Independence Day & Iguazu

July 9th is National Independence Day, well one of two. On May 25th, 1810 Argentina declared independence when Napoleon overthrew Spain's king. They declared independence again on July 9th, 1816 because they still wanted to be free once Spanish rule returned to Spain.

Thursday (07/09)
Eric and I met at the Casa Rosada (I've been here so many times now) and hopped on a bus to La Boca, the colorful Italian neighborhood of BA. The trick is to stay in the colorful section because Boca is also home to the poorest of poor in the city, and some 3rd world status slums.

There was a huge open-air market, street performers, painters, and tango-dancers. I now know that tango in BA in like swing dancing in America. It used to be very popular, but if you were a foreigner going to the USA and expecting to swing dance at a normal club you have been mislead. You can take swing dance lessons and there are professionals, but it just is not popular anymore. Same deal with tango.
Later we visited the old Puerto Madero. We sat down in a park where tons of local families were are playing with their kids, ate the best choripan ever, and shared mate. I felt like a real portena!
After that we really wanted some alfajores (they have triples decker ones near the botanical gardens) but ended up drinking more mate and watching the sunset at a park near Plaza Italia where tons of people our age were playing soccer, roller blading, or just chatting. It was a wonderful independence day.Friday

Today we left early for the airport and flew 2.5 hours north to Iguazu Falls, which is a national park on the border to Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. The plane ride was the most turbulent I had ever been on in my life and I was so glad when we landed.

We explored the little town but mainly Eric, Emily, Holly, and I spent some quality time reading, watching Spanish TV, and chatting away. Somewhat boring but it was good to get a rest before the big hike in the morning.

Saturday

By far the best day I had in Argentina. I love the city but I love nature more, and rainforest is amazing! The first stop in Iguazu Falls National Park was this waterfall called "La Garganta del Diablo" (The Devil's throat). It was pouring by the time we walked to this colossal waterfall and it felt as though it were raining up and down at the same time, and it was freezing. The Devil's Throat is about a 3/4 circle of rushing water and when you look down into the falls you cannot see the bottom. Truly like its name suggests.
The sun came out afterward and the rest of the day we hiked up and down all the trails to see the rest of the waterfalls. There was one point that showed a "panoramic" view and it was waterfall after waterfall after waterfall for what had to be miles. I've never seen anything like it. And to think I could literally pick up a rock and throw it to the other side of the river and it would land in Brazil or Paraguay.

We also saw coatis - little rainforest raccoons that are very mischievous and just about as rampant there as squirrels are in College Station. It was an incredible experience.

Sunday

We left Iguazu and Emily, Holly, and I headed straight for the San Telmo market once we got back to BA. San Telmo is really just a town square where they sell lots of antiques but there are other artisans selling their goods for blocks and blocks leading up to the main square. It was shopping central and I have never seen so many people. There were also some great street musicians (I love this part of BA), including this band called Libertanz, a gypsy-like band. Holly bought a CD she liked them so much.

When I got home I told Susana, Jorge, and Allison all about my trip and showed them pictures. Susana is from Missiones (the northeastern-most state of Argentina, where Iguazu is) and so I told her that Missiones said "hello". She thought it was hilarious.