Uooowww Iguaçu

After a 20 hours bus from Rosario to Puerto Iguazu we finally reached our destiny. A little bit tired but still up for a walk through the city (more like a Pueblo) and enjoyed the wonderful view from the 3 countries divided by the rivers Parana and Iguacu. The weather was great and we were in for party after a long time. There we met a group of very nice Brazilians (that later invited for a churrasco) and indeed it was a funny night.

(Murta as a tourist)

Next day, waking up early in the morning and Paulo almost dead with a big hangover we went to the park to see the Cataratas. This place is worth to see, amazing! We had never seen such a power of the nature, the strength and continuous flow of water is difficult to explain, and the number of waterfalls is unexpected. As it was Sunday and a holiday in Argentina the park was quite busy and full of cameras all around which made us dizzy. But all the trails and paths in the park were very worth it to be visited.

On the evening we went to Foz do Iguacu, the Brazilian side of the Cataratas and as soon as we stepped the Brazilian land Murta start dancing as a child does when receives a new toy – Murta was smelling good food and some good sertenajo to dance. 

We were received by our friends from the club of Saturday night. We got in a Brazilian asado (churrasco) with a very nice group which quickly introduced us to everyone there. After this we went to our contact in the city, Murilo, a very nice guy who was awake until late waiting for us. We had a small conversation and then went to bed.

In the next day we woke up to visit the Cataratas but not without trying and remembering a Brazilian food. Found a free buffet for U$S 4 and the consequence was a disaster: eating the maximum we could. I must admit that after that we felt a little ashamed for our manners, especially Murta. We visited the park and got surprised; the Brazilian side is even more beautiful with some of the most beautiful panoramic sights we had ever seen. After spending a few hours feeling and admiring the hugeness of lots of waterfalls we went to a Bird´s Park just nearby, where we had the chance to walk with the birds passing by us in what would be a natural wild life. Paulo, as usual, was full of fear and hiding behind me from the biggest birds.

Obs: It looks like Paulo is near the bird but in fact he was 2 meters away

On Monday we visited the Itaipú Dam, the biggest in the world in annual energy generation, generating 94.7 TWh in 2008 and 91.6 TWh in 2009. It´s located on the border between Brazil and Paraguay and by the agreement 50% of the energy generated is sold to Brazil and the other 50% is sold to Paraguay. Also, the dam has around 3.000 workers, half of those Brazilians and the other half Paraguayans. It basically supplies 90% of the electricity consumed by Paraguay and 19% consumed by Brazil.

Versión 

Chi chi chi Rosario

#2 hitchhiking failed. It was raining and we ended up giving up after 2 hours in a gas station and took a bus that arrived in Rosario at 10pm. First impression was quite good: the terminal´s architecture is very nice, people (family who received us) very very nice; and people are more beautiful (Rosario is considered the city with the most beautiful women, fact which proved to be true in the daylight walking around the center).

We stayed with an artisan’s family and they were so friendly that we actually felt part of it. It was a key step for us in terms of getting an Argentinean culture insight. They gave us a lot of information of artists, literature, history and more important, the opportunity to live in another reality.

Rosario is a nice city, we visited Monumento de la Bandera and Monumento de la Memoria (about rosalinos that disappeared during the dictatorship – we actually met and talked to a women that was 4 years in jail for political reasons and we realized how the all 50-60 years generation is /was affected by this sad chapter of Argentean history).

On Friday, 21st was the day of Primavera and also the student day, which means that students do not have classes and we were blessed with a sunny day when we could enjoy the first day of spring in the parks of the city and the coast of the Paraná River.

Cordoba - porque hablas asi??

A city of 1.4m of which 200k are students. In Cordoba we stayed with Romina and her boyfriend, who received us very well. Cordoba is nice to walk through, big avenues; cathedrals; young people; nice center; bars; a big park. The city claims, together with Rosario, to be the second biggest one after Buenos Aires. It has a typical music called Cuarteto which has Mona Gimenez and Rodrigo as its most representative singers. It´s a mix of Cumbia, Ska and Rock. The city also has a very distinguished accent with very unique intonation and well known all over the country. As we were told before and could prove later, the Cordoboses are incredibly friendly and always ready for a joke out of nowhere.

Murta tried mate (typical Argentinean tradition, similar to a cup of tea, which people use to get together and enjoy the moment with friends) and became a fan (he now only thinks of perfect spots to have a mate). In Cordoba we hang out with some friends, two artists we know from Santiago took us around the city and explained us a lot of the Argentinean culture. We manage to be invited by them to have a pleasant lunch on the following day with their family. They took us to Carlos Paz, a small city with a lake where the whole near region spend summer. We also visited Alta Gracia, a small pueblo where Che Guevara grow up and has his old family`s house as a museum.

