La Estancia, Iguazu Falls, and the Guarani village

This weekend was a busy one. We set off from the bus station in Buenos Aires at 6pm, boarding a double decker 'sleeper' bus. The seats reclined waay back and a footrest pulled out from the seat in front of you. Travelling by bus is a cheap and popular option for travel, even though it takes a very long time (Same in Rio, that's how we got to Buzios, Sao Paulo). We were served dinner in our seats and I slept through the night. We were awoken for breakfast around 7 am, too early for everyone. Our first stop were the ruins of a Jesuit mission. We learned some about the history of the Jesuits in South America and saw the houses (actually just rooms) they constructed for the Guarani to live in so they could learn Spanish and the ways of religion.

After, we private bussed it to an estancia/ tea farm. Here we had some of the most delicious food I've eaten yet. First we had beef emapanadas with a delicious flaky crust with fresh squeezed lemonade. Then we had choripan (chori for short), which is chorizo sausage on a crusty little roll with chimichurri sauce (sage, spices, etc, flavorful but not spicy) and homemade pico de gallo (I think they call it something different, but it's chopped onions, tomatoes and not very spicy jalapenos). Delicious. This was followed by salad, rice, tomatoes, and manioc (like a potato) and asado (grilled meat). The best I've had by far. Then we went on a tour of the black leaf and yerba mate tea plants.

(An aside, 80 % of the population is addicted to yerba mate. They drink the green tea constantly out of little gourds (mate, pronounced MA-teh) with a metal straw (bombilla). Our program guide, Coqui, is never without her mate filled with tea leaves and a thermos of hot water to make tea. There are specific ways to prep your mate and it can be made with only water, with sugar added, or even cold with lemonade.)

We saw a huge machine used to dry the tea leaves, a secador, and piles and piles of yerba mate leaves. When I post all of my pictures on Picasa you'll be able to see the huge sacks of tea leaves in a pile in warehouse. There was also a carpentry business near the secador that made the tables and chairs we sat on at the estancia. When we returned to the eating area there was freshly made orange cake waiting for us and the most delicious ice tea I've ever had. It was a black tea with orange and mint. It probably tasted so amazing because the leaves were freshly picked and dried on site. After all of the delicious estancia food we got on the bus for a few hours ride to Puerto Iguazu.

Once in Iguazu we checked in to the Hotel Saint George and unpacked before a tasty buffet dinner. Saturday was all Iguazu Falls National Park. The Falls (las cataratas) are on the slate for being one of the new 7 wonders of the world. Understandably, because it was as if many Niagara Falls were spread out in the rainforest. The first we visited was the Devil's Throat, Garganta del diablo, on the way to which we spotted a crocodile relaxing on a sandbar. Luckily we were quite far away on a raised metal bridge. La Garganta was impressive because it was so large, and there was a lot of mist, but it was seemingly in the middle of a river so there wasn't much rainforest around it. I think the other falls were more picturesque because they were framed by greenery and we could see all the rainbows the light made in the mist. We walked all the trails in the park and saw so many lovely panoramic views.

As soon as we entered the park we came upon some interesting looking animals. Coatis are about the size of raccoons, with striped tails, bit the noses and faces of anteaters. They have little pig noses and claws that look like they were made to dig. Our guide warned us not to feed them, since the food wasn't good for them and feeding them made them less afraid of humans and more likely to bite. So I took pictures from afar and near the end of our visit saw how crafty and vicious the creatures could be. A couple was taking pictures of the coati and the woman held out her potato chip bag to tempt them closer. One coati reached out its snout and snatched the bag from her hand (luckily he bit just the bag and not her hand). As soon as the bag hit the ground another few coati leaped on it and began fighting for the chips. Soon a whole group of them had gathered and they were fighting amongst themselves with teeth bared and high pitched squeaking noises. A little while later a woman sat down to eat with a sandwich and coffee. Just after unwrapping her sandwich a coati crept over under the table. She saw it and started taking pictures of it. The coati jumped on the table, which didn't bother the woman as she kept taking photos. But as soon as the coati could, it snatched her untouched sandwich from her plate and bolted. We were sitting next to a pile of backpacks and purses and one coati started to play with the chain of a small purse and might have run away with it if we hadn't stomped and clapped to scare it away. Luckily no one in our group had any trouble with the animals and we all kept our distance after seeing the potato chip grab.

 Sunday we visited a Guarani village near Iguazu. The Guarani are the indigenous tribe of the region. The village runs tours and sells crafts in order to raise funds for the community. Our guide spoke Guarani (which is only spoken and not written) and Spanish. He told us all about their unique religion and medicine, closely tied to the environment, and how life has changed for them over the decades. For example, our guide showed us a number of traps used to catch armadillos and deer but they are never used nowadays because their small bit of land is pretty much devoid of these animals. It was very informative and we were encouraged to ask questions and take pictures throughout the session.