Las Cataratas: Igauzu falls!

Puerto Iguazu.

I’ve wanted to go to Iguazu falls for what seems like forever! We had been talking about coming for a while and finally on Monday ten of us went and bought tickets for a Wednesday evening bus to go to Iguazu! We took Rio Uruguay omnibus and it was a great 16-18 hour drive. The ride was semi cama with meals included. Amazing! Puerto de Iguazu is a super cute city, its so different from Buenos Aires! Its pretty small and calm, tranquil. Driving here it was completely obvious we were near the rainforest with the smaller buildings, lots of vegetation, and best of all brown and red dirt! I love it! And its hot, and humid! We got dropped off right by our hostel pretty much so we just had to walk over a little bit to get to “hostel sweet hostel” it’s a cute place. Most of its ourside except for the bedrooms. Our room is just five bunk beds and a bathroom. Ten of us in a room is pretty awesome! Theres a pool with a hammock, an outdoor kitchen and dining area outside under a thatched roof. Pretty awesome. We decided to do an adventure excursion in the afternoon that picked us of from the hostel and we got dropped off right at the place. We had an awesome guide that took us into the woods and showed us the vegetation and some pretty cool traps that the Guarini tribe used to use. The tribe has been here over 700 years and lived off the land, hunting and gathering. The traps were pretty interesting and he showed us all kinds of neat plants that are really useful. One plant we were able to eat a little bit of but if it touches your skin it starts a rash. Interesting, other plants are used to heal colds and pain. Then began the rainforest adventura. First, we climbed up a rock face with ropes. It was pretty easy and the supporters were almost pulling us up because they kept the slack so tight. Then we took a zip line that you sit over the canopy. That may have been my favorite part, it’s a great feeling flying through the rainforest. Our next adventure was climbing up a rope latter into a tree and taking another zip line back to the rock climbing wall. Mind you we were wearing helmets and were supported by ropes the entire time. The last thing was repelling down the rock wall that we had climbed up. It was all really fun and even better that it was taking place in the rainforest. From where we were we could see across the panama river and see brazil. My heart was aching because I wanted to go so bad! Earlier in the day we were planning on going to brazil to see that side of the cataratas but we found out we needed a visa in order to cross over for even one day. We had thought before that if you only went one day it was okay to go without a visa so it was kind of disappointing. Anyways I was happy to see the brazilian side of the river..looks just like the argentine side imagine that. we took a little boat up the river and got tauntingly close to the brazilian side at times I was about to jump out and go for a swim! We rode up the the tres fronteras area which is where we cross the borders of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. Even though I know that borders are truly just an arbitrary line, there is still something kind of exciting about crossing them . so it was neat to see all the borders at once and to truly be in international waters. After the boat ride we headed back to Hostel Sweet Hostel and relaxed for a little before we set off to find a supermercado and prepare dinner. Friday me and Nicole got up early and headed to the Cataratas! We only had to walk a couple blocks to the bus station and then get a bus to the park and thankfully we were able to get out pretty early so we had the whole day to explore the park. And it was not enough by any means!
we went on to the one of the biggest thrills of the park: Garganta del Diablo: devils throat. We got dropped off after a little train ride to a platform that led us all the way to the falls. It was a metal platform that wound from island to island and took us right over the parana river. I was kind of surprised by the amusent park feel of the park so far. I should have expected it since there are so many people who come but I think the fact that we took a train to get around and had to wait in line for pictures added to this perception. However it didn’t take away from the beauty of the place. Its amazing how something so awesome as Iguazu falls can bring people together from all over the world, speaking all different languages to enjoy this natural wonder.

Heres a clip about the falls: These remarkable falls on the border of Argentina and Brasil approximately 550 km / 340 miles inland from the Atlantic ocean and named after the river they dominate. The name varies according to the various local languages though the same suffix or ending azú, assú or açu is used. It is derived from Tupi Guarani the original language family of the area and means 'big'. The falls comprise roughly 300 falls. Below the falls the river races through a narrow gorge before entering the River Parana the major tributary of the River Plate. The falls were were discovered early in 1542 by a Spanish commander Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and were declared a World Heritage Site in 1984 and 1986 The falls lie within the bo
A LAND OF MIGHTY RIVERS
Roads and airports connect the towns with many places in South America
The river Parana running north to south is one of the world's greatest rivers. It rises in Brasil and with a major tributary the Paranaiba has a length of about 3998 kms / 2484 miles. The Parana carries a a huge volume of water and is crossed by a bridge between two cities in the top left. Ciudad del Este in Paraguay and Foz de Iguaçú in Brasil, literally meaning ' mouth of the Iguaçú '.
The massive Itaipú dam straddles the Parana jbetween Paraguay and Brasil ust outside the top left hand corner of the map
The river entering from the east in the top right is the Iguazú or Iguaçú as it is known in Brasil. It rises close to the Brasilian city of Curitiba within approximately 50kms / 31 miles of the Atlantic ocean and has a total length of approximately 1198kms / 745 miles most of which is in Brasil. The falls are in the green shaded and forested area on the right where the river narrows. A bridge crosses the Iguazú at the Argentinian town of Puerto Iguazú close to the confluence.
Boundaries of two National Parks - one Argentinian and the other Brasilian.