Another friend of Paulo invited us to have dinner with her group of friends, where we were officially introduced to Fernet (Argentinean alcohol drink that is mixed with coca-cola) and saw the performance of Argentinean “maravilla” boxer, who won the title. 

Another fact to mention in Argentina; we actually like the kissing between men jajjaj we think that it is kind of sign of friendship. Sometimes they don’t give the hand and give directly a small kiss; first yeah you can judge but after you realize that is very friendly and not all gay.

Al dedo hasta San Luis

Hitchhiking #1 successful. Two drivers from Brazil offered us a ride, but only after Paulo said he is Brazilian, first they said they were not going in the direction we were looking for (“if you were Argentineans we wouldn't offered you a ride ahaha”). According to them, Argentinean policy is the most unserious and it is quite usual to be stopped and bothered for small issues (10/15 USD are often enough to avoid a problem). Argentineans have the tradition of travelling as backpackers for long time, we noticed this when we were trying to find the correct route and were approached by two man (mid 60s) who offered us some pesos to proceed with our journey.

Couchsurfing #1 successful as well, Alejandro, a local student offered us a room to stay in.

In San Luis we visited Potrero de las Furnas, a huge lake outside the city where people enjoy their weekends and do some water sports. There was a huge hotel by the lake and of course, we took advantage of the opportunity to jump in the swimming pool and later be kicked out by the security guards.

In the evening we had a Quilmes (local beer) in the central square and saw some students ‘political demonstrations (they were “celebrating” la noche de los lapices, a historical event when high school students from the municipality of La Plata were kidnapped, tortured and killed. A few survived to tell this tragic story which took place during the military dictatorship of 1976-1983). See Noche de los lapices and Historia oficial de Argentina movies.

San Luis is basically ruled by the same government for 30 years, maintaining the power under the same family. It changes from father to son, wife and others relatives. It is very technological developed, it has free wi-fi for the whole province, a high level of education and lots of industries set up, mostly due to taxes incentives. The capital, San Luis, offers the typical Brazilian carnival, bringing 2000 Brazilians from Sambodromo after Rio´s carnival ends. A sample of tour the France is also a main event in this city as well as a few national car races that take place in the city.

Mendoza

"No se puede multiplicar la riqueza dividiéndola" Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931

We arrived in Mendoza, a city of ~1mn people and known for its wine (70% of country´s productin) and olive oil. The city has a lot of squares and wide avenues, mostly due to the rebuilding of the city that happen after the devastating earthquake of 1861.

In Argentina the exchange of money is made officially or in “la calle a traves de arbolitos”. We chose the second option, which gave us 30% more pesos..

In Mendoza we stayed at a friend´s house, Ale. We stayed in a typical argentinean family where most of the relatives stay together untill or even after the sons and daughters get married. This has made our experience even more enriching as the house was always full of people coming and going.

Thanks to the new government´s subsidies lots of people have the chance to continue the studies (in Argentina, the University is 100% free and students can apply for other subsidies to buy books or other) and seek for a better future in Argentina. On the other hand, the number of children has incresead a lot since the family receives the subsidy per child. Here we were told that the governement has recently increase this subsidy 30% and that families are looking to get pregnant (they receive 60 USD monthly per child).

Alejandro together with our other friends from Reñaca and his family prepared the Argentinean asado. We were amazed with variety and price of the meat in the supermarket (Wall-Mart). The asado was prepared with wood and not coal as we are used to, and the meat uhh chi chi chi, really tasty.

A very special thank to the this lovely family who hosted us for 2 days. We could not have stayed in a better place.

Some of the Rock Argentino:

Travel delayed but already on the road..

Yes! We had to delay the beginning of our travel because of non-controlled events. Our amazing friends prepared a great goodbye "asado" for us, finishing with a crazy night in Valparaíso.

We are leaving behind a great year in Viña del Mar, full of amazing experiences where we had the opportunity to meet people from all over the world. Brazilians, Indians, Argentinians, Germans, Portuguese, Japanese, Americans, Colombians, Chileans, Salvadoraneans, Ecuatorians, French, made living far away from family and friends much much easier. Thank you Paulinho for showing it so emotionally. 

As most of you know we decided to quit our jobs with the aim of discovering what South America really is, who we really are and what we seek. Our goal is to reach Central America by the end of 6 months, staying in hostels, being helped by Couchsurfing community, friends and friend of friends houses (EVS Family, although you had some piscolas that night we still remember that you offered your places in your hometowns), and doing some volunteer projects.

We want to thank our Portuguese and Brazilian families for the support given, also thank you to Chile and EVS for receiving us so well.