I left for the bus stop at about 2 am on Friday and caught my bus to Montevideo. In Montevideo, I took a taxi to the airport and took an hour flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina. From Argentina, I got a connection to Resistencia, Argentina. Due to some issues with forms and organization, no one was in the airport when I arrived. Without wifi or cellphone service, the only option was to take a taxi to the bus terminal where AFS would meet later that night. Once there, I paid for internet to send a message to the AFS volunteers. 5 hours later, I was rescued. Everything went relatively smoothly after that, I stayed in the house of a volunteer and his family for the night.
The trip was divided into 2 parts, Las Cataratas and Salta-Jujuy. This was mainly for the students who only wanted to participate in part of the trip or had already been to one of the destinations. Between the two trips, we stopped in Resistencia to switch students.
On the trip to Las Cataratas, we went to the 4th largest waterfalls in the world. They span 8,800 feet with a drop of about 269 feet! I was absolutely amazed by the beautiful falls and took way too many pictures. After viewing the falls for about 2 hours, we boarded boats that took us almost under the falls. As you can probably imagine, we were soaked and cold after this experience but it was definitely worth the pain! We also visited the 3 frontiers on another boat trip. The 3 frontiers is where Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay meet. There was a live band and pizza aboard the boat.
In part 2 of the trip, we visited the cities of Salta and Jujuy. Salta is a large city in Northern Argentina, close to the Andes Mountains. We went hiking in the very colorful Andes and once again I took way too many photos. I also ate llama for the first time. On the trip to Jujuy, we stopped in a number of different small villages located in the Andes. I had never seen so much poverty in my life. I was stunned by the children selling necklaces in the streets without shoes or enough clothing, and the houses made out of a few sheets of metal. It was without a doubt an experience that I will never forget. On our last day of the trip, we went white water rafting. It was a real test of my Spanish trying to follow the guide's orders!
Once again we all returned to Resistencia, where I stayed with the same family for 2 more days before returning to Uruguay. The trip back went a lot more smoothly!
Sorry for how late and poorly written this post is! I wrote 3 different posts and lost 2. Due to this, I will only be posting a few of my favorite photos. The rest are in my album on Facebook.
On the trip to Las Cataratas, we went to the 4th largest waterfalls in the world. They span 8,800 feet with a drop of about 269 feet! I was absolutely amazed by the beautiful falls and took way too many pictures. After viewing the falls for about 2 hours, we boarded boats that took us almost under the falls. As you can probably imagine, we were soaked and cold after this experience but it was definitely worth the pain! We also visited the 3 frontiers on another boat trip. The 3 frontiers is where Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay meet. There was a live band and pizza aboard the boat.
In part 2 of the trip, we visited the cities of Salta and Jujuy. Salta is a large city in Northern Argentina, close to the Andes Mountains. We went hiking in the very colorful Andes and once again I took way too many photos. I also ate llama for the first time. On the trip to Jujuy, we stopped in a number of different small villages located in the Andes. I had never seen so much poverty in my life. I was stunned by the children selling necklaces in the streets without shoes or enough clothing, and the houses made out of a few sheets of metal. It was without a doubt an experience that I will never forget. On our last day of the trip, we went white water rafting. It was a real test of my Spanish trying to follow the guide's orders!
Once again we all returned to Resistencia, where I stayed with the same family for 2 more days before returning to Uruguay. The trip back went a lot more smoothly!
Sorry for how late and poorly written this post is! I wrote 3 different posts and lost 2. Due to this, I will only be posting a few of my favorite photos. The rest are in my album on Facebook.
Maddie, I'm glad you are having such a wonderful experience. It is sad that many people live in such poverty. We are so lucky to have the lives we do. I think about this a lot.. We missed having you with us on HHI this year, come home to us soon. Love you.
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