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Published: January 30th 2016
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The flight to Puerto Iguazu from Buenos Aires was a bumpy one. There was a large storm threatening as we approached the airport. We had to circle the airport at Iguazu waiting for a break in the weather - I was very sorry that I hadn't taken any travel sickness tablets! We landed without incident but by the time I'd collected my baggage and organised a bus into town, the sky had opened up and a serious tropical thunderstorm was in progress. This continued for about 4 hours into the evening, with intermittent power outs to really emphasis my welcome. Luckily it was all over by the next morning and I had a bit of sun for my trip to the falls. The Iguazu Falls were absolutely amazing. I spent about 4 hours walking around the various trails to see the different parts of the falls from different angles. The park became very full of people in the afternoon. Unfortunately I couldn't go to the Brazilian side (getting a visa was more trouble than it was worth) which has the best view of the falls. But on the Argentinian side you can get very close to the falls and really feel
the sheer volume of water falling ever second. Because of the rains of the previous day, the water level was too high to go on a boat into the falls, which was a shame. But there was still a lookout where you could go into the spray of the falls and get nice and drenched.
I had a flight back to Buenas Aires the next day and went directly from the airport to the bus terminal to catch a 21hr bus to Salta in Argentina's northwest. The bus trip was actually quite enjoyable and included nice warm meals and even wine! I had a seat at the front window on the top level of the bus so had a panorama view of the scenery during the daylight hours.
I stayed in Salta for a couple of days - doing the walking tour (in Spanish which was fun!) and taking a day trip to Cafayate, including a winery tour, which passed through the gorgeous Valle de Conchas (Valley of Shells) and the Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat) an ancient, dried up waterfall.
I then realised that, due to my poor time management and planning skills, I had 2
days to get from Salta in Argentina to the Parque Ambue Ari in northern Bolivia to start my month of volunteering. The epic journey consisted of 4 bus rides, each with their own excitement. The first was from Salta to La Quaica at the border of Argentina and Bolivia. This took 7 hours and I met a cool French guy and Romanian/Spanish girl who helped pass the time with deep and meaningful conversation. As we were coming into La Quaica at about 10pm there was an awesome storm along the horizon with huge, rapid lightning strikes. I looked really awesome and luckily didn't amount to any rain. I stayed in La Quaica and the next morning, crossed the border back into Bolivia. I was so happy to be back - I had missed the craziness of the north in Argentina and Chile. Unfortunately I left my ebook at the hotel in La Quaica which put a bit of a damper on my mood. We then caught a bus to Tarija from Verillzon. This was 6 hour bus along bumpy and winding Bolivian roads through some desert valleys. Almost at the end of the journey we ran into a blockade that
had been set up along the road by some protesters. We weren't sure what they were protesting, but they had built a wall of rocks across the road that was blocking traffic in both directions. When our bus arrived there as already a crowd of angry drivers trying to get the blockade moved and half of the people on our bus went to join them. There was a bit of yelling and rock throwing but the wall was finally cleared and we made in through to Tarija. It was an interesting welcome back to Bolivia!
From there, I took a 13 hour bus ride to Santa Cruz along hot, bumpy and dusty roads with a bus driver who was trying to break the land speed record. From Santa Cruz, there was a short and pleasant 6.5 hour bus ride to Ambue Ari - I had finally arrived after 2 days and 32.5 hours on buses!
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Nerida Byrnes
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What amazing journey you are having and lots of happy memories to tell your children and family.,