Passeios Inferiores", which is 1.5 km of walkways that weave around the lower part of the falls. Although these are much more extensive than their US counterpart and you can get equally wet if you so desire, they aren't quite as intense as their US counterpart.

In both the USA and Argentina you can also walk around the top of the falls. However, with the Argentine version you can get much closer to the falls. It is actually broken into two sections called Garganta do Diablo (for the biggest waterfall) and Passeios Superiores (for most other falls). Garganta do Diablo translates to devil's throat, and seeing all those tons of frothy water come erupting out of the river is quite hypnotizing:

The Passeios Superiores is especially great on sunny days because in addition to the falls, you can see tons of rainbows. The first day we went to the falls it was pouring rain by the time we got to the Passeios Superiores, but the next day was sunny so we went back, and it was well worth the repeat trip. Below is a movie taken from the Passeios Superiores, but if you can't see it, try clicking here.

However, crossing the international borders was definitely easier in North America, which simply involved paying a small fee and walking across a bridge right next to the parks. In South America we had to take a bus between the Argentine and Brazilian towns in addition to taking separate buses from the towns to their respective falls. This would have been very difficult to do in one day. We ended up spending two days on the Argentine side and one day on the Brazilian side.

We also had to get a Brazilian visa because we were planning to travel around Brazil after seeing the falls (you can avoid getting a visa if you only go to Brazil for the day). For every other South American country we just showed up at the border and paid nothing. However, for Brazil they require that you apply for a visa in advance and pay them $100 US (however, I can't be too mad about the $100 because Brazil charges everyone however much their country charges Brazilians to enter, and the US charges them $100 for visas). We couldn't get our Brazilian visas before leaving for our trip because they are only good for 3 months and we were going to Brazil at the end of our 3.5 month trip. We tried to get them in Buenos Aires, Argentina a few weeks before heading up to Iguazu. However, after first finding our way to the Brazilian embassy, being told we were at the wrong place, and then making it to the Brazilian consulate, we found that they were only open in the morning. Fortunately, the security guard was able to give us the huge list of things we needed to obtain the visa, including exit tickets for how we would leave Brazil, entry tickets for how we would enter Brazil, address and phone number of where we would be staying in Brazil, credit card photo copies, and two months worth of bank statements.

The next morning we woke up early and headed down to the Brazilian consulate with as much of the info as we could muster. There were about five groups ahead of us in line, and one by one we saw each one of them get rejected. As each one of them left, I asked what they were missing. One girl said she hadn't yet booked her hotel in Brazil so she didn't have a Brazilian address. We were in the same predicament, so the people ahead of us in line let us copy their address. I felt like I was cheating on a test, but seriously, why do they need that, especially if we planned on staying in three or four different hotel while in Brazil. However, we still got rejected because we didn't have entry tickets. We were planning to hop on a bus to take us across the Iguazu border, which is literally as formal as hopping on a CTA (local Chicago) bus, so there was no way to purchase advance tickets. We explained the situation to the lady behind the counter, so she suggested that we should just wait and get our visas in Iguazu. I worried about waiting until the last minute to get our visas, but it turned out to be MUCH easier there. All we had to do was fill out a form and pay them the $100 and we had our visas in less than an hour. They didn't even ask to see tickets, bank statements, or even yellow cards (proof of immunizations)! We learned that getting visas in BsAs in nearly impossible, but then again, we found that any sort of administrative task, such as buying plane tickets, calling home, or booking hotels, is a huge pain there.

So any way, back to Iguazu versus Niagara. Brazil and Canada are both on the northern side of their falls. However, Canada is the much more touristy side for Niagara, but Argentina is actually the more the touristy side for Iguazu. Foz do Iguaçu, the Brazilian town, is big enough that it has more going on than just the falls. I suspect that it is closer aligned with Buffalo, NY. On the other hand, both the Canadian and Brazilian sides focus much more on the panoramic views of the falls rather than getting right up in there like you do in the US and Argentina. However, unlike Canada, Brazil provides a little bit more than just the panoramic view. You also get to ride a cute little double decker bus from the park's edge to the falls, and there is one catwalk that will get you a little wet (although not near as wet as you can get in Argentina or the USA).