So we walked toward Garganta del Diablo and started to see steam rising up and hearing the sound of the waterfall. It got louder and a little more intense as we walked up, all of a sudden there was a clearing in the trees and we saw it. It was a moment that I cant forget, its like all of a sudden they were there. it was breathtaking, and almost tear jerking. The platform walked right up to the edge of one of the falls and to the right and straight in front was the most impressive waterfall ever. Its power was incredible. It was just constant water, water water, coming down over the fall. It kicked out a ton of steam so that you couldn’t see the bottom either. The water was pretty white but in places it would go over parts of the rock that would make it look green. It was amazing that the water in the river didn’t seem to be flowing so fast and then all of a sudden it just dropped off to nowhere in this spot. Straight ahead we could see the Brazil side. There aren’t as many falls on that side but It was impressive to look at because the falls went over like a cliff where you could see the cliff side and lush green grasses growing out it was like a paradise there. we kept walking around the platform, taking pictures and maneuvering around people and I kept trying to forget there was anyone around me and just be mesmorized by the falls. It was absolutely incredible. Walking around the platform showed many more falls falling underneath us. It was just incredible, the sound, the steam, everything was absolutely captivating. We could see up the river which appears like it is in a canon almost and it separates the two borders along it. Above the falls is flat land, and below is like a canon, the difference in terrain was really neat.
We dragged ourselves away from this area and made our way to the lower circuit of falls. This area was on the other side of the park and we started walking through the woods where there were tons of this animal called koati which look almost like an armadillo, raccoon mix. They are really cute but I guess they can be kind of vicious but they sure did seem to like all the tourists and their trash!
We walked to the entrance of a trail that started to go down through the forest area, this felt way more like being in the jungle. The trail was made of rocks and it went along the rock face and the vegetation was just awesome. The trees are so cool cause its like they make walls with their vines and branches, the canopy is really neat. We took the trail along and passed over one waterfall that gave a really good view of how it went down below us into the river. We kept walking and all of a sudden there was a clearing with one of the most amazing views ive ever seen. This time I really did think I could cry. We could see on the left down the river to Garganta del Diablo. And on the right were so many falls that I never knew existed. In front of us was an amazing jungle island that we would visit later but to the right..wow. fall after fall after fall lined several hundred meters dropping off into the river below. The falls were interspersed with rock face and beautiful lush green plants growing out of the side of the rocks it was absolutely straight out of a tropical movie or something. We stood and savored it for a little and kept going, because it kept getting better! the view during the trail just kept being amazing , I was surrounded by waterfalls and clifs and green plants, it couldn’t get better! we were able to walk right up to where the falls come down so that the water is almost spraying us we were so close. I just kept finding things to fascinate me because everywhere we looked it was just beautiful. There was a constant rainbow over the waterfall and when the sun hit it just right it would get extremely vibrant. Every look out point we would stand and savor for a view minutes, never really wanting to leave. We kept walking down though because or ultimate goal was to get to Isla San Martin. (everything in argentina is called san martin!). we kept walking down the rock face and ended at the bottom of this canyon part along the river. We took a little boat across the river to Isla San Martin. Once again, the view was amazing. The island was like a tropical treasure island, very green and it gave a view of the falls from the bottom which was beautiful. We were able to go out into the water and swim for awhile I couldn’t get over it , we were in the river at the bottom of these amazing falls and I was just in awe. There were all kinds of awesome colored rocks in the water too so I have new ones to add to my collection! The view from the water was like straight out of a movie, it was so beautiful it was hard to believe it was real. We swam around for awhile until everyone else came and we had a picnic lunch on the beach. Then we walked up to the top of the island and walked around the rim where we had another view of the falls. Once again I saw falls I hadn’t seen before! We could get close again and this time we were up almost at the top so the perspective was different again. There was a lookout on top called ventana (window) which was pretty secluded and through a whole in the rocks we could see Garganta del Diablo, and there were huge birds flying around at the time too.
We had to get the last boat off the island around 4 so we headed down and back over to the main side. We took our time walking back up and looking at the falls and then headed over to a new part of the trail that took us along the top of the falls. I had so much energy by this time just from looking around at all this that I was pretty much skipping through life. We got to walk along a long ways to see several different falls and the beautiful rainbows that formed around them. it was amazing! We headed out when they kicked us out cause the park was closing and headed back to the hostel.

