Aventura latina

Argentina - Cataratas de Iguazú

l-o-r-a — Fri, 27 Dec 2013 11:55:00 GMT

Even though the ride from Buenos Aires to Puerto Iguazú is about 16 hours long, the bus is extremely comfortable. The seats are huge, you can lift your legs up and put the back of the seat down. It is better to buy the ticket on the day you plan to travel, as the bus companies are very likely to give you a discount on the online prices.

After arriving to Puerto Iguazú and putting my backpack down (those two blocks from the bus station to the hostel were the longest ever!), I decided to explore the town for the rest of the day, and see the waterfalls the next day. As I soon found out, there wasn’t much to explore in the town itself. The ‘downtown’ consists of a few streets with simple food stores, restaurants and other small shops, and around 4 pm most of them were already closed. However, I had time to rest, which was good.

We started early the next morning. I met two British girls at the hostel, and since they arrived the same day I did, we decided to go to the Falls together. The buses to Iguazú Falls run quite often, so it was not a problem to get there. For some reason, the entrance to the park is most expensive for foreigners, and if you live in Argentina, Brazil or Paraguay, it is a few times cheaper. Quite a way to make gringo tourists feel welcome. The fee also includes a ride to a small island within the park, from which you can see falls up close. By the time we got to the island, we were pretty exhausted, and the wait to get on the boat was quite long, but it was worth it in the end. If nothing else, the cool spray from the falls was very appreciated and refreshing after the burning sun in the line to get onto the boat.

The park itself is full of lizards, butterflies (hundreds of butterflies that like to pose for pictures), coatís (a small, furry animal) and some other unidentified animal. Most of them are not afraid of people and will try to snatch your food, but you are not supposed to feed them.

There is a train you take to get to the falls, and also a walking portion. As we were walking towards the Falls, we could hear the noise of the water, and I was getting more and more excited to finally see them. They really are unbelievable! It is amazing how much water plummets there each second. The biggest waterfall reminded me of an enormous pot of boiling milk. The best of all, you are awarded with both an amazing view and a cool spray of water. Taking pictures is quite challenging, as there are many people trying to get the best angle. We decided not to take the boat tour which brings you close to the waterfall, since it costs as much as the entrance fee, and we figured you don’t see much in the 10 minutes of the ride, plus it must be too wet to take pictures down there.

After our own photo session, we kept going to the place where you can take the boat to the small island (San Martin Island). It was a good end to our visit. We took a few more pictures, none of which will probably go public, showing us all sweaty and red-faced. If you feel up for it, there are many hiking trails around the park, but, as one of the girls said, ‘a forest is a forest’.

Since we arrived to the hostel in the early afternoon, I had enough time to walk to the ‘tres fronteras’, a point from which you can see Brazil and Paraguay from Argentina. It’s quite a nice way there and back, through the town, even though I had to rush there since it was getting dark. The rush was not for safety reasons (as it might have been across the border in Brazil), but simply for the fact that I would not see Brazil and Uruguay in the dark.

My original plan was to visit the Brazilian side of the Falls the next day, and then meet a friend in Campo Bom, in the south of Brazil. I changed the plan that evening, as the Brazilian side is way smaller than the Argentinian, and, I assume, very similar. It’s the same falls after all. According to a Dutch couple I met in Buenos Aires, Foz do Iguaçu is much bigger than Puerto Iguazú, and also intimidating, which I didn’t feel like checking, so I woke up the next morning and started my journey across the border into Brazil.

Uruguay - Colónia

l-o-r-a — Tue, 24 Dec 2013 01:25:00 GMT

If you get tired of the hustle and bustle of Buenos Aires, Colónia is a good choice for one-day noise detox. It’s a tiny city in Uruguay, just over an hour away from Buenos Aires on a ferry. There are several companies that offer the ferry ride, Colónia Express being the cheapest. And you get a walking tour for the same price, with an option to choose between a Spanish- and English-peaking guide. Not a bad deal at all!

