Three countries in one day!

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I finally left Brazil! I was a little bit scared to travel alone and not have any plans but Ive since realized this is the best thing I have ever done. I am staying in a hostel in Iguazu, on the Argentinian side. It´s the first hostel I´ve ever stayed in and it´s really nice!!!

I flew to Iguacu, Brazil from Campinas. My Brazilian horoscope the day before said that it would be a really bad idea to fly which was actually really quite rude of a horoscope if you asked me. Anyway, I didn´t really think about it but the flight was the scariest flight I´ve ever been on it was very very turbulent and as we were taking off ice was hitting me from the ceiling. But I survived thanks to the ¨It´ll be okay¨ mantra. Then I got to the airport and had to take THREE buses to the hostel in Argentina. And it was 37 degrees! That is like 100 fahrenheit. And there I was walking with my 40lb backpack on the side of a highway. Trying to get on buses and not fitting through the doorways. Then, one bus took me to the border but left before I was done with my visa. Being stranded at the border was really nice. Thankfully the hostel was only a $10 cab drive away.

On Friday, I went to the Falls on the Argentinian side. It was so stunning and incredible. The one thing I didnt like very much was that it was very touristy, but I guess that is what you have to expect. I really liked seeing lots of animals too. The quati (anteater things) were everywhere and I kind of remember them from when I went to Iguacu when I was a kid! And there were lots of butterflies. Two landed on me! I think that is a good sign of something, so I was really stoked. THERE WAS EVEN A CROCODILE!!!! so cool!!! But the waterfalls are simply stunning. In the sun there were rainbows and I felt like I was in paradise.

Today, I went from Argentina through Brasil to Paraguay. They have a lot of shopping there that is cheaper than Brazilian prices so there is a huge draw. But the city was so dirty, worse than Africa, with trash everywhere in the street and it was just a very ugly city with a backdrop of gorgeous nature. I went with Flavia, a friend of a friend of Angela´s who lives on the Brazilian side, and she has been so so nice taking me out and around and having me over for lunch today.

But I have been meeting lots of cool people!! The first person I met was this old dude who was staying in the same dorm as me. He was really nice at first and I went with him the next morning on this group guided tour of the falls. But then the guy turned into a huge weirdo creep. He was like 60 and Australian with really obviously dyed hair. Anyway, we were on the boat that goes to the falls, and he was just like ¨Oh, we´re going to get wet so Im going to take my pants off¨ which is logically retarded and every other person remained fully clothed. But there he was sitting next to me with no pants and just his briefs. I was sitting on the edge of my chair trying to be as far away from him as possible and the guides on the boat were all trying not to laugh. So I was able to avoid him after that and he left already thank god. But when I got back fromthe falls I met a really cool Danish girl and a Dutch girl who were both traveling alone too. We are all blonde so going to the town is really funny everybody freaks out. We are going to the Brazilian side of the falls tomorrow. I have used up two pages each for Argentina and Brazil I don´t even need a scrapbook of my adventures!

Anyway, traveling alone has been so incredibly fun. I was really scared at first, but I am so glad Im doing this now I only wish I had more time and more money. I have no plans so I can stay here until I feel like leaving and then I don´t know what I will do next! I have a general plan set up so that I will not do anything too redundant geographically but I am really enjoying the spontaneity and being on my own. SO DONT WORRY if you are worrying because there are tons of other girls my age doing the exact same thing as me and we are all meeting up and having an incredible time!

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Photos

qapi
anteater guy!

Comments

[Melissa Mom]

How Cool!!!
HEy Cates, I can remember being at the Falls with you when you were little and it is stunning. I am also so glad you took photos of the quati as I did not get to see one when I was in Brasil. They are very cool looking. PLease buy me lots of good postcards of what you are seeing and where you have been. Are you going to Chile or Peru? I miss you and think of you all of the time. Let's try to Skype. When is a good time? MOM