The next day me and Nicole got up early and headed to Paraguay. We didn’t know what to expect or what we would do just that we wanted to see another country. And im so glad we did! We got a three peso bus from the bus station to ciudad del este in Paraguay. The bus drove through Brazil so that was neat to see the Brazil side and then we crossed over the river into Paraguay. The city was filled with people going from here to there , shopping etc. we got dropped off on the main street without going through any sort of customs or anything I guess it’s a pretty open border. Walking into Paraguay was like a different world it seemed. The colors of everything were bright, and the streets were crowded. We decided to talk in Spanish all day and it was a great idea. We walked around looking at all the things being sold on the streets for a little while and then decided that we should see what there is to do around. So we went to the entrance of the city where there was policia de tourista what we aksed about what to do. He gave us a map that had some sights near by and we were off. He was really nice and helpful and also told us where to go to change money. We headed over to an exchange house where we found that one dollar is equal to 5 mil guarinis. Everything there is payed in huge amounts for example 20 guarini for a meal or something, is like 4 bucks. So we changed money and then went off to buy some of the luscious fruit that was being sold on moving carts around the streets. Everything was so cheap! Then we kept seeing stands of tons of fresh herbs with people crushing them in dishes and I was pretty sure it was herbs for terere which my professor had told us about as being a mate that is drank cold in areas like this since its so hot here. So I wanted to get some and I asked the guy in front of me what the best combo was since there were so many to chose from and he picked some out for me that I got for one mil, which is like 25 cents for a ton of herbs! We kept walking around and ended up out of the main area near a park with a lake we were pretty happy with that and started looking at our map for places to go. We found a man by the street that we thought was a policia or a taxi driver and asked him what there was to do around. He seemed surprised that we asked, maybe because there was like tourists in the entire city. it was a completely different feel than anything we had been in yet and I loved it. he was really nice though and also told us that the time was two hours earlier so after all that it was still only 9:30 in the morning! He thought that a bus would be coming by that could take us within walking distance to salta de Monbay and we started to head towards it. apparently we were going the wrong way because another taxi stand man stopped us and started to talking to another man and they figured out where exactly it would be stopping at. so the started to tell us when all of a sudden the bus started to go by about a half block away. The men took off running and stopped the bus for us and told the driver where we wanted to go! It was awesome. I was so overwhelmed with thankfulness that we had met such helpful people! I also noticed while they were talking that I could hardly understand them..turns out they were probably speaking guarini which is also the national language along with Spanish! Que barbaro! We took the bus for awhile going towards the outskirts of the city and eventually crossing into another city called Presidente Franco. It was such a cute town. We got to a corner and the driver announced that it was our time to get out. We got out along with an older couple and started walking. We started talking to them and found out that they were on vacation right now and we talked about where we from, what were doing etc. we walked for several blocks and they directed us in the right direction to go to the falls. It was awesome. I was soo happy that we had met so many awesome people that day because without them we would have not been able to get around! It felt so good to be confident in our Spanish to get around a city and to meet the right people who put us in the right direction and just really made our day so much better, everyone was so kind and helpful! As we were walking and going through this town, along with ciudad del este, I was overcome with love for this place. It was so simple, so tranquillo, yet the buildings were all bright colors and very simple. Some were extremely small and “run down” but humble, and others were larger one story buildings that were like a house I could see in parts of san diego. Anyways the street was like made of bricks and the red dirt overcame everything. It was beautiful in a simple lovely way. The only thing that I could think it reminded me of was what ive seen in Tijuana or in baja California but it was much calmer in this little town. Ciudad del este was more like TJ with all the people and the large buildings. In Ciudad del este you can buy just about anything imaginable there are constant people selling all kinds of stuff in the street and then almost all the buildings we passed were hidden shopping malls and all kinds of stores it was interesting I guess a lot of people from brazil and argentina come and shop there since its so cheap.
Anyways, back to Presidente Franco, we kept walking down this road and there were houses along the side, it was sooo hot and the sus definitely beating down on us. Eventually on the left side was just grass lands and pasture with trees dotting it throughout the hills. It was like we were out in the campo almost, there were cows in the pastures as well. On the right was a few more houses and some houses with huge tracts of land. We started to see water on the side and women were in the streams washing cloths. Looking ahead I saw what looked like a row of shanty houses. That was a little harder to see. They were pretty much like lean-tos that Ive seen before in other places except that this wasn’t in a city it was more like on the very outskirsts of a town. As we walked we saw a clearing on the left side that all of a sudden showed a very large distant waterfall. I was shocked. We were walking through grass lands and hills and to all of a sudden see this waterfall in what appeared like someones back yard was incredible! We kept walking and eventually it was a little municipal park that we went into. There were some views of the falls and it was awesome! It was such a different feel from Iguazu. I mean it was only one waterfall compared to hundreds but still, this park was so natural, so private, so tranquil. It was like we found our own personal waterfall in the forest! It was pretty awesome so we ended up going on in the tiny park to a spot along the river above the water fall and laid out on the rocks for awhile. Probably the best nap ive ever had! The place was so peaceful and quiet. I loved it! we got to a point that we could sit almost where the water started to go down over the fall. It was so beautiful! All I could see around was nature. Behind was the river flowing towards us with trees on both side, and ahead was the canyon that the water went down into and above that was grass lands where I could see in the distance, cows grazing. We stayed at the park for several hours just relishing in the sound of the waterfall until we figured we should head back to get to the city in time to catch the last bus to argentina. We walked back to where we thought the bus would be and a man came up to us and offered direction to another bus so we took a bus back to the centro of the city where we had been earlier and decided it was time to try the awesome food there. we had seen so much good food walking around and wanted to try it. we went back to the policia tourista and our friend hernan was still working so we asked him what some traditional food was, he ended up walking us over to a building type structre that was called Comida Typica and inside were a bunch of tables with little tiendas selling food around the edges. It was very much like getting legit street food. A bunch of the places were closing though so we were kind of worried we wouldn’t get any but he talked to one lady and ended up ordering us tallarine de carne. It was amazing. It was two dollars for a huge plate of meat and pasta and mantioca. Mantioca is like yam and it was boiled and served like how I have had boiled yam before. It was awesome, I was so happy! He said that they use that like their bread there. Hernan sat and talked with us while we ate so we got to learn a little about Paraguay and the city it was really nice of him. The meat was almost like stew meat or a pot roast that was just right and tender. It was soo delicious! It was in like a light sauce with some herbs or something I have no idea what it exactly was but it was some of the best food I have had in soo long! It was served over the tallarine noodles which were like a yellow fideo noodle all most. All together it was fantastic! After eating we decided to go spend the rest of our guarinis on little things in the street such as awesome cheap fruit and veggies! Then we knew we should head back to the bus because all we really knew about it was that we thought it ended at 6 and came every 45 minutes or so but we were slightly nervous that with the time difference we could have already missed it. so we went to where we thought we could wait when all of a sudden Hernan comes up and tells us we are in the wrong place. Wow , I was so thankful for him! He walked us down the street to the right spot and the bus came a couple minutes later. We were so lucky! It had been an awesome day and I really hope to return to Paraguay some day. It was so different from Argentina, so so so different from Buenos Aires and I loved it. it was so much more simple and calm, and not touristy. It was a day that I will never forget and of course the wonderful people made it so much better!