Colónia Express has a whole day and half-day option. For the whole day one, you leave at 8.30 in the morning and return at 6 o’clock in the afternoon. The half day is from 12.30 to 10 pm. Half day is a better option for several reasons: you don’t have to wake up early, it’s cheaper, there’s plenty of time to see ALL of Colónia (several times), and you get to see the sunset.

Colónia del Sacramento, or, more precisely its historic quarter, is a World Heritage Site. The old city center is very well preserved, and makes it very easy to imagine what life used to look like here. In its past, the city changed ‘ownership’ between the Portuguese and the Spanish several times, until it finally became part of Uruguay. There are a few places to visit outside the historic downtown (like the bull-fighting arena that is now sitting unused), and there is plenty of time to do that, even on the half-day tour, but I just didn’t feel adventurous enough this time. I decided to just enjoy the quiet and slow pace of life there, and get ready for more days in not-so-quiet Buenos Aires.

There are also several museums in Colónia, each one requiring under five minutes to visit. Since I am not a museum kind of person anyways, I decided to enjoy their museum in the open and just walk the stone-cobbled streets. Especially interesting is the ‘Street of Sighs’ (Calle de los suspiros), which used to be the red-light district of Colónia. The ‘workers’ used to live there also, which made their daily commute very convenient.

After walking the downtown several times, eating lunch and waiting for the rain to stop (it was more a fine mist than rain), it was time for sunset. This part is, obviously, more enjoyable if you are in a couple, but, nevertheless, as a solo backpacker I still enjoyed it, and took a lot of nice pictures (to be enjoyed later, when I’m part of a couple). That was also the end of my visit to Colónia, so I slowly walked to the ferry terminal, ready to go back to the big city waiting on the other side.

Argentina - Buenos Aires

l-o-r-a — Thu, 19 Dec 2013 13:45:00 GMT

My first big 6-months-or-so travel adventure begun on October 29, 2013. Quite an inexperienced backpacker, I admit I was a bit afraid of hitting the road with not much of a plan and 23 kilos of (what I though would be) most essential things for the trip. Having lived in three countries so far, and having moved houses quite a few times, I still get nervous when diving into new territory. However, as much as change makes me uncomfortable, keeping everything the same terrifies me. So, to ease my transition from (fairly) comfortable life I was living to life on the road, I spent two weeks on a ‘neutral’ territory, in a city I once lived in for two years. That was a good decision. I had time to plan my stay in Argentina and relax before my big dream started.

On November 14, I landed in Buenos Aires. I had booked a hostel in San Telmo neighbourhood for 4 nights and I had an idea of how to get from the airport to the hostel. I was prepared to pay the highest price, but hoped I would figure out the cheapest one (take a bus to downtown, then a cab to the hostel, all for one price). I’m not sure if it was beginner’s luck, but I got the bus-taxi combo for even less than what I found on the internet! My cab driver’s name was Ramón, which I thought was cool, and it also reminded me of a character from a Spanish textbook. At that point, everything seemed so surreal to me, that I literally had to keep repeating to myself: You are in Argentina, it’s real, you are here!

I didn’t have a strict timeline, except that I had to get to Porto Alegre, Brazil by December 2 to fly to Rio de Janeiro with a friend. Before that, I was going to spend a few days at the friend’s house in Campo Bom, in the south of Brazil. Since I had plenty of time for Argentina, I decided to take it easy in Buenos Aires, and ended up staying there for 10 days. I took two day trips from there: one to Tigre, a town on the Parana River delta, and Colonia, a small, quiet town in Uruguay.

Since I arrived early in the morning, and my room wasn’t ready yet, I had a couple of hours to explore the neighbourhood. The hostel was a block away from the city’s main avenue 9 de mayo. At first, it all seemed too crazy: cars and people everywhere, the widest avenue in the world (9 de mayo), with six, seven, eight lanes one way. However, as the days passed by, I started liking it.

