Please scroll down to find the beginning of the trip

We sat in the lounge till our flight was boarding and I had a nice cup of tea. They served dinner on the plane at around midnight, but it was not the best and I really didn’t eat much. I thought maybe a glass of Cabernet would help put me to sleep, but it was served ice cold and I didn’t drink it. Yuck!

They served breakfast right before we touched down in Miami and then we landed and went through customs. Going through security was a breeze with global entry and we picked up our luggage in record time and then turned it back in for the flight to Newark.

That flight of course was delayed about 30 minutes. What else is new with American Airlines? It seems the business class bathroom needed to be pumped out because it was clogged and the bathroom would not be in use during the trip.

I have to say, I was not impressed this trip with American Airlines and I believe I will only fly American if there is no other choice. From day one with the whole horrible debacle getting to Santiago and then this leg of the trip, where the flight attendants were not attentive at all, it was not the greatest experience. (As a matter of fact, on today’s flights, the attendants didn’t even care if people were buckled in or not for take off and landing. Most of the people around me were just sitting there…no buckle at all and no one came by to check.)

Well, be that as it may, air travel aside – we had a wonderful time in Argentina and Chile. The food was excellent, our guide Jon was wonderful, the people on the trip made the journey very enjoyable, and of course all the sites we saw and the people we met – just amazing. From Easter Island, to Patagonia, to Tierra del Fuego, to the Chilean fjords, to glacier alley, to Iguazú and the falls… what an adventure!

Below are photos taken by Jon and local guide.

Tune in for our next adventure. Adios for now!

Doing the tango. Got the leg placement really good!

The gaucho at the ranch.

Buenos Aires

So regal!

Please don’t gallop…please don’t gallop…please don’t gallop…

On the ship touring the bridge

We had breakfast and then went to the airport to catch our flight to Buenos Aires. It was a nice flight since the configuration of the seats was two and two and they were fairly roomy.

When we arrived in Buenos Aires we went back to the Arc hotel where we had left our luggage before traveling to Iguazo. Jon arranged rooms for us at the hotel until four pm so that we could freshen up and rearrange our luggage for the trip home.

Jon asked if I’d like to sample the Argentinian pizza. He said his favorite place was closed (I said…”a likely story!!!” lol!) but he’d take Angie, Dennis, Allan, and me to his second favorite place. The four of us treated Jon to pizza and I must admit, the tomato, basil, and garlic was delicious. Afterwards, Jon took us for the famous ice cream and we treated him to a cone. I must again say, the ice cream was creamy and very good and I don’t usually eat ice cream. I am now overly stuffed!!

Our flight to Miami leaves at 11 pm and the bus will take us to the airport at 6. We said bye to all our new friends and promised to keep in touch since some of them left before us for their flights.

Will give a recap of the trip in the final posting sometime after we get home.

Today we visited the Argentinian side of the falls, which were beautiful but not as impressive as the Brazilian side. The walkway to get the best views went on forever and of course the heat and humidity was still very high.

Most everyone stayed after for an optional tour that went under the falls, but there were restrictions that Jon told us about so Allan and I opted out. I also didn’t want to get drenched and have wet clothes to deal with for the trip home.

We took a cab back to the hotel and had a light lunch and then napped for a bit. We had the farewell dinner which was empanadas and steak and then tomorrow we leave for our flight to Buenos Aires in the morning.

Feeling the breeze

Accommodations: American Portal Del Iguana

Activity Note: Today’s excursion involves hiking through jungle over uneven terrain. Some agility is required in order to participate. Temperatures in Iguassu can be over 90 degrees with 90% humidity

This morning after breakfast, we rode in our bus to the Rio de la Plata basin’s verdant forest to visit a Guaraní community, where I hoped to learn about this native South American culture. We had to cover ourselves in insect spray since the mosquitos are abundant and we also had to be liberal with the suntan lotion.

According to our guide book… “The largest population of Guaraní people can be found in Paraguay, but they also live in Argentina, Brazil, and Bolivia. Today, you’ll discover their use of medicinal herbs, handmade crafts, and commonly grown crops, including corn and sweet potatoes.”

The Indigenous Guarani in Argentina fight to protect their ancestral lands from illegal logging and government neglect. They have electricity and cell phones and the children go to school. They are happy with the simple life that they lead. The community was similar to the one we saw in the Amazon, but the Amazon people did not have as much in the way of electricity, etc. as this tribe had.

Some of the people on our trip started with colds and coughs about a week ago and guess what…the past few days I’ve been battling bronchitis which I always seem to come down with. I have medication that has been keeping the cough at bay, but I haven’t had much of an appetite. Didn’t eat the fish last night and the eggs this morning weren’t very palatable.

So….While in the jungle, I really felt like I was going to pass out, so Jon was very attentive and spoke to the man who drove us into the jungle by truck. Jon insisted I ride up front with the driver and so the driver took me back to the Biocentro where everyone would be meeting for lunch. Jon stayed with the group, but he arranged for me to use the driver’s cell phone to call him if I needed more help. Poor Allan didn’t know I was not coming back, otherwise of course he would have gone with me. Things had happened so quickly… I was in the jeep before I knew it, so I couldn’t let him know. Jon told him what had transpired, so Allan felt a bit better although he was still worried. I tried texting him, but he didn’t get the text until we reunited for lunch.

I drank a lot of ice water at the restaurant and felt much better, and finally, everyone from the group returned and we had lunch. I had empanadas and some other foods that I didn’t know what they were, but they were very good. One of the empanadas was made from the same fish that we had last night, so I passed that over to Allan after tasting it. Too fishy!

We then walked through a tropical garden with gorgeous orchids blooming everywhere, and then we went into the butterfly garden with beautiful butterflies flitting all around.