We got up at what we thought was 7 the next morning to catch an early bus to Brazil. Turns out it was daylight savings and we got up an hour early but it was all good because we ended up needing that hour later in the day. We went to the bus station and got another 3 peso bus to Brazil.

we got off the bus at a stop in the city of Foz de Iguasu. I couldn’t believe I was walking around in Brazil I was o excited because I wanted to go there for so long! Our first issue was getting money and it was Sunday morning so it was pretty tranquil and calm in the town. We walked around and asked a couple people where there was an atm (in Spanish) and they responed in Portuguese but it was similar and we were able to figure out what they were saying which was awesome. After going to two atms that didn’t work with our cards we found the bank that worked and we got out our Brazilian Reales. Then we went back to the bus stop that would take us out to the Park. The bus took a while so we saw a lot of the town and country side. It was very rustic and calm from everything that we saw. I loved just looking out the window and seeing everything! We got dropped off at the park and headed in to see the falls. It’s a lot small park than the Argentine side which was good cause we didn’t have as much time. A bus took us to the top of a trail that heads down into the falls. We started walking along with hoards of other people down the narrow trail and we could see across the river the entire Argentine side which was pretty epic since there are sooo many falls on the Argentine side. It was a great view but I liked seeing the falls up close in Argentina because here they were farther away. Well we kept walking and seeing new views of the falls, of falls we didn’t know existed on the Argentine side! Amazing! There were a lot of people though so we didn’t stay in any one place for super long. We kept walking along the canyon side with falls under us and falls across from us. Amazing. We walked to the end where the view just kept getting better. the platform went out over the river area and up to the Brazil side of Garganta del Diablo. It was so powerful we were getting misted it was incredible. It got up so close to the falls! We could see the water go down below us and there were falls above us and in front and to the side. It was incredible! The power of Garganta del Diablo is just awesome. We saw the Argentine side and Brazil side where they come together at the bottom. Pictures nor words can do this justice! Then we went back on the walkway and headed to a lookout area that was above the falls giving another incredible view! I was shocked at how close we could get to them it was so neat! I will never forget my experiences at these falls and I definitely believe that this is one of the greatest things on earth! We knew that we would be pressed for time since we had to be back to the bus station in argentina by 5 to get our bus back to Buenos Aires and we had several bus transfers before that which we needed to take. So we headed back to the front of the park and got a bus to the city where we switched buses again and we got back to our hostel in time to take an extremely quick shower and get to the bus station on time! Wow, it had been a whirlwind of an amazing weekend and I had some amazing experiences that I will never forget!

