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ARGENTINA
A Río Iguazu follows the boarder between Brazil and Argentina. Visitors can approach the falls from either side - from the Argentinean side, one can get very close to the falls themselves, while the Brazilian side offers the best panoramic views. On March 26, after a 22-hour bus ride from Rio de Janeiro, we arrived in Foz de Iguazu. Originally, we planned to stay on the Brazilian side. But as we walked towards the center, we were followed by touts, who kept telling us how important it is for us to stay on the Brazilian side, since there is nothing to do in Puerto Iguazu on the Argentinean side, and that we should really stay in their hotel, as other hotels are dangerous or dirty. Thanks to their perseverance, we soon decided to escape them by taking a bus across the boarder to Argentina. It turned out to be an excellent choice. Puerto Iguazu is a nice little town, very quiet and peaceful, with police that is making sure the tourists are safe and no touts bother them. We checked into a nice little hotel and found a local bakery nearby - an important source of our breakfasts. We spent the entire next day in the National Park on the Argentinean side of the falls. We walked all the trails leading to different parts of the falls. We also took a boat to the San Martin island, where we enjoyed the best views of the falls. Towards the end of the day, we hopped onto a small train and then followed a boardwalk crossing the wide and seemingly quiet Parana river and leading us all the way to the Devil's Throat waterfalls. It was a beautiful day rich in some amazing views. On March 28, we set off to admire the falls from the Brazilian side. The Brazilian park was almost too organized and definitely more touristy than the park on the Argentinean side, but the views were excellent. We spent over one hour watching the Devil's Throat from a viewing platform half the way up from the valley floor. Then we had to leave, because we started to have headaches from the tremendous roar. Iguaçu Falls were a truly unique experience. In the evening, we boarded a bus
for yet another long haul - an 18-hour ride to the last destination on our
journey around the globe, Buenos Aires. Buenos Aires (28.3.-1.4.) One of the South America's most
sophisticated and appealing cities is the capital of Argentina: exciting
Buenos We arrived in Buenos Aires around
noon on March 28. We took the subway to the city center and checked into
hotel Alcazar. This hotel, located in a beautiful old house, reminded us
of Europe - our next destination....in a few days, we were going to fly
home. On March 29, Since this was our last destination, we decided we can do a little bit of shopping and bought some tango CD's and some clothes for Jitka. In the evening, we reminded ourselves of the high-school times when we were regularly attending dancing lessons. We found it impossible to leave Argentina without trying the tango! So we found a 3-hour lesson and tried to learn it. Unfortunately, we soon realized that it would take little longer than 3 hours to master even the basics, but we at least tried. It was fun to watch the instructor show us, the beginners, some advanced steps. March On April 1, exactly 16 years since
the day we first met, we concluded our journey. We took off for London
and later on April 2 landed in Vienna. Marek's parents picked us up and
drove us to our home town of Brno in Czech Republic.
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Argentina Population: 37 800 000 Population growth:
1,13% Literacy rate: 98,6%
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legend
says that Iguazu Falls originated when a jealous forest
god, enraged by a warrior escaping downriver by canoe with a young girl,
caused the riverbed to collapse in front of the lovers, producing precipitous falls over which the girl fell and, at their base, turned
into a rock. The warrior survived as a tree overlooking his fallen
lover. The fall's geological origins are more prosaic. In southern
Brazil, the Río Iguazú passes over a basalt plateau that ends just
above its confluence with the Paraná. Where the lava stopped, at least
1600 cubic meters of water per second plunge over 3km-long edge 70m into
the sedimentary terrain below. The most awesome of the approximately 275
cataracts is Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat) -
semicircular, deafening and dampening massive waterfall.
Aires,
home to 13 million proud porteños (port city dwellers). Its extensive
suburbs and a modern bustling center adorned with numerous elegant older
European-style buildings surprises many travelers who expect a more
"Latin American" experience. This "Paris of the South"
will keep exploring its potential, trying to reestablish the world
prominence it once had, while its refined and impeccably dressed
citizens maintain their polished self-importance and remain the spirited
and gregarious people they have always been.
we
decided to visit a rather atypical tourist destination - a cemetery.
However, this cemetery, the Cemeterio de la Recoleta, is
truly unique and really fascinating. Rows and rows of large and
elaborate tombs and mausoleums are the place of the last rest for the Argentinean
aristocracy. Eva Peron made it to this exquisite place, about which
local expression says that "It is cheaper to live extravagantly the
entire life than it is to be buried at Recoleta". Regardless the
fact that Evita's placement at Recoleta was met with quite some opposition,
Evita's tomb is the most visited place of the cemetery today. 
30
was our last day in Argentina and also the last day of our trip around
the world. Oh noooooo! 