Let's Cross Another Border

After a day of meeting everyone around the world during a soccer game and many post-drinks, it was time to move on to my fifth country on the road: Argentina - via the Iguazu Falls border. I woke up at 7am and ran to the shower (after packing everything I had with a headlamp). Shower, dress, breakfast. Most of it in the dark because I didn't want to wake my still slumbering (probably still drunk) roommates in the dorm room.

The hostel's tour bus (with wooden park benches for seats) to the Argentine side was packed. I quickly made friends with a foursome of Australians in the back who were the only other people on the bus planning to stay in Argentina. Our bus driver was a clever one: making jokes about the guys all getting off to do passport duty while he stayed on with "our" women. This joke was repeated no less than a dozen times as we made our way to the border.

When we did arrive at the border, he insisted we hand over or passports and he would handle the bureaucratic business that was about to ensue. The entire bus reluctantly handed over the official documents that would get us from country to country. An hour later, he returned with our passports and we all crossed without leaving the comfort of the vehicle. Bless him.

The falls on the Argentine side were a little more personable than they were on the Brazilian side. Trails took people down into the falls, to boats that took people deep into the falls, to food stands. I spent hours with the Australians, without them, exploring all this side had to offer (having money this time). The Australians were a funky bunch. When I did lose them, I took pictures and ate pizza. When I found them, I took pictures with them and listen to them praise the glory that is Australian pop culture. It was a full day - and a wet one; having initially taken a boat out under the falls, our clothes were soaked much of the rest of the day.

The bus driver asked where he could drop the five of us off on his way back to the Brazilian hostel. I offered that I wanted to be in the center of town - in the morning I needed to get to the airport to fly to Buenos Aires. The four Australians agreed and we were dropped in front of a hostel I found in my guide book. It was full. We slugged our bags up the street to a different hostel. It was full too. Two blocks over we found two more hostels that were full. We split up - me and one of the guys, the two gals and the other guy - and went looking for any available room as we cursed the weight of our backpacks. Everything was booked solid. This was one of those times I should have called ahead. The Australian and I found a hotel near the main road with an available double for around $80. We took it immediately, hoping the others had some luck. The hotel was luxury - at least compared to the kind of places I had been staying in.

We happily dropped our bags and went looking for the others. They had found a newly opened room for four in a hostel up the street. The Australian dude decided he wanted a bit of luxury and said he was going to stay in the hotel. After much needed showers and clean clothes, we all headed out in search of food. My first Argentine steak? No. My first Argentine glass of wine? Yes. We ordered large pizzas on the outdoor patio seating and listened to the traditional live band playing. My cohorts turned out to be much younger than I thought: 22. I turned out to be much older than they thought. But it didn't stop us from enjoying our first night in Argentina.

We attempted to do drinks afterwards at their hostel bar, but I couldn't keep my eyes open. The three hours of sleep from the previous night had caught up with me. And so, at 11pm, I excused myself and promised to meet up with them all in Buenos Aires - then headed back to the hotel. I was out immediately. In 12 hours I would be in Buenos Aires...

To see pics of my time at Iguazu, follow this link:
http://flickr.com/photos/15233918@N00/sets/72157603820470641/