El Fin Del Mundo

Ay yo Ay yo Carnavale!
I went with my amigos to the national carnavale in Gualeyguachu which is about 3 hours from Buenos Aires. We spent the day relaxing on in a park and of course playing on the playground. The actual carnavale is held in a stadium like structure. There are grandstands lining the street area and the carnavale floats go through the middle. It was pretty awesome to see all the bright beautiful colors of the costumes and floats. The people go down the road and dance as they go and then there are huge floats that come down. Each float has a theme and dancers on it and they are all absolutely gorgeous. The whole carnavale experience was a lot better than I expected, there was a lot of energy and excitement. My favorite parts were drum. A couple times there were large groups of drummers that went through banging on big drums that they carried. Another part of the parade showed some political involvement because people were carrying signs that mentioned political issues of the past and present in Argentina. I thought it was pretty interesting, they don’t want people to forget what has happened and to achnowledge it. After a night of singing and dancing at carnavale we headed back to Buenos Aires on an early morning bus and spent the day exploring a little of the city.
El fin Del Mundo
Monday morning we got up early and headed to the airport to begin spring break! We went to El Calafate which is down in Patagonia but on the way we had a few pit stops in other cities. We took tiny planes that were flown by the Fuerza Aero Argentina(air force). Our first flight went to some unknown city down south but the second went all the way to the tip of Argentina to Ushuaia in Tierra Del Fuego. As we were flying over the mountains I could tell it was a stunningly geogeous place. It is the most southern city in the World, and we got to walk outside and into the airport! Just seeing the incredible mountains around the airport made me want to return there someday..its amazing.

We continued our journey to El Calafate which is the city we stayed in and is near the Glacier National Park. Again, landing we could tell it was going to be a beautiful place. The color of the rivers and lakes here is stunning. Its like a bright blue, almost brighter than carribean water! The drive to our hostel showed mountains and plains and mesas that made it look almost like Utah..the city is adorable and reminded me of Estes Park, CO or some other cute tourist town in Estados Unidos. Our hostel was adorable! It was like a huge log cabin. I love hostels! They have a great feel to them and its so fun to be in one with my whole group , my family!

Glacier Perito Moreno
Tuesday morning we got up early and headed on our excursion to the Glacier National Park. Once again as we were driving I was busy snapping pictures and staring out the window at the beauty of the area. First we drove through the park and had a guide that talked and explained the area to us. There were a lot of tourists in the area so most things are done in English and Spanish too. I like it better when they do the Spanish first so that I can try to understand it that way before I hear the English. Anyways we stopped at the lake and got to take a boat up to the Glacier!!

A summary of the glacier by wikipedia
The Perito Moreno Glacier ( 50°29′S 73°03′W / 50.483°S 73.05°W / -50.483; -73.05Coordinates: 50°29′S 73°03′W / 50.483°S 73.05°W / -50.483; -73.05) is a glacier located in the Los Glaciares National Park in the south west of Santa Cruz province, Argentina. It is one of the most important tourist attractions in the Argentine Patagonia.
The 250 km2 (97 sq mi) ice formation, and 30 km (19 mi) in length, is one of 48 glaciers fed by the Southern Patagonian Ice Field located in the Andes system shared with Chile. This icefield is the world's third largest reserve of fresh water.


Large piece of ice collapses as the glacier advances
The Perito Moreno Glacier is one of only three Patagonian glaciers that are not retreating. The terminus of the Perito Moreno Glacier is 5 kilometres (3 mi) wide, with an average height of 60 m (200 ft) above the surface of the water, with a total ice depth of 170 metres (558 ft). It advances at a speed of up to 2 metres (6.6 ft) per day (around 700 metres (2,300 ft) per year), although it loses mass at approximately the same rate, meaning that aside from small variations, its terminus has not advanced or receded in the past 90 years. At its deepest part, the glacier has a depth of approximately 700 metres (2,300 ft).


The boat ride was pretty awesome, we were able to see the scope of the glacier. I could not bealieve the vibrant blue color that was in the glacier! In all the spots in between ice was like bright blue! The glacier is huge!! Its bigger in size than the whole city of Buenos Aires and that’s huge! The mountains behind it were stunning as well. We didn’t see any ice fall of as we were boating around the glacier but no worries because after we were dropped off at a viewing area to watch the glacier. We could see both sides from there and it was massive. As we were walking down I heard the crash of ice and started running to where we could see, my first glimpse was of ice falling into the water and the splash that came after. I was stoked! We kept walking around and watching and the sounds were so loud from the ice falling! Incredible! We saw even little chunks fall in and it would make a great huge sound. I saw two huge pieces fall in and that was amazing. It was almost like they were falling in slow motion and then there would be a huge splash! I could have sat and watched the glacier for hours it was so interesting, peaceful, calming, and refreshing all at once.

