The start of our road trip through Northern Argentina and chasing waterfalls all the way to Brazil.

October 29, 13:15

Fucking hell. I’m having a hard time. I made some mistake with my name on my Western Union transfer so I couldn’t pick up the money, after standing in line for over an hour. So fucking stupid. Also the dinner tango show charged more money on my credit card, that I’m supposed to get back, but now my limit has reached so the car company can’t charge the deposit on my cc. And it’s the only card I have. Now I gotta figure out a way to guarantee my deposit, while also having zero cash pesos cause I was being stupid. After the flight issue, bad hostel and extra charges all over the place, I am just a little sick and tired of the money problems here.

I’m really trying to keep a more positive attitude for my cousin, cause she literally just arrived in the country, but I’m having a hard time.

Well, what I am excited about is that we’re gonna meet Alex this afternoon! We volunteered together in Las Tunas, Ecuador, and now happen to be in Buenos Aires at the same time. What a coincidence! So we’re gonna meet up, visit the Sunday San Telmo Market and La Boca area. I’m sure that will help me get in a better mood.

October 30, 18:41

Omg this is so chill! We just stopped for a break at Termas de Chajari: a park with swimming pools! It means we’re not driving as far as we thought we were gonna, but that doesn’t matter cause this is worth it. Super chill laying in the sun and hanging in the 40 degrees warm swimming pool. What a life.

So our ROAD TRIP has started. The plan is to drive all the way north to Iguazu, then west to Cafayate, south to Mendoza and east to Mar del Plata, before heading north again to Buenos Aires. Such a different way to travel, which I have never done! Super excited!

October 31, 09:10

We can see Brazil! Yesterday we drove alongside the border with Uruguay and today we’re starting the day at Paso de los Libros - a border town with Brazil. So for breakfast we bought a coffee to go, some medialunas and are now seated in a park with a view of the river and Brazil on the other side. The river ‘Rio Uruguay’ is very high and flooded on both sides. We initially wanted to stay in a cabin on a camping but it wasn’t accessible because of the flood. Crazy to see cause in Peru and Bolivia El Niño caused a lot of drought while here it’s an abundance of water. The Iguazu waterfalls are also 16 times bigger than usual. So we got told that parts of the paths to see the falls are closed because of this. But I’m still very excited to go, it must be super impressive. But first we have an 8 hour drive ahead of us today, with destination Puerto Iguazu!

November 1, 12:34

Shit. We were warned by so many people. They kept telling us the falls were closed due to there being too much water for it to be safe. But we were already on the way and we thought surely some paths are still open. Surely not everything would be closed… Everything was closed. We are at the entrance right now and they told us that for the next few days everything is closed. 80% of the Iguazu waterfalls are in Argentina and there is no way to see them right now. So sad cause this was the place in Argentina I really really wanted to visit. BUT they also told us that the Brazilian side of the falls are open so I guess we’re going to Brazil!

November 2, 18:51

This was INSANE! We’re in line to cross the border back to Argentina cause we went to Brazil for the day in the hope we could see the falls from there. And we most definitely did! The day started questionable cause the rainfall was crazy and views were very very foggy. But we were just so hyped that we were in Brazil that it didn’t really matter. We decided to go on a boat trip into the falls, which was both the best and worst decision of the day. We got completely DRENCHED despite our raincoats and ponchos. But we did get to be very close to the falls, like VERY close. Cause the captain thought it was funny to steer the boat literally under the waterfall. Not the massive one of course cause that would have killed us all, but the ones on the side. It was fun but it wasn’t, you know what I mean. So when we get off the boat we are soaked, but we still want to eat something here and walk along the viewpoints. So when we passed a gift shop with clothes, we decided to buy new dresses. Dry comfortable clothes and a souvenir all in one! After food we went for a walk and we almost couldn’t believe it, but it was DRY and a moment later even the sun started shining! So we were able to look at the falls in new dresses in the sun! And without that boat ride that wouldn’t have happened.

The waterfalls really were insane. It’s unlike anything I have ever seen. I couldn’t stop staring and to be honest I didn’t want to leave. It was just so mesmerising. I can’t wait for the day I get to go back here.

Omg, and we saw a nose bear.

November 3, 16:48

We took hitchhikers with us today, so funny! We saw them a bit too late so we had to turn the car around to pick them up. They were hitchhiking to Buenos Aires and we were going to Posadas, which is on the route, so we offered them a ride. Super funny for us cause we had never done this before. They did sleep for about 3 hours of the 4 hour drive haha so not a lot of conversations. But the moments they were awake they were really kind and they even made us a bracelet as a thank you gift. So sweet!

November 4, 10:28

We’re on the moooove. Destination is in the middle of nowhere. We didn’t really have another choice since our next place to visit is 15 hours away. BUT we are gonna make it a whole thing. We’re gonna buy cheeses, crackers, little snacks, maybe a bottle of wine. Hopefully the hotel has some blankets and chairs standing outside. And hopefully the sky is clear, so we get to look at a night sky full of stars. That’s our hope for today. (Spoiler: it was exactly as we hoped for).