One thing that Iguazu has that Niagara definitely lacks is the jungle and all of the fun jungle animals. In Argentina we saw the following:

Giant lizard animal (its body was about a foot long):

Several packs of raccoon-like animals called coatis:

Some sort of rodent that looked like a cross between a guinea pig and a rat:

In Brazil we saw hundreds of millipedes all over that path that were anywhere from 2-8 inches long:

On both sides we saw tons of pretty butterflies:

Since there was not quite as much to do on the Brazilian side of the falls, we also went to see the light show at the Itaipu Dam. The Itaipu Dam provides 94% of Paraguay's electricity and 20% of Brazil's electricity, but it also caused a lot of debt for Brazil and destroyed a lot of rain forest in its making. It was obvious that the light show was an attempt to get people to accept the dam. We had to arrive an hour early for the show, and many of the ladies were wearing nice cocktail dresses. Fortunately, I had on my nicest jeans, sparkle butt and all. When it was time for the show to start we piled into buses. There were so many people at the show it took five buses to fit us all! The buses let us out on a hill overlooking the dam. The lights dimmed and two Vegas-style announcers came out and welcomed us. Then we watched a short video on the making of the dam, which, judging by the soundtrack, was created sometime in the mid-70's. Finally, the video screens lifted and it was time for the show! We heard music, and with each phrase of the song, another portion of the dam would light up. As the music got more intense, the dam got brighter and brighter. After about five minutes, the song was over and the dam was completely lit up. Then the music stopped and everyone got up to leave. We piled back into the buses, did a quick drive down closer to the damn, and then headed back to the entrance gates. It was neat seeing the dam, but the show could use a little work.

Overall, I'd say that both Niagara and Iguazu falls are amazing. However, if you're tight on time, the southern side of the falls (USA or Argentina) tend to be a little more thrilling. Avoid getting a Brazilian visa in Buenos Aires at all costs, and unless you're really excited about dams, I'd skip the Itaipu light show.

Monday, December 24, 2007

More Argentina!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Carrie and I are back in the US, enjoying the winter wonderland that is Massachusetts. We are in good health and arrived home safely, and enjoying things such as home cooked meals, speaking English, and having friends and family around. Now that we are back home, we can write more about what we did over the last month and a half.

Back in early November, after Uruguay, Carrie and I settled back in Buenos Aires. For a few days, we would work on logistical trip planning during the day, and doing fun activities at night. One night, we stumbled upon tickets to a dinner and tango show. The dinner, of course, consisted of a giant steak with potatoes, salad, and red wine. As an added bonus, we got to see a fun tango show:

The show was a lot of fun, and we made friends with some Columbian ladies who were sharing our ride to and from the show.

The next night, we went to a soccer match at River Plate Stadium, between River Plate and Arsenal (the Argentine team). Of course, the game ended in a 0-0 tie before going to penalty kicks (reinforcing my idea that soccer is not a very exciting game). The crowd certainly was into it, singing throughout the game.

I was amused when we decided to grab some food before halftime, and there was NOBODY at the concession stand, because everyone was too busy watching the game. The most amazing / interesting moment for me came at the end of the game, when Arsenal managed to win the game in penalty kicks. After they made the winning kick, the incredibly noisy crowd became dead quiet. The only sound I could hear was that of the players themselves celebrating, and the faint sound of the visiting fans celebrating in their own blocked off balcony section. For the home fans, to add to their pain, they actually had to wait in the stadium for the visiting fans to finish celebrating and leave the stadium before they could leave, because apparently in soccer the opposing fans cannot ever be in the same vicinity. Aside from the unfortunate outcome of the game, we had a good time and enjoyed seeing the soccer experience.

After that, our friend Joe arrived, and we saw more sights of Buenos Aires, witnessed the Gay Pride Parade, and traveled to Mendoza to enjoy the best of Argentine wines from their sources. Since Joe may be providing a guest post to the blog, I'll refrain from going into detail until after he's written his post.