We got back to the hostel afterwards and were thinkging about what we would do for the next couple days. we were told of all the excursions offered in the area. I hadn’t been planning on doing anything too big really because they all cost a bit of money. For example there is trekking on the glacier where you can walk out on it which im sure would be awesome but I just cant afford that. so we were sitting there thinking about what to do and all I really wanted out of this trip was to go hiking. Well..there was a bus ticket and a hostel night for 150 pesos to go to El Chalten which is about three hours away from El Calafate and is at the base of hiking(trekking) trails. In a spur of the moment decision me and six of my friends decided to take the bus that left in an hour and head out there for the night and then hike in the morning and return. It was one of the best decisions ive made in a long time!

El Chalten was a tiny town in a valley of mountains. Absolutely beautiful. There are several hostels and little restaurants and that’s about all there is in the town. It was just founded in 1985 to beat Chile to a land claim and only has like 600 residents! It was tiny, just one short road pretty much. It was very calm and peaceful..such a huge difference from Buenos Aires! I appreciated it a lot. We got up the next morning early and left by 8 for what I think was the best hike of my life.

Words nor pictures can describe what I was feeling or seeing as we hiked up to Cerro Fitz Roy. I can try to describe it but it will never do it justice. I thought I was viewing heaven on earth it was that stunning. Every time we thought we saw the best of it, it just kept getting better too!. The trail started going up a fairly steep climb up the side of a mini mountain. The vegetation there was almost like desert with little shrubs and short trees. We could see giant rock walls and mesas that reminded me of Utah and at the same time there were huge snow topped mountains around. Our first view looking down at the city was awesome, we could see the bright blue river flowing and a distant blue lake. The weather was allright it got windy at times, sometimes extremely windy and I was chilly when we started but as we climbed it got pretty warm at times and it was a good thing we were all in layers.

