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I just read my last entry and lots of what i say doesnt make sense. Some journo im going to be when i dont check my own work! as my mum pointed out, i didnt actually go on to explain getting my nails done (first time ever and they´re beautiful!) which is not very exciting anyway but signalled the end of my nail-biting career, hopefully.
I met two lovely Norweigans who i went round the falls with and decided Sandinavians are some of my favourite nationalities. Which was confirmed again in Rio where I met too more lovely Norways and a Swede.
My ´Protocol´is a list of things i have to do before i leave any hostel that I have written on the top of my backpack in biro in an effort to prevent leaving a trail of possessions behind me. Gets me a lot of stick but it seems to be working. Apart from the trousers and jumper. damn. But then i have REALLY not needed them in Rio as it has been baking and I have been crammed into a cupboard in the hostel for carnival with a fan that doesnt reach my bottom bunk and no windows! Alpha hostel = s***., dont stay there.
But going back to where I left off...
I arrived at the waterfalls place with frostbite due to the overzealous airconditioning on the 14 hour bus. Brrr.
Puerto Iguazu on the Argie side is a lovely little town and I was all excited about going to one of the ´best hostels in south america!´which a swimming pool and everything but they were fully booked so i had to get back on the bus and trapse round in the heat until someone gave me a flyer and led me to Hostel sweet hostel. It was alright.. There was a pool and a very nice gay couple got me so drunk on caiparinhas that I slept right throught the BBQ i´d been salivating about all day.
I found Trapiche wine which me and adam got obsessed with when we were in Argentina and decided I HAD to get it home somehow. So i bought it and decided to think about the particulars of that mission later...slightly stupid idea in retrospect.
Went to the Arg side of the waterfalls with Emilie and Thomas from Norway and they were BEAUTIFUL! (the waterfalls, not the norweigans). We decided to do the speedboat ride into the waterfall and got soaked and went swimming at the base in all our clothes. Did lots of climbing and walking trails, saw maybe 30 waterfalls, plus racoon-type animals who were trying to eat everyones food. they had really strange bendy noses. the main event is Garganta del Diablo (Devil´s throat) which is where a lake falls over some massive cliffs in a horse-shoe shape and makes an amazing spectacle of white water and spray and rainbows. really incredible. plus, i got told that the air around waterfalls is full of positive ions which make people happy. so we were very happy bunnys.
went home and i decided i HAD to have some steak, after tragically sleeping through the BBQ the night before. Sat myself down to what i suddenly feared was a rather pricey joint where the waiter seemed to take pity on my because he wouldnt leave me in peace to enjoy my mini bottle of trapiche and MASSIVE bife de chorizo (slab of meat). but it was nice to be able to speak to people again (my portugues still consisting rather more of hand signals than actual words) and he told me i spoke well which is always nice to hear.
the next day i packaged up my wine (wrapped in my hammock of amazonian boat-ride fame) and got a lift on a motorbike down to the post office who tried to charge me 100 quit per box (i had another box full of all the stuff im carrying around in my backpack that has been slowly crushing my vertibre over the last two months). then, had to walk back - there being no passing motorbikes - got lost, sat on my box of wine and had a bit of a cry. yes, im pathetic. Thend dicided to buck up and not give in, if the wine wasnt going home from argentina, it was coming back to brazil with me! and with that, i lugged it across the boarder to Foz do Iguaçu.
Stayed at a friendly, amazingly well organised hostel with a pool called Bambu where i met some more Scandinavians (danish this time) who i also liked very much. Went to the Brazilian side of the falls which are also amazing and give a perfect view of the entire horse-shoe of garganta that you just cant see from the arg side. Really glad i did both especially as I took so many photos on the arg side i hardly got the camera out on the brazilian and could just soak up those positive ions and watch everyone snap away seemingly without even looking at the subject matter.
the day i was leaving on my 24 hour bus to Rio, i got up early (made sandwiches!) and went to the Itaipu Dam with the Danish. I was very big. And pretty interesting. There are lots of political issues surrounding it and it was funny how propagandist the tour was but it provides hydroelectric power for something like 100% of Paraguay and 20% of Brazil which would appear to be good things. I cant judge though really as I dont know what the other side of the argument is. Met a couple of British who renewed my faith in us as a nation.
sat next to a thin frenchman on my way to rio. This was excellent but i may have ruined relations early on as the first thing I said to him was ´hi, im really glad you´re not fat´. Which, seeing as he doesnt know my history of being put next to fat men on buses, possibly didnt understand the compliment. Ah well.
Rio will have to wait for next time as I have to go to a football match at the Maracnã (??) stadium, but suffice to say, its been bloody brilliant.
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