In the afternoon, we all rode the bus back to the hotel because everything closes down in the heat of the afternoon.

Some folks went swimming in the hotel pool when we returned. I came back to our room and took a nap.

We walked to a place for dinner, stopping to take a picture of where the borders of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay meet. I still wasn’t overly hungry so I ordered a burger. It was HUGE and I could barely eat half of it. Allan ordered a Malbec and it came overly warm…almost hot, so that wasn’t enjoyable for him.

We get up very early tomorrow to be on the bus by 7:15.

Buenos noches.

In the tropical garden

Butterfly garden

Our jungle truck

The man from the Guaraní community who spoke with us about his culture.

This was offered at breakfast this morning which is a staple in the area.

The road we took in the jeep thru the jungle

Some more pics from yesterday. Birds enjoying the spray

Enjoying the spray ourselves

Accommodations: American Portal Del Iguana

This morning after breakfast we left our larger pieces of luggage at the hotel and we packed a small bag for the next few days that we’ll be spending in Iguazo.

We headed to the airport to catch our flight and as usual, the flight was delayed. We finally arrived in Iguazo and since we only had carry-on luggage with us, we immediately left the airport and boarded our bus to make our way to the Argentina-Brazil border.

We had to change buses at the border and give our passports to be stamped in Brazil and then we had a quick lunch of empanadas. The empanadas, every place we’ve had them on this trip are nothing like what my friend Rosa makes and since Rosa taught me… what I make. Ours are much better and Allan totally agrees.

Iguazo falls are among the world’s most beautiful and powerful falls… twice as high as Niagara and 65 feet wider. There are many individual falls that cascade down and it is quite an amazing sight.

We entered the Brazilian side of the Iguazo Falls National Park and walked the paths that lead to several platforms to views the falls from different angles. We were able to get close enough to feel the spray on our faces, which was welcoming since the temperature was in the mid-nineties and we were all drenched with sweat.

At the end of the walkway, we rode the elevator to the top and waited for the rest of our group to arrive. It was nice to sit down and relax. While we were sitting there, we saw a few coatis (raccoon-like animals) walking around scouting for food. Our guide told us to stay away from them as some can carry rabies.

After visiting the falls, we boarded the bus and rode back into Argentina and checked into our hotel. Allan and I took showers to freshen up from the heat.

We had a welcome dinner at the hotel, but I didn’t eat it. They served a fish that apparently is similar to piranha. Everyone enjoyed it, but it tasted very fishy to me. Yuck!

We all called it a night and went to bed. Tomorrow we can sleep in which will be nice.

(I will have to post the rest of the pics on tomorrow’s post since for some reason, the rest of the pics won’t upload. Probably an internet problem.)

Caught a rainbow across the falls.

After breakfast we boarded the bus and visited La Recoleta Cemetery, where the graves of many famous people, most importantly, Eva Peron, are located. It is listed as one of the 10 most beautiful cemeteries in the world.

It is 14 acres and is laid out like city blocks. You have to be very rich to be buried in this cemetery. Some of the mausoleums were beautiful, but some have fallen to disrepair. There are 4691 vaults in all.

I believe you have to pay a tax to the government to reside in the vault and if you can no longer pay, you must remove the body or bodies of your loved ones and find another place for them to lie in peace.

The queue for Eva Peron’s grave was long but it moved quickly since everyone just took a quick picture and moved on.

After visiting the cemetery, we took a boat ride along the Parana Delta, where the Parana River empties into the Rio de la Plata on its way into the Atlantic.

Traditional houses are on stilts, and those along with old mansions and rowing clubs are surrounded by lush subtropical vegetation. Some people live there permanently but others just use the houses for a weekend getaway.

There is a school boat that picks up kids along the delta and takes them to the school and there is a garbage barge that comes by to pick up the trash. There also is a boat that comes by periodically for the people to purchase fresh water, cola, snacks, propane, and beer.

The water is not drinkable along the delta and people purchase fresh water in bottles to drink. For bathing, the residents pump the water from the delta up to cisterns on top of their homes and let the sediment sink to the bottom, and then they can use the water for everything except drinking.

Some homes have electricity, but they don’t have sewers. Instead, they dig a very deep hole on their property for the solid waste.

Some of the homes were beautiful with lush greenery while others were falling down. We saw a lot of people swimming in the muddy water.

After our boat ride, we went for the farewell luncheon at a steak house. We were served empanadas, salad, French fries, and a huge steak and Malbec wine. It was all very good.

For dinner Allan and I shared a mini pizza of mozzarella, onions, and oregano. It’s not NYC pizza!

Tonight, those who were not doing the post trip caught planes for home. Tomorrow, we’ll catch a flight to Iquazo Falls.

The cemetery

The vaults were beautiful

Eva Peron’s grave

Along the Delta

The food mart

Lunch

We had a leisurely morning and then it was off to hear a speaker who was a soldier in the Malvinos War. He spoke of how he wanted to play soccer and be a pro but his parents wouldn’t let him, so he joined the army instead.

He was ill prepared for the rigors of war and only trained for about three months before he was put on the front line. He saw his friends killed and he saw operations being done in horrible conditions.

The war was won by the British and when the Argentinian soldiers returned, they were not welcomed back since people were disgusted that the soldiers had lost the war.

He has a hard time after returning. No job and no support. People had not heard of post traumatic stress, so he often had nightmares about the bombs and the killings. He thought of suicide.

He met a woman, got married, and I believe now has three children. He gives talks all around to apprise people of that war and what it meant.

We had lunch of crab soup and then enjoyed king crab legs. I actually like lobster better.

After lunch we went to the airport for our flight to Buenos Aires.

We were going to try Argentinian pizza but since the flight was delayed, we didn’t get in till late and I just couldn’t face pizza. We tumbled into bed and slept the night.