Excerpt from Wikipedia:
Cerro Chaltén, also known as Cerro Fitz Roy or Monte Fitz Roy, is a mountain ('cerro') located near the El Chaltén village, in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, in Patagonia, on the border between Argentina and Chile. It has been agreed by the two countries that the international border detours eastwards to pass over the main summit[1], but a large part of the border to the south of the summit, as far as Cerro Murallón remains undefined [2].
The name Chaltén comes from a Tehuelche (Aonikenk) word meaning "smoking mountain," due to a cloud that usually forms in the top of the mountain, and it was considered sacred by them. The mountain is the symbol of the Argentinian Santa Cruz Province, which includes its representation on its coat of arms.
Perito Francisco Moreno named it Fitzroy in 1877, after the Beagle's captain Robert FitzRoy, who explored some of the area in 1834. It was first climbed in 1952 by French alpinists Lionel Terray and Guido Magnone.
The mountain has a reputation of being "ultimate," despite its average height (although being the highest peak in the Los Glaciares park, it is less than half the Himalayan giants), because the sheer granite faces present long stretches of arduous technical climbing. In addition, the weather in the area is exceptionally inclement and treacherous. It also attracts many photographers thanks to its otherworldly shape.
The area, while still fairly inaccessible, was even more isolated until the recent development of El Chalten village and El Calafate international airport. The mountain climb, however, remains extremely difficult and is the preserve of very experienced climbers. Today, when a hundred people may summit Mount Everest in a single day, Cerro Chaltén may only be successfully ascended once a year
So we clearly didn’t go the top of Fitz Roy because you have to use climbing materials since it’s a rock face but we did climb all the way up to the base of it. As we were walking we went through so many different terrains it was amazing! We felt at times like we were in the serengetti plains and at other times it was like a forest, then a beach with washed up logs, then beatiful mountains. It was crazy! We didn’t see too many people on our way up and it was just sooo peaceful. Not a building for miles, it was amazing I felt so close to nature, even closer to God the creator. We walked to a lake at one point and saw a beautiful rainbow! There was even a double rainbow at one point. It was the best rainbow ive ever seen..we could see both the ends!! It was pretty exciting. We walked through a forest for a while that was fairly flat but very pretty and came out in a valley with mountains around it. we were flat for a while but it went through a sort of wetland for a while. There was simple logs placed for bridges in several areas over streams with signs saying (solo uno por un vez) one at a time.. I walked across a real swinging bridge I think. We got to an area that was reminded me of like a french beach or something with rocks and short trees that had been wind blown, the wind was really strong at that point and had a little bit of rain or sleet in it. but we just kept walking and it cleared up again. The clouds were looming in the distance but where we were was allright. We kept walking in the valley and could see a blue glacier in the distance on one of the mountains and started to be able to see our goal, Cerro Fitz Roy. We couldn’t see the top because it was covered with clouds but we could see the surrounding peaks. It was quite a sight..I kept looking around in pure awe by what I was seeing..it was incredible. We came to a spot that had a sign saying the ultimate part of the climb was pretty strenuous and to be careful. We kept going and it was really steep. We hiked up for a long time..about an hour with a few short rests to recourperate. It was a narrow trail that was made of rockes and stones. Most of the rocks acted like stepping stones so it helped a lot but it had rained some so it was kind of wet. we kept walking and all I could do was look up and see it never ending and not even really being able to see the cerros ahead because the hill we were climbing was so steep. As we were climbing htough we could look around and see the beauty of the world. I have never appreciated nature as much as that day and can’t describe the beauty that I saw but I hope I never forget it! We could turn around and see how far we had come and it felt pretty invigorating to see. We could see the river and lake in the distance the valley that we had crossed. We continued climbing upward and when we reached the final ascent where we crested the mountain the view was stunning. On the side we could see waterfals on a near by mountain, behind we could see the valley and distant moutnains and ahead..we saw a beautiful blue lake with a glacier and peak behind it. on the other side was another one and behind was Cerro Fitz Roy. I couldn’t even belive it..it didn’t look real..we had to climb down to the lake and touch it. The feeling of succes and that I conquered this climb felt pretty good. It was nice to be at the tope and relish in it for a little while. We explored a little bit there were five or six other people at the top too at that time. I have pictures that show were we were but they don’t do any justice for it. Post cards that ive seen did a better job but nothing beats seeing it in person. We kept walking because there was like a separation between the two mountains and when I walked over I was shocked to see a waterfall flowing down into a large glacier lake and cerro fitz roy was looming over the top. I could almost see the top of Cerro Fitz Roy but it was kind of cloudy and a storm was coming so it wasn’t super clear, but the other cerros around it wwere just as impressive. I couldn’t believe it was right there, so close, everything seemed like it was straight out of a movie and so perfectly beautiful I just couldn’t even believe it. we stayed up for a few more minutes but the wind really picked up and it started hailing small hail that stung the face, the wind was actually so strong at one point I couldn’t stand up. It was allright htough we started walking back to begin the climb down and the wind calmed a little and it was certainly bearable. As we went to go down a lot of people were coming up and I was so thankful we had come earlier because the weather did continue to get worse as we went down.. nothing dangerous but I wouldn’t have wanted to be climbing up at that time for sure. As we started going down I was constantly turning around tring to embed the scene in my mind so that I never forget it. it was an amazing feeling though..pure success. We headed down and eventually at lunch in a little shelter that was created. The trail was actually really nice and well done. The entire thing was marked well and any areas that were up and down were helped out by having rockes as steps or logs that lined the sides. It was a nice trail and very accessible. It was also very natural, the only parts with buildings was this shelter and a cabin for climbers. It was all taken care of really well too and I only saw like one piece of trash. The goal is to not leave any trash or anything unnatural when you climb and I think that for the most part the people who are climbing a mountain like this respect that and respect the fact that we need to take care of nature and appreciate it. we continued climbing down as it sprinkled outside and we made good time. I got to drink glacier water! The rivers are good to drink out of there and it was awesome! The coldest freshed water ever, better than any bottled water for sure!
We got down intime to warm up and relax before our bus back to El Calafate. I passed out on the bust exhausted, my body was pretty sore by the end. The whole night my legs were like lead and my knees slightly sore but nothing bad , just reminders of what a great trek it had been!

The next day we got to hang out around the town and I walked out by the near by lake. It was a beatiful marshy area with sand dunes that made it look like beach in california almost but colder. The water was a beatiful blue and the mountains were the perfect back drop. We spent the day hanging out..exploring aorund and going in to shops. There is a berry called the calafate berry that is really popular there, so I got to try some calafate jam which was really good. The legend is that if you try the berry while your there you are guranteed to return. Well I certainly hope I return because it was a wonderful expereicne and such a great way to get away from the hustle of everything. It was so calming and peaceful I loved it!

We flew out on Friday morning and I got to see some new airports of Argentina! We flew to ushuia again and had a lay over then to Comodoro Rivadavia which looked like a nice beach town. We went in the airport and found out our next flight ot mar del plata was canceled and we waited around till they told us we were getting routed through Bariloche.Bariloche is another beautiful area that is popular for skiing and trekking. We got in at night so I couldn’t see the area but the post cards showed it was beautiful. We left there for Buenos Aires and finally landed at 3:30 in the morning. It had been a long day, but the trip was pretty great. Everything about Patagonia, the glacier, trekking, exceeded my expectations beyond my wildest belief. I could not have imagined the beauty that I saw and experienced if I had tried. It was truly amazing.

Here are some links to other pictures of cerro fitz roy that may capture it better. http://www.interpatagonia.com/paseos/cerrofitzroy/index_i.html

Uruguay!

