This beauty of nature was discovered in 1541 by a Spanish explorer by the name of Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca. After he discovered what is now Argentina, he made a series of expeditions from his base in what is today called Buenos Aires. These long forays into the jungle undoubtedly took him away for long periods. And I guess that is what has happened to me in his old stomping grounds.
So, sorry for the long delay in blogging! A combination of
"responsibilities", side trips, and lack of reliable wifi have
repeated the same perfect storm which temporarily brought my communications to
a halt at the beginning of this journey. When I last wrote, I had just
climbed the open gate here at ISAM returning from the weekend in Posadas.
I will try to briefly recap last week...
Each Monday, alongside the a colleague, I teach several classes and then do
tutoring at night, so Mondays here seem more like a normal day during the
school year at SVA - rushing to class and filling in the rest of the time with
other exigencies.
In the morning, the classes are pretty chilly as we are now officially in Argentinian
winter. I would compare it to being in a house without heat when the
outside temperature is in the mid-40s. Once the sun comes out, it is more
like a warm, pleasant fall or spring day. The cold returns quickly once
the sun has set. When it rains; however, the damp cold is with you
everywhere. On Friday, I watched some of the World Cup in the boy's
dorm. Outside it was probably near 70 degrees in the sun. Inside
that TV room, I would guess it was mid-50s. It took France scoring 5
goals to keep me glued to the screen. I was freezing.
I think this has been one of the toughest things for all of us. We are
all grizzled vets when it comes to the cold, and we know that the winter here
is not that cold, really. The issue is heat. There is very little
heat inside many buildings and homes here. I believe that is because the
winters are mild, so you can "survive" here without heat. That
may be so, but this situation is uncomfortable even for us North Americans! Check out Arturo's cool woodstove. It is just the right size for Misiones winters.
Tuesday will come back to me later. Wednesday afternoon into evening we spent in Alem shopping. Nicole was
our guide until Arturo met us there a bit later. A local TV station
called Nicole (it's a small town) asking to interview her about her life as a
young person. She brought the whole group to the studio to interview
while I and my family went to her house for dinner. Her parents were just
so thankful for the watchful care SVA had provided their daughter while she was
away from home for 2 months. The folk here a so appreciative. They
make you feel very special. That is another wonderful thing about the
Argentinean culture. Her dad, Ricardo, took us to watch his son's soccer
practice. Nicole and her mom, Lety, prepared a scrumptuous dinner
which was served at about 9:30 p.m.! We got home around midnight and had to get up before 6 a.m. the next to
go to the place we had been dreaming about for months –
Las Cataratas de Iguazu
Back to Tuesday. The buzz was all about the U.S. Soccer team. That evening,
all the Americans (including the two studying here all year) went to Ricchezza
across the street to take in the match with solid wifi and cheap pizza.
It was a real thrill the moment Team USA scored the dramatic game-winning goal
against Ghana. We broke out into the traditional, "U-S-A!!!
U-S-A!!! At that same moment, River ran out into the street (maybe 10
cars an hour at night) silently posing with his finger held high - #1!!!!
You had to be there...
Thursday morning came way too early, especially for those of us with
children.
But we all got up and out to
the minibus.
It was very cold and dark, probably
around 40 degrees.
But soon it
brightened up and got warm.
I snapped a
lot of photos while most of the others slept.
The scenery got better and better as we made our way over 400 km
north.
There were a few spots where we
stopped at a scenic overlook or for gas and snacks (
chipas).
Simply put, Iguazu is the most amazing natural wonder I have ever seen.
You don’t want to leave that place.
The Argentinian side is neat because you are
walking in and around the falls.
The
Brazilian side is reported to have a better view, though.
We were amazed and felt fortunate to have
seen such a marvel.
We got soaked and
took lots of pictures, maybe hundreds.
There
were some wild looking animals we met along the way called… can’t remember the
name, but they look a bit like raccoons, but if they hear the ruffle of a bag of
food, they some by the dozens!
The falls
just had recent flooding, even historic.
A few days before we went, the water level was measured to be an
all-time high.
Will try to recap later with photos.
Moving on, then…
Today we visited the capital of Misiones – Posadas.
It is a city of about 400,000 situated along
the Parana River which forms the western border with Paraguay.
Lots of people cross the bridge each day to
buy something cheaper.
This kind of
trade always ebbs and flows.
Right now,
Argentinians like to buy electronic goods there while Paraguayans come across
to buy “nafta” or “combustible” (two Argentinian words for gasoline).
Near dusk on the Parana River - Paraguay in the background. What a blessing to see God's creation in South America. We talked a lot about the program, getting more traction with our Spanish, being homesick, and thinking about how fortunate we are to have what God has provided for us at home.
