Iguazú

After a 12 hour day and entire night on the bus we arrived in Misiones, Argentina, the province in the northeastern tip of the country which also contains the famous Iguazú falls.  Traveling in such quantity with little break made my legs and body and neck and head want to scream a little bit in the uncomfortable bus seats for nearly 24 hours.  However, arriving at the falls wiped away all those feelings and nature made every hour on that bus absolutely worth it.  All the dirt and ground in Misiones is a beautiful bright red color that looks like someone painted the ground.  It is obviously rich in minerals and is also known for a mine near the falls with semi-precious stones.  The day we arrived, we went to the mines at 7 in the morning upon arrival there and then finally reached the hotel after hours of travel.  In the afternoon I participated in an optional excursion to the jungle where for the first time in my life I got to yell wooo hooooo while wizzing over the jungle below while zip-lining.  Even better... I got to see one of those walking stick bugs trying to hide behind a leaf, but we found him anyhow he he he...
After spending a little time in the pool and gobbling up a yummy ice cream cone we went to the hito triple frontera (triple border) where Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina all meet (where the iguazú river and Paraná river meet in the middle)  and I saw Brazil and Paraguay for the first time in my life!  Yay!!!!   Apparently it has the nickname "capitol of contraband" because there is so much illegal passing of goods like cigarettes, drugs, etc. , but I wasn't thinking about that to much while I was there, I just enjoyed seeing other countries even if I couldn't say that I was in Brazilian or Paraguayan territory.
We spent nearly all of Friday exploring the waterfalls which are impossible to describe they are so incredible.  Pictures fail to do them justice.  You just have to see them and live the experience.  I was mesmerized could hardly pull my eyes away from such natural beauty.  We did a boat ride that went underneath the falls and enjoyed getting entirely soaked!  It felt wonderful in the hot weather.  It was an awesome trip and traveling so far to get there.  On my way back home I was lucky to have wonderful host cousins to await me in Cordoba to spend a rainy Sunday!  An exhausting yet awesome trip!

Estadounidenses in the mine!

zip-lining crew

Gettin' soaked!

AFS students at La garganta del diablo