Iguazu Falls: First Encounter

Happiness is like a butterfly; the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder... (Thoreau)

Yes, these are real pictures.  Yes that is me being lucky enough to be the one in them! This is one of my favorite butterflies.  Notice the number "88" in the wings of it.  Isn't that neat?

At Iguazu Falls in Iguazu, Argentina I had a delightful encounter with these heavenly beauties.  The butterflies, the "88" black and white butterfly in particular,  had a grand time licking the salt off my arm.    They stayed with me as I walked around the park for about 30 minutes, just hanging out.  Their presence  felt like it was a little gift of love from above.  It was a connecting experience which I wont be forgetting any time soon.

Iguazu Falls is absolutely gorgeous and a true "must-see" in Argentina.  I will post more about it later.  And yes, I am home now and I am loving it!  But I quite miss South America.  I still have so many pictures to share so I hope you don't mind me going on about my experiences there.  Thanks for all your comments and support!

La Recoleta Cemetery

Look at all these above ground tombs!  I have never seen anything like it in the states.  

This cemetery is like its own little city, which is surprisingly lively-with tourists that is.  

Below are some little details on the tombs.  Many were adorned with flowers.

       

        

        

Meet Pete, king of the cemetery.  This cemetery is crawling with big fat cats.  This one was quite friendly.  Look at the nobility in his eyes?  Clearly this is his kingdom. 

La Recoleta Cemetery was inaugurated in November of 1822 becoming the first public cemetery in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina.  There are over 4,800 vaults here.   Many politicians, explorers, leaders, writers, priests, poets, and military men lie here.  This is where Eva Peron is buried.  It had been become  a major expression of funeral architecture worldwide.  The cemetery is a truly magnificent site to see. 

(Adapted from the Cemetery Map and Itinerary).  Admission is free.  It is a must see if you are in Buenos Aires.

Colorful Caminito

Pictures by yours truly.

Caminito is a smorgasbord of eye candy.  It lies within the Boca neighborhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  It is a must see in B.A.  Today my husband and I went there wide-eyed and awe-struck just trying to take it all in.  It was like a childhood fantasy come true with all the colorful buildings painted bright all side by side.  

The story behind it: Between 1880 and 1930 many Italian immigrants came to the port La Boca.  The Italian immigrants brought their proud traditions of painting the outside of their house to La Boca and used leftover paint from the shipyards.  

Traditionally this is a poor community and this remains true in the surrounding areas.  Be careful with your belongings and avoid going too far into the neighborhoods nearby. 

Weekend Wonderment

This weekend is my last in Argentina.  

On Sunday we travel back to Lima.

Monday we travel back to Utah.

Our South America journey is about to end.

No more living out of my suitcase.

I can't even believe it.

There is much I will miss and there is much I look forward to at home.

Thanks for coming on this journey with me.

There is plenty more adventure to come.

What are your plans this fine weekend?

photo from {here}

9 de Julio, Argentina

My favorite color.  This is a building down town in 9 de Julio.

There are so many of these funny old cars around.  I want one.

Those are trees, on the inside of the building.  I LOVED this site.  We drove past this and I made my husband walk back to the site just so I could take a picture of it.

Notice the plants growing on top. 

Many people travel by bike.  I can't wait to do the same this summer in the warm weather of Utah.

Pictured above is the softer side of 9 de Julio.  This is what I would like to remember, not this.  It is a sleepy little town about five hours by bus outside of Buenos Aires, Argentina.  After the first day things went very well.  The family we stayed with, some of my husband's friends from his LDS mission, were so warm and welcoming.  I loved spending time here and walking around the picturesque town.  It's adorable.

Worst Day of Traveling

I just got back to Buenos Aires from Iguazu this evening.  There is much to catch up on.  This weekend was…. it was many things.

I left you Friday nervous as to whether we would have a place to sleep that night.  We left Buenos Aires headed toward 9 de Julio, a small town about five hours away by bus.   All the hotels were booked due to an auto race that we were unaware of.  We got to 9 de Julio Bus Terminal with nowhere to go, so my husband went to talk to a travel agency there while I sat on a bench to watch our stuff.

Do you know what happened then?  I got flashed.  A perverted-little-fifteen year-old flashed me.  I was in his direct line of sight from the bathroom doorway.  No I was not peeking in, he waved himself back and forth until he got my attention.  He exposed himself, laughed, and ducked into the bathroom.  “What?  What what what…. Wait … WHAT!” 

I was upset.  Deeply disturbed. I left our baggage for a second to get my husband’s attention so we could do something about it.  We informed his supervisors, who did nothing.  I asked my husband to “talk firmly” to the kid, which he did.  The next day we reported it to the police.  We talked to someone who wrote a report.  The officer informed us the laws are different here, they can’t do much, but they would be willing to talk to him.

The officer knew right away who the boy was.  They informed us he had been kicked out of his house at an early age.  No one would take him in.  He had been to Juvie before, he was trouble, and most likely he would end up in jail.  This was the first time he had exposed himself in public, to their knowledge. 

This whole incident was so sad to me.  Sad that this fifteen-year-old boy would think it was okay, even funny, to do something like that.  It made me sad he had no family and nowhere to go.   It made me sad that nothing was going to happen about the situation.  

One lesson I have learned that stood out to me is “what you tolerate you teach”.   I will not tolerate being molested like that.  If you ignore emotionally and sexually abusive acts like this it just teaches the offender that there is no consequence, therefore it’s okay to do.  Don’t tolerate abuse.

So, that night we did get a hostal.  It was horrid, with no bathroom, no heating (it was cold!), and WAY to expensive. 

Luckily the next day we visited some of my husband’s friends (He lived in Argentina for two years serving an LDS mission).  They invited us to stay with them and the whole weekend turned around.  Thank goodness for their hospitality. 

Buenos Aires: Shopping

We have been having a great time exploring Buenos Aires.  The first night we were here we went to a meat buffet and ate our hearts out and kidneys (my husband ate kidneys!  I couldn't do it).  Argentina is known for their beef and there is no question why.  It was delectable.  Day two, yesterday, we went shopping in the morning and went to a Tango show that evening.  Shopping was very enjoyable.  The Tango show, even more so.  It was spectacular.  If you go to Argentina you must go to see a Tango show.

The view from our room.  Being in a city is quite the change for us. 

Babuchas are a very popular clothing item in South America.  I decided to get a pair of my own.  They are like fancy sweatpants or Jasmine pants (from Aladdin).  I love them.  What do you think of them?  I am standing in front of the Pink House here: like the White House in the States.

These are Argentine Alpargatas (like in the giveaway I had that just ended, Congrats again Blair).  They are the working class shoe.  These are the shoes that inspired Tom's.  The background is the tile floor of the main Cathedral in B.A.

There are plenty of flower shops and newspaper stands crowding the streets.  I decided to stop and take pictures of some of the flowers I liked (also embarrassing my husband at the same time). 

More pretty flowers. 

This is one of the shirts I bought for 55 pesos or $15 U.S. 

This is a tunic I bought that was the same price.  I guess I was inspired by the flowers and had to get some of my own.  Flowers last a lot longer when you wear them. I got these items from a shop on the street Corrientes in the Once District.  This is where the locals shop.