After Joe left, it was Thanksgiving, and one of the toughest stretches of our trip. Missing Thanksgiving in the US was hard, especially hearing about how much fun our families were having and knowing we were by ourselves in a country that didn't care much about Thanksgiving. In addition, we had some difficulties making some of the travel arrangements, which were starting to wear us down. Luckily, we were able to find a restaurant in Buenos Aires that served us a traditional Thanksgiving dinner!

The day after Thanksgiving, we packed up for our overnight bus trip that evening. During the day, we tried to view some downtown sights in Buenos Aires, but it seemed that every place we tried to visit was closed for renovations. Finally, we gave up and decided to have a steak lunch, which made things better for the time being (Argentine steak meals tend to do that). After that though, we went to the bus station, and had our bag stolen while waiting for our bus company's computers to come back online so they could print our tickets. After realizing that what they stole was not so bad, we began to feel better and boarded our bus.

Our bus was 19 hours, from Buenos Aires to Bariloche, in the Lake District of southern Argentina. We boarded a fancy "cama suite" bus with seats that reclined 180 degrees. It was extremely comfortable, and they even served hot meals, wine with dinner, and dessert with champagne and whisky! The only downsides were our seat location (in the back by the loud engine noise) and our window (covered by the bus exterior advertisements).

Barilcohe was incredibly beautiful. We stayed in a lovely hosteria called La Pastorella, owned by a friendly husband and wife. Our excursions consisted of white water rafting and bus rides providing beautiful views of lakes and mountains. The bus rides themselves became a bit boring due to the tour guide's rapid Spanish, but the scenery was nice. Here are some photos:

From Bariloche, Ar...

After Bariloche, we headed even farther south (50 degrees south latitude) to El Calafate, in Patagonia. It was here that we got to view some incredible Glaciers. We stayed at an incredibly charming place called "Las Cabanitas", and had our own A-Frame cabin:

From there we visited the Perito Moreno Glacier. I'll just show some pictures and a video here:

The most exciting part of the day might have been actually getting to hike on the glacier itself, using crampons on our boots, followed by a surprise whisky and candy snack at the end:

The next day, we visited an "Estancia", also known as a sheep ranch. We got to watch a sheep herding demonstration, a sheep shearing, and then eat a giant barbecue dinner:

For our last day in El Calafate, we took a boat cruise through Lago Argentina, visiting multiple glaciers in the area. This was very cold, but incredibly scenic!

El Calafate was one of my favorite places we visited on the trip. It was sunny until 10:45, not too cold away from the glaciers, and incredibly scenic. It was also very laid back and relaxing. On our flight back to Buenos Aires, the plane made a stop at Ushuaia, the very bottom of South America by Antartica. We had decided not to visit the town, and when we saw the view from the plane, we were happy with our decision:

After that, we headed north to Iguazu Falls and Brazil, which we will write about in future posts... Feel free to browse our pictures, as they are now all uploaded! Happy Holidays!

Monday, December 17, 2007

Quick thoughts at the end of the trip

Hello everyone!

Carrie and I are now in our last hotel, in our last city, Rio de Janiero, Brazil. It´s finally setting in that a trip that began with trips through the frigid Andes is now concluding with beautiful Copacabana Beach and 90 degree sun. For the last week or so, Carrie and I have decided to stop being "tourists" and just enjoy being on vacation. Therefore, we probably won´t be doing anymore extended blog posts or photo uploads, etc, until we arrive back in the USA. I promise though, when we get back, we´ll tell you all about what we´ve done in Argentina and Brazil over the last month and a half, and give a final recap and summary of the trip as a whole. There´s lots to write, but after seeing all the snow in New England and Chicago, beaches and bossa nova are taking priority!

Happy holidays to all, and we´ll write more when we get back!

Monday, December 3, 2007

Oh, Argentina

My last post was fairly rushed (we were waiting to board our flight), so I wanted to write more about what it's been like traveling in Argentina and Uruguay, especially after spending so much time previously in Ecuador.

