The South America Chronicles - Doce

The highs and lows in the jungle continue for Anna and I, but more on that later....

First, our initial stint in Buenos Aires. Very different from the colonial Salta and definitely a proper cosmopolitan city. In fact, it feels like you could be in any big European city - Paris, Rome or Madrid. After our ´rain delay´when we first arrived on the Friday we were pretty happy that Saturday dawned nice and sunny, especially as we were going to the football later that day. But before that, we decided to walk down to the La Boca district, not far from where we were staying in San Telmo. La Boca, Buenos Aires´ old docks and home to the famous Boca Juniors is a pretty rough area and the walk wasn´t really very scenic. But down on the docks there are a few streets of old painted tin buildings that were the settlements that the original immigrants built. Walking down, we thought we might be the only tourists there, as there was hardly anyone around. So we were shocked when we finally arrived at these streets to see hoards of tourists. We weren´t sure how they got there - they certainly hadn´t walked the same way as us - and it felt a bit like walking into Disneyland. But the streets and colourful tin houses were worth the walk to come and see, despite all the crappy stalls, etc that attach themselves to these types of touristy spots. I did manage to pick myself up a replica (aka fake) Puma rugby jersey to wear for the weekend though. And we found out how all the tourists got there when we spotted a back street crammed with loads of tour buses. So lame....

Busing (local) it back into the city, we were meeting up with James and Petra for lunch and then to go to the football. We even managed to convince a bar to switch over from another football game so we could watch the first half of England´s rugby semi-final (at least we were with someone with an interest in the world cup) - no small feat in South America I would think. It was strange though, that in a bar only 15 minutes walk from the ground, there were few fellow game-goers having a drink. It was the same after the game, very different from what happens back home. Though we did see the buses of Chilean supporters go past to the ground, complete with police escort.

Arriving at River Plate Stadium, you couldn´t help but be impressed - an oval of two levels fitting 65000 people, of which it wouldn´t have been much short of that afternoon. When we arrived, about 45 minutes before the game, it was already nearly full and pumping with noise. Our seats ended up being in the section in front of the (cordened off) Chilean fans and there was much taunting - mostly good natured - back and forth during the game. It was truly a great atmosphere - and the football itself was superb. Where else in the world can you watch some of the greatest football players on the planet play some sublime football for only 30 pesos (US$10). The skills levels were amazing, especially those of the Argentinean team, who had all their top players (eg. Messi). Riquelme scored from two free kicks in the first half, both where the keeper never even moved. And fortunately for us, both of these were at our end. That was enough for Argentina, who took the game 2-0.

On Sunday we got up late (by account of a few drinks the night before and the late night highway that seemed to be the street outside our room) and went to the Sunday fair that San Telmo is famous for. Before this we had been a bit disappointed by San Telmo, which had a reputation as one of Buenos Aires most interesting superbs (it was one of the original settlements of Buenos Aires and has undergone a Bohemian revival), but this day gave us a real feel for why it has its reputation. Half the city seemed to be there, wandering around the pedestrian-only streets, with most of the shops are open, along with lots of stalls, music and acts. Anna even managed to buy herself a somewhat large and heavy platter-thing (yes, I´m a boy) I have no idea how she is going to cart around and then get home. I just enjoyed watching the Portenas (Buenos Aires locals - of the female variety). We later met up with James and Petra again to watch the Argentina´s rugby semi-final - which they unfortunately didn´t win.

On Monday we flew here to Iguazu, where we left the warm sunshine of Buenos Aires to be greeted by the wet. We have only had two days here though so we have had to brave the weather and still try to make the most of it. On Monday we travelled over to Brazil to visit their side of the falls. The Brazil side was good, but as we were to find out today, has nothing on the Argentinean side. And the fact that we had to walk around in the rain wasn´t much fun either. Also, frustratingly, the pathway for the best view on the Brazil side, right into the heart of the falls, was closed.

And then this morning, I was woken up by the noise of the thundering rain. This rain was on a torrential scale I am not sure I have witnessed before. After delaying getting out of bed, we finally tried to gear ourselves to heading out. This was still with much reluctance, however, as the rain was as heavy as ever and the peals of thunder were lasting for 20-30 seconds. The fact that Anna has developed a full blown cold and me a sore throat made us even less than enthusiastic about heading out in the rain. But eventually we did - this was our only chance to see the Argentinean side of the falls - though I looked an odd sight heading out in togs, singlet, jandals and poncho (reasoning that if I am going to get soaked, I may as well have as little to get soaked as possible).

But it ended up being very much worth it. By the time we had reached the falls and arrived to the first of the walkways, the rain had reduced to a point where we could remove the ponchos (as good as we looked as giant condoms). And the first viewing point, right above the heart of the Falls (Garganta del Diablo or ¨the Devil´s Throat¨), made it all worth while. The force and sheer volume of water going over the walls here was amazing, and at more than 50 metres above the base, we were still being shrouded in the mist created from the waterfall hitting the bottom. Within in the mist, there were also these crazy small birds (which we saw closer up later and that looked like tiny owls) flying around in the mist and then clinging onto the cliffs right next to the waterfalls.

The whole Iguazu Falls is huge, stretching along over 2 kilometres, and we got a much better feel for this on the Argentinean side, where you get to walk on top of and amidst the falls. It was pretty stunning - the camera got a real work out - and we very much enjoyed the afternoon. To finish it, we took a boat ride right into the falls. After getting a sprinkling in one of the smaller falls, you get taken right into the middle of one of the biggest. The force of the water coming down is amazing, it feels like you are getting hit by huge waves and you can´t even open your eyes. We got on the boat first so took the front seats and got a right soaking, but it was a lot of fun. It was wise that we had left this for last, as I wouldn´t have wanted to walk around as wet as we were. It also meant that we left on a real high, very happy now that we had made this side trip (earlier that morning I was wondering whether it was a very expensive mistake).

We head back to Buenos Aires tomorrow morning for another few days there. We may even fit in a day trip to Uruguay as well before we leave. The plan at the moment is to head down on the Saturday night to the Lake District, where at the moment the temperature is only getting as high as 9 degrees (eek) and then make our way up for our imminent departure back to NZ on the 5th (EEK).