We left Submarino hostel and was bid farewell by the DOG.
The owner said goodbye in the most disinterested way ever by asking us if we were on our way to RIO. I just said yeah thats right yeaaaaaah because we coiuldnt be arsed with the awkwardness. She said if we ever wanted to come back we were welcome and I said she`s always welcome in England and she made a face as if to say 'I would never go to England, are you mad?'
As soon as we got in the taxi we felt so liberated. Even the taxi driver seemed like he was the nicest person we had ever met.
We got on our 18 hour bus and slept a bit. Woke up to torrential rain and grey skies . Got off our bus and luckily it had stopped raining because it seemed like we were going to Bath and Stonehenge again.
We had a swift cafe con leche at a greasy spoon cafe in the bus terminal of Foz du Iguazu and got on a local bus going to another place (cant remember was too tired) and then got another bus going to the falls. On the bus an English Elecitrician called Luke and an English Town planner called Mark started chatting to us.
We saw the Brazilian side of the falls, after putting our big bags in lockers, wearing the clothes we were travelling in, with the Electrician and the Town planner. There were raccoons of all sizes everywhere that sprung out of the hedges at us and wanted food. There were signs everywhere say dont feed the raccons because they will bite and scratch you and have rabies. Then a child ran past and gave one a big cuddle and a stroke and I said a small prayer and they all gathered around a man who had a bag of crisps and sat up like meerkats and begged and he made loads of jokes hand and arm movements pointing in the direction in which he would like them to leave but they didn´t understand. We laughed and took loads of photos like Japanese toursists.
The falls were amazing, mindblowing, sensational, overwhelming, humbling, epic and sick all at the same time.
Then we had to go to Argentina so we got on a bus with the Electirician and the Town planner and got off at the side of the road as we were told we had to get another bus from there to cross the border. We got off the bus with an Argentinian family and we all stood by the side of the road trying to communicate while a taxi driver lurched into our faces with a speech about how there is only one bus per hour and its way better to get a ride with him. We went with the Argentinian dad to ask Tourist Information and after ages of waiting (they do customer service when they are ready) they told us there would be a bus in 45 mins so we waited and one came really soon. It was jokes that it was just a shabby old Cornish looking bus with Àrgentina`written on the display. Casual.
We got dropped off at the first part of the border, some small old office, got our exit stamp and then waited at another bus stop while an old man just leisurely cycled straight through border control on his bicycle. We made friends with a guy from Holland who told us he had also been at Florianopolis and some of the same parties. Small Gringo trail world again. Then we got another bus and got our entrance stamp at the next part of the border control and were in!
As soon as we had gone a few more streets the roads were red and everything was different which was hard to believe because we werent even far away from Brazil. We were absolutely shattered from the 18 hour journey and walked up a steep hill to find our hostel, which was a test. We got there and the guy at reception joked that there wasnt any rooms available which was so funny we forgot to laugh.
We finally had a room with air con! the first in the whole of SA! we have been having fan life which is ok but nothing on aircon! The room came with the standard group of Isrealis, who are everywhere at the moment as theyve just finished their National service.
We went out tired and hungry and booked our bus tickets and then had a FAT steak which was about two inches thick and most of a bottle of wine and then went home and slept like babies :)
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