La vida porteña: From Tango to Toucans: La Boca & Iguazú Falls

Hello all!
I know you've been dying to know what's been going on down in Argentina for the past 2 weeks, so here it is...
Last Friday I explored more of La Boca, which is a southern neighborhood of Buenos Aires that is well-known for Tango and it's club soccer team Boca Juniors. Most of the early settlers in La Boca (translation: "the mouth," like in a river) were immigrants from the Italian city of Genoa, and when they arrived in the area they used leftover ship paint for their houses which resulted in the colorful buildings which made the area famous. The most colorful street in the area is called "El Caminito," or "the little walk." El Caminito is a really touristy area, but outside of this the neighborhood is more rundown and thought of as dirty and sketchy compared to the rest of the city.
As soon as I stepped off the but I could hear the melancholy tune of the accordion from the traditional tango music, and there were tango dancers in full costume meandering around the cobblestone streets. There were also a fair share of craft tents, so we browsed around before walking down El Caminito! It was (surprisingly) the first real Tango performers I had seen, so it was fun to watch them live and sometimes with a live band, as well. It definitely has an old-world feel, and the blinding colors of the buildings are a sharp contrast to the run-down neighborhoods surrounding the area. Overall, it was definitely a cultural experience that brought to life the history of the city and its Tango roots.

The following week, we had Wednesday off from classes for the Argentine Independence Day (May 25th). In the city, there are usually many celebrations (and free hot chocolate & churros by the government buildings!). One of my friends and I decided to take the opportunity to travel to Iguazú Falls for the rest of the week, since it definitely was a must-see on my Argentine bucket list!
Once again I found myself at the Retiro bus station (3rd time), so it was a little more relaxed than the previous visits since I knew how the system worked. This was extremely fortunate since the bus company listed in the "Arrival" section of the screen you use to find your bus was different than the main one listed on our ticket! Luckily, we decided to check anyway and made it on safely :) The bus ride was supposed to be 18-20 hours long, so we settled in for some movies and catered dinner before falling asleep for the overnight ride. We arrived in Iguazú at 6pm the next day, so we decided to get some dinner after checking into our hostel (complete with a $4 Daiquiri!) before resting up for our early morning.
Iguazú falls are located right at the triple border of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay; it is commonly said that Argentina has the falls, Brazil has the view, and Paraguay got jipped! The spectacle of Iguazú includes 275 separate waterfalls over a stretch of 1.7 miles-- incredibly impressive and definitely hard to imagine without experiencing it in person. Apparently when Eleanor Roosevelt first saw Iguazú, she exclaimed "Poor Niagara!" Iguazú Falls is also one of the 28 finalists in the new vote for the New 7 Wonders of Nature (currently receiving votes!! I voted to help the cause)as a part of the New & Wonders of the World, one of which being the Christ Redeemer in Rio which I just visited!!
On Friday, we decided to explore the entire Argentine side of the waterfalls (where 2/3 of the falls are located). We first took a train to see one of the most famous waterfalls, La Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat). The Devil's Throat is U-shaped and 82 meters high by 700 meters long. It also represents the border between Argentina and Brazil as this runs straight through the falls; half of the river's water goes through this route. The rest of the falls are divided into an Upper Circuit and a Lower Circuit. There are walkways constructed around both areas of the falls, so Liz and I got to view them both from the top overlooking the scenery, as well as at the bottom right up close!! We also took a boat ride on the Iguazú River and got to see (and get drenched by) the waterfalls. We also learned that The name "Iguazu" comes from the Guarani or Tupi indian words y [ɨ], meaning "water", and ûasú [waˈsu], meaning "big". Legend has it that a God planned to marry a beautiful woman named Naipí, who fled with her mortal lover Tarobá in a canoe on the day of her sacrifice. In rage the God caused the river to split, creating the waterfalls and condemning the lovers to an eternal fall; Naipí became a rock so that she would feel the force of the water falling forever and Tarobá was turned into a palm tree so he could look over her and lament over his lost love.
After exploring the falls from all angles, Liz and I took a nature trail that was quieter than the normal tourist-filled circulation of the park. At the end of the trail, there was also a small waterfall which is the only one in the park gentle enough to bathe in. Sendero Macuco proved to be one of the best moments of the trip! Since it was less popular, the animals weren't scared away so we ended up seeing a lot of birds, butterflies, insects, and... MONKEYS!! They jumped all over the trees and we even saw one up close when he came down to get some fruit from a bush close to the trail :) Another animal we saw in the park was the Coati, which unlike the monkeys, have no fear of tourists anymore and love to hang around near the restaurants and scrounge for food dropped (or stolen from!) tourists. We watched helplessly while a Coati (which looks like a mix between a raccoon and an opossum) stole a man's sandwich and returned later for the plastic bag! After a long day of walking and exploring the park, we went back to the hostel to rest up for visiting the Brazil side the next day.
Since Liz and I had already gotten our Brazilian visas for our trip to Rio, we were able to cross over into the Brazilian National Park. We took a bus down to visit the first panoramic view, which was completely breathtaking and unexpectedly gigantic. It definitely helped us get a true sense of the scale of the falls, since we had only seen everything up close. We continued to move towards the beginning of the waterfalls, each view more impressive than the next. Since it was a beautiful day and mist everywhere from the water, there we spotted many rainbows crossing over the river between the two countries. Absolutely beautiful!!! We did some more up-close exploring (getting soaked from just the mist alone) and then decided to visit a Bird Park nearby to see more rare flora and fauna. Between the two parks, the Argentine side was more raw nature up close, and Brazil was better kept and touristy with a great view. Liz and I both agreed afterwards that in order to get the full experience you have to visit both!
The park started out with showing off some impressive species like ostriches, macaws, flamingos and peacocks (although all behind cages), but soon we found open-air cages where we could walk in and see the birds up close!! I finally realized my dream of seeing Toucans, and even petted one! There were some of the most beautiful colorful birds I have ever seen in my life. There was a parrot house as well, and they would soar right over the heads of the people inside, even getting close enough to make us duck out of the way! Definitely got an adrenaline rush from that :) Other species we saw were the Harpie Eagle, emus, rare golden parrots, humming birds, alligators, snakes, and butterflies! I've never seen anything else like the rainforest animals here. It completely perfected the whole trip and was something great to end on.
We literally had to sprint back to the bus station in order to make the last bus back to our hostel so that we could have time to get our luggage before heading on another bus home... literally had only half an hour to spare! We were exhausted by the time we made it on the bus home, and fell asleep as soon as we finished dinner.
Overall, it was an unforgettable trip and something you have to see to believe! Absolutely incredible.
Now that I'm back in the city, it's time to start planning for my sister's visit next week!! I can't wait to share the city of Buenos Aires with her :)
Until then, hasta luego!
Saludos,
Taylor