Que Suerte! I got to see my cousin Steve in Buenos Aires last week! He’s the guitarist for the band Deep Purple and they happened to be in town while Im here. I went with some friends and had a blast! The crowd was seriously pumped up for the concert and everyone had a great time. It was pretty awesome and the band was amazing I loved how the crowd went wild for them!

Saturday we went to Uruguay..me encanta Uruguay!!! I can’t express the feeling that I had in that country, but it was amazing. First we went to Colonia which is an adorable little town with quaint old buildings and its on the river plate but it looks like the ocean to me. The town was just so adorable, stone roads and old buildings. It was very quaint and tranquil. Everything about it just felt so peaceful almost as if it was straight out of a story book. We took a bus to Montevideo , the capital that night and stayed in a hostel for the weekend. El vieja I think was the name of the hostel. It was my first hostel experience ever and I loved it! The people there were pretty awesome, and I decided I love the hostel atomosphere. It’s a bunch of people coming to stay in one place and it seems like everyone has the same goals in mind: to travel and meet other people and enjoy life. There were people there from all over, it was really cool! I also love Montevideo..its a big city with a small town feel. We stayed in the Ciudad Vieja part which is like the old city. The buildings were magnificeint! Old buildings never cease to amazing me! I am so enthralled with them, and the plazas with beaituful statues all over the city too! The people in Uruguay were so kind, friendly, and helpful! A slight difference from Buenos Aires. The feeling of Uruguay just seems different than here and I really loved it!One day we were there it rained pretty much all day but no worries we still managed to have a great time, hanging out in the hostel, running in the rain, and cooking a wonderful dinner together! It was pretty fun, we had a huge dinner and it was sooo good!

One of my best study abroad experiences so far happened in Uruguay! We were walking and an old book store caught my eye for some reason. My friend Jess and I decided to wander in and ended up meeting an amazing man and bought old books. I got an old book of argentine poems that I’m pretty excited to read. The best part of the store was that we sat and talked with the owner for about an hour. About everything..he was so wise and had a lot to say, we talked about books, love, life, todo! We went back the next day and he told us the legend of mate and read one of his favorite poems to us! It was amazing; I can honestly say I was touched by meeting that man. We definitely had a moment..the book store was old and the books were just about antiques, it was a tiny little place but it had so much character! And the owner was so interesting and helpful to us! One more reason why I love Uruguay!

Uruguay has a sandwhich called the chevito or something like that..its sooo good! It has carne, ham, bacon, chease, tomato, lettuce, a boiled egg..and possibly something else. It’s really popular there and I got to have it a couple times..loved it! Another thing I love about Uruguay is how cheap everything is! I could eat for like 2 dollars if I wanted to!

The last day in Montevideo we went to the playa! It’s actually on the “river” but it seriously looks like the ocean and you cant tell the difference. Its ocean but like river water I think or something like that. Anyways it was nice, and the sand was really nice and light! I seriously had such a great time on that trip. It’s so great to have friends here to travel with and I am truly blessed with the people on my trip! There are some great kids and it’s been a blast getting to know them!

I went to the museum of bellas artes, (fine arts) here in Buenos Aires. Quite impressive! There are paintings from the 1600’s all the way up to recent modern art. There are even pre Colombian pieces from the Andes region. The European art section had some Goya, Monet, Van Gogh, and Picasso. Lots of famous and beautiful pieces. My favorite stuff though was upstairs with the Argentine art. There was some great Argentine pieces. I especially like the modern pieces with political or social messages. There was a piece “without bread, without work”(or something similar) that really struck me. It’s a man that has no job, or food..its evident on his face the strife that the family is going through and it’s a pretty strong piece. There was also a section for photography. There was photos of Evita, Menem, Che, Castro..y mas. I love seeing the historical photographs here. There are so many events and people that have had such a profound influence on this country and its really interesting to see the photos and learn more about htem. I want to learn more about Che and the feelings towards him that’s present here. Its so interesting to me to see the other perspective that Ive never learned in the states. There were also pictures of the children of disaparecidos. I wanted to cry.. the photo showed a young man holding the pictures of his parents who are disaparecidos..looking at the pictures makes it really real..We had a day in class where we talked about the history of Argentina and the political and econimc problems that have happened. It was really interesting, I feel like I’ve learned a lot about he country since Ive been here. A lot of it is incredibly sad..

On a brighter note, Ive gone to tango y salsa classes the last two Thursdays. I’m a slow learner but its definitely been a lot of fun!
My host mom is pretty awesome, I look forward to our dinners all the time. Its really the only time that I sit and talk with her because we are never doing the same stuff most of the time. I mean im hardly ever home because theres always so much going on outside. Anyways, we sit and talk during dinner and discuss plans, or she tells me stories and we talk about our days. I really love it, plus the food is always amazing! Tonight she started reading out of a book that she found for me. Shes very cultured and is a great teacher so its good for me to listen and learn from her!