Cataratas de Iguazú

I was trying to wait to post this until I got my computer back and could upload my own pictures, but it´s still not ready, and I´m just going to keep falling behind. Every time I call them, they tell me ¨tomorrow, tomorrow¨. So it´s supposed to be ready tomorrow night, but who knows. I´ve really been moderately okay without it, the thing I miss most is being able to update my iPod with new music and podcasts.

But last weekend was really really fun - the waterfalls are really impressive. The first 17 hr bus ride was actually pretty tolerable ... the first couple hours were fun because it was something new, they gave us meal service (which was disappointing, but it was still meal service!), and we brought snacks (which were all eaten in the first couple hours). Then I slept for probably 10 hours (the seats are comfortable!), and then the last couple were tolerable because we were close. So overall, 17 bus ride went well!

Friday afternoon we went on a horseback ride through the jungle to visit an indigenous village. We weren´t sure what we had time for, s

ince we got into Puerto Iguazú at like 3:00,

but we luckily had just enough time to fit that in.

It was really random and unexpected, but I´m glad we went, it was really in

teresting. Our guide explained a bunch of things about the jungle and about the indigenous people...I think their name was the G

uyaní or something like that. He said t

hat they used to be nomads, but now that modern culture is kind of infiltrating their little villages, their c

ulture is totally changing and they´re likely not going to move anymore. Also, a lot of them are alcoholics. (Kind of random and strange)

We stayed at this surprisingly nice hostel on Friday night ... it wa

s 30 pesos, relatively clean, free breakfast, and nice grounds. All the hostels I´ve ever stayed in have been ... quite the opposite, so it was a nice change!
Saturday we went into the park .... most of the time was just walking through the

trails going to different lookout points of the falls.

We took a boat ride underneath t

he waterfall which was really aw

esome...Í´ll post my pictures of that once I get them uploaded. I thought, of course, that the falls were really beautiful, but the park was so incredibly touristy it kind of took away from the whole experience. The national park reminded me of an amusement park, actually. (Complete with thrilling boat rides, overpriced food, and expensive entrance fees!) So I mean I really enjoyed it, but the whole thing seemed a little contrived at times too.
We left to go back to BA on Saturday night...this time the bus ride seemed longer, but I still slept for like 9 hours of it, so it wasn´t too unbearable. Same horrible food (think strange piece of beef and mashed potatoes, a cold dense roll, and a couple shreds of lettuce. even the flan was unpalatable). I had to go through the streets of BA and ride a bus wearing obnoxious Duke sweatpants and a North Face (which of course was the most comfortable to wear on a long bus trip!), looking completely out of place. I literally have never seen anyone wear sweatpants on the streets here, let along bright blue with a huge D-U-K-E down the leg. Oh well.

(I think I have a strange affection for using parentheses.) I will post pictures on this post soon!