Leaving Buenos Aires was tough; the city is massive and I
could have easily spent another 2 weeks exploring it and trying to get to
everything I wanted. I had heard about Iguazu Falls from my roommates who went
and highly recommended it so when I heard there was a 4 day holiday weekend and
most things would be shut anyways, I decided to go! As much as I don’t mind
traveling alone, it’s so nice to have friends on trips with you when you go
sightseeing. Not only is it nice to have company, everything from accommodation
to simple things like taking pictures becomes so much easier! Luckily for me,
the day before leaving I noticed a sign on the board at school from Linn, a
girl interested in going to Iguazu for the weekend and looking for others
interested! This sounds made up but while reading it I noticed she mentioned if
anyone was interested, to come talk to her AT THAT VERY MOMENT. Destiny, thank
you again! 10 minutes later, I had 3 new friends coming with me to Iguazu and although
Linn was the youngest of the 4 of us, she happened to be the most organized and
before I left, she had worked out our accommodation, got on the same bus as me,
and arranged a time to meet. I couldn’t have asked for it to be easier and
almost felt like I should give her a commission!
Here is the thing about Argentina: it’s massive. It’s long,
it’s wide, and everything is spaced out. As a non-resident, they also don’t
make it easy to fly sometimes charging over double the price it would cost if
you were a resident! The only way we were getting there was by bus and this
meant almost 20 hours staring out of a partially curtained window at small
towns and fields. When you take a long bus trip, you have a few options
including a seat that is semi-cama (half bed) or cama (bed). I decided to brave
it and go semi-cama to save some cash and I’m glad I did! You get to partially
lay down and it really isn’t too bad, much more comfortable than an airplane
seat, unless you’re in first class but let’s be honest, I could stay in a first
class seat for days and feel great about life so that doesn’t really count as a
comparison.
The bus ride went smoothly besides that it was 45 minutes
late (is there any other way in Argentina?) and we arrived about 1.5 hours
after we were supposed to, but still early enough to have a day ahead of us.
The only unsmooth thing on the bus was, not surprisingly, me. I speak Spanish,
I’ve been on long bus rides (college basketball days had a few classics) and
I’m a smart person but leave it to me to make it awkward!
A few hours into the trip I went to the bottom level to use
the only bathroom on the bus. You can’t tell if anyone is inside so I knocked
and tried to open the door. It remained closed so I leaned next to the bus door
and waited. I started getting concerned about 15 minutes into it and figured
the person inside might have a friend so I kept peeking around the corner so
everyone would know I was waiting, hoping someone would come check on whoever
was inside. This is the point where patience should have given way to concern,
frustration, anything really but for some reason I was feeling the love and
just decided to wait it out. Another 10 minutes went by and the 2nd
bus driver came down. He looked at me a bit strangely (I think he had seen me
go down over 30 minutes before) and asked me if I needed help. I hope he meant
on the bus and not in a mental capacity but either way, I explained I was
waiting for the bathroom. Keep in mind, this can be heard by everyone in the
lower level so I just politely say I think someone is not feeling well. He
peeked past me at all the passengers sitting down and then tugged hard at the
door. No one, I repeat, no one was inside. I felt like the biggest idiot. I’m
pretty sure he said “pobrecita” which basically means, “aw you poor thing,”
laughed, and walked back up the stairs. When I came back out, I was too
embarrassed to look at anyone on the bus but I’m pretty sure I heard someone
clap.
Iguazu, you BETTER BE AWESOME!