I learned my lesson not to believe everything I read in a guidebook (even if it’s up to date) the first day: they won’t change your money at the bank, in Argentina you do it in the street. It took me several decades back, when we used to do the same in my country. Even though the first time you feel like the ‘cambio’ guy’s face is the last thing you’ll see before he takes you to a place you won’t be coming back from, it’s all a very safe and well rehearsed exchange. Step 1: you walk along Calle Florida, past people saying “Cambio, cambio’ left and right. You pick one. Step 2: you approach them, ask for their rate. If you agree, let them know. If not, repeat Step 1. Step 3: you follow the person to a locked room off the street, where the exchange takes place. Step 4: they give you your money, and a flier for a travel agency/leather store or something that would be of interest to a tourist. Step 5: you thank them, leave and feel like you did something illegal.

On my second day I took a free walking city tour. Apparently, it’s a popular way nowadays to see a city for a lot cheaper than standard city tours. At the end, everybody tips the guide as much as they want. It exists in many cities in South America, but, from my experience, they are not always reliable. One free walking tour that I wanted to take in Buenos Aires even asks you to sign up, but when I went to the place they indicated on their website, nobody showed up. Still, I would recommend doing this, and you can still do your own tour if they stand you up.

When I was a little girl, I had a small, blue suitcase with a girl on it and the name ‘Mafalda’ written under the girl’s drawing. I had no idea who Mafalda was, but I loved that suitcase and used it until it fell apart. Little did I know that 20 something years later the same girl will be looking at me from all the newsstands in Argentina! Mafalda is Argentinian, and she’s a cartoon character. The only natural thing was to pay tribute to my favourite childhood accessory and visit Mafalda’s statue, on a bench in San Telmo. It turned out the statue is a start to ‘Paseo de la historieta’, a mini-walk that takes you to statues of about ten other cartoon characters. Even though none of those were familiar to me, I did the walk and, for half an hour, felt like a kid on a school trip. I enjoyed it lots!

Even though my hostel was in a good spot and I could walk to most of the sights, a few times I had to take the bus or the metro (Subte). I have to say the metro system is very easy to use, relatively fast and efficient. It reminds me a bit of New York City metro, with aspiring musicians showing off their talent and people selling a variety of things you might need on your ride home, or after it (gum, city maps, hair clips, cookies, you name it). Buses, on the other hand, are a completely different story. First, if you don’t wave to the driver on time, he won’t stop. Second, most drivers are not helpful at all. Third, they will stop in the middle of the road, expecting you to be able to run fast and jump high. Four, even if the buses have the same number, sometimes their routes are different. All this said, I arrived everywhere I wanted to and I wasn’t late for anything, so I guess the public transport is one of those ‘chaoses’ that work.

As I said, in ten days I managed to see the whole city and take two day trips, all with no rush. I would say four days would be enough to do all the sight seeing. Buenos Aires, as big as it is, is still extremely easy to navigate, and very safe, even when it gets dark. Of course, I avoided walking along dark, empty streets, and walking very late at night, since I was by myself. You might have a problem finding an empty street in Buenos Aires at any time of day or night, because it seems like there’s always something going on.

For those who travel alone, hostels, walking tours and couchsurfing people are your best friends. I found all three very helpful, as you do get lonely and you need someone to talk to. I spent my last two days in the hostel on my own, alone in a room for six. I didn’t like it at all, and decided I prefer people walking in late at night and walking up early in the morning, than being by myself. Or maybe that was just me at the beginning of my trip, still fresh and full of understanding for other travellers’ schedules.

After ten days in Buenos Aires I decided it was time to move on, to Puerto Iguazu. I said goodbye to Buenos Aires and to the cute guy at the front desk of my hostel and took a 16-hour bus ride on the most comfortable bus ever.