Iguazu Falls
The falls were absolutely beautiful. The argentine side offers close up views, as most of the falls are actually on the argentine side, while the brazilian side offers a panoramic view. I did not take as many photos on the argentine side, simply because how many pics of waterfalls do you and i really want to see? (exactly.)

Here's a photo of me and on the left an irish friend and a US american friend on the right on the argentina side (this was before we took the boat that drove us under the falls!)

and here is one after the boat that plunged us under the falls!(not being one who likes to be soaking wet--i've always had a love-hate relationship with the water rides at amusement parks, because REALLY who wants sopping socks and underwear for the whole day?? i was glad a) to have been warned ahead of time and b) that they gave us waterproof bags to store things in. )

Many from the US who are visiting argentina don’t get to see the brazil side of the falls because a brazil visa is too pricey and labor intensive to get for a one day trip to see waterfalls. For this reason, I think the argentine side has gotten the reputation for being “better”—a good dose of sour grapes. I preferred the brazilian side (I was fortunate to already have the brazil visa) and I just thought the panorama was amazing. I took a few more photos here, but I won't post all of them, just two. this is definitely one of those things that photos cannot do justice.
I think ultimately I prefer mountains, but waterfalls were cool, too. I’m glad I went.


The Trip Home
And its good that I am glad I went, because both getting there and back turned out to be a major hassle. on the way back, I got to the airport—tipped off by the shuttle bus company that keeps tabs on the airline schedules—that the flight I was ticketed for did not exist (anymore). I’m no stranger to this. Basically, you don’t want me to book your international travel because I have kind of a knack for choosing wrong. In Uganda, I bought a plane ticket from a travel agency that went bankrupt the week before I flew. Fortunately, they scrambled, found some money, and the airlines honored my ticket. In Tanzania, I somehow got ticketed for a flight that the airline no longer offered. They didn’t so much operate on an E-ticket basis, so it was unclear until boarding time whether I was actually supposed to be on the flight, but it worked out fine.

Combine both scenarios, without the ultimate ending of flying and there you have my most recent experience. Aerolineas Argentinas went bankrupt the week I got to Argentina, but was hobbling onward and it hadn't affected me till this final out of 3 flights.

They refunded my money and were nice enough to call the bus company for me and reserve my ticket (which I paid for with my refund). They were also honest enough to tell me, when some people got tickets on a new plane, and I did not, that it was just plain good luck/bad luck. Apparently in Argentina everyone knows that flying Aerolineas is a gamble. Bottom, line: bus or fly LAN if you go to Argentina. (On the up side, I completed the entire dealing with them in Spanish.)

also fortunately, the bus, though SEVENTEEN HOURS was not bad. Of all the people in all the world—and/or in Argentina—my bus seatmate turned out to be a girl who goes to DePaul University (and therefore lives about 5 miles from me in Chicago!) crazy! she was fun, though, and the most aberrant thing about the bus ride were the loudly flatulent 10 year olds in front of us. (no, not that 10 year old boys who pass gas are all that aberrant, but the fact that they didn't seem to notice their noises was somewhat strange-- we were definitely giggling more than they were). otherwise all was smooth from 4pm Friday to 9am Saturday. I hopped off the bus, stashed my bag and showered at the hostel that I didn’t stay at the night before, and was off to see Palermo, one neighborhood I hadn’t made it to. Mostly it was nice to walk around, knowing I’d be overnighting on another airplane that night.