Argentines are certainly unique people, to say the least. I hate generalizing, but to give you a flavor, I'm going to do just that. The people here are sophisticated, smart, passionate, proud, and arrogant. They definitely love to talk and socialize!

Breakfasts consist of coffee and maybe some croissants, and could take place at one of the many cafes around town. Lunch could be just about anything, but ham and cheese sandwiches appear to be a staple, as well as steak sandwiches that include such toppings as ham, egg, and veggies. People can be seen in cafes eating lunch basically up until 5pm!

Dinner occurs anywhere from 9pm to midnight and beyond, with many restaurants not even opening until at least 8pm. Man oh man, do they do dinner here. The steaks are absolutely phenomenal, and the service you receive is truly top notch. At the older parillas (steak houses), the waiters are often older men who give the impression that they've served a lot of steak in their day. They are genuinely charming, not sticking to a corporate script or trying to "upsell" you anything, simply asking you what meat and wine you want (these are a given), if you want a salad and/or potatoes, and if you want your water with our without gas. Carrie and I are amused that most restaurants (especially in Buenos Aires) do not have tables for 2, because Argentines love to talk so much that they almost always dine in groups.

You can watch tango dancers in the streets, couples unabashedly kissing in parks, or kids playing soccer just about anywhere. There is an ice cream store every couple blocks, and they are all amazing. Outside of the city, the country has incredibly beautiful scenery in the Lake District, Patagonia, Mendoza, and Iguazu Falls, and thats just what Carrie and I saw. In Mendoza, you can ride bikes between wineries, tasting wine all along the way. Buses have seats that recline 180 degrees, serve hot meals, and even give you champagne or whiskey before bed, making long distance travel exceedingly comfortable.

So, what's not to love about Argentina? For one, Buenos Aires is a very busy and crowded city, bringing New York to my mind in terms of an American comparison. People do not really respect personal space all that much, frequently bumping you on the street or in lines. Very few places have small change, making buying things like subway tickets a nuisance at times. It seems like every museum or tourist attraction we try to attend is under construction. And since people love to travel here, all of the hotels get booked in advance, making reservations a necessity. However, most hotels don't take reservations over the internet, public phone calls are somewhat pricey, and travel agents aren't particularly helpful. The national airline, Aerolineas Argentinas, doesn't process payments on its website, making it necessary to call them (not free), or go to one of their offices, where you could wait up to an hour to speak to a person. And, it was the only country where we had something stolen from us (not once, but twice!)

Needless to say, Carrie and I have had a love / hate relationship with this country. What's hard is that we've lost the laid back feel we had in Ecuador, where we could make decisions spur of the moment and have things still work out. And the people's behavior and attitudes can get a bit frustrating after a while. But all in all, I think I'll walk away from Argentina with fond memories.

As for Uruguay, we basically found it to be like a bunch of suburbs of Buenos Aires. Colonia was a cute town, but nothing really happens there, so our 1 day was probably enough time. Montevideo is a pretty enough city with lots of tree lined streets, but again it seems that not much happens there (especially compared to other cities we have seen on this trip). Punta del Este would be a great beach town if the weather were nice. Lastly, everything was more expensive than Argentina, so it doesn´t have that going for it either. All in all, I would recommend staying in Argentina if you are in the area.

That´s all for now... Hopefully we can follow up with a more narrative post in the near future, as we have done a lot since the last post. We are spending the rest of our time in Brazil, soaking up as much warmth as possible before heading back to frigid New England in time for the holidays. Best wishes!

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Change of Scenery

Hey Everyone -- I write this post from the airport in Bariloche, Argentina, as we prepare to fly to El Calafate. Let's just say that it's a whole new world here in Argentina. The culture shock after arriving here from Ecuador was quite incredible! Basically, in Ecuador, we were used to casually showing up at bus stations and taking short rides to our next destinations, then walking around and finding a hotel on the fly. Upon arriving in Buenos Aires after an overnight flight from Ecuador, we discovered that our 3 different options for hostels we had picked out were all completely full!! We ended up walking into a random hotel off the street, which had space but was really a pretty lousy room. This was our view -- which was sort of exciting, but really incredibly noisy!