Iguazu and Mendoza - 2 months in Argentina

The two month milestone of our time in Buenos Aires has come and gone, much to our dismay. Time here travels in such a strange way - our arrival to the city seems years ago although everyday passes so
quickly.

The group has been travelling around Argentina in the past few weeks. Ali, Sam and three other residents in the house traveled to Mendoza, the wine capital of Argentina for the weekend. A highlight of the trip was a cycling tour of some vineyards - although their co-ordination became somewhat compromised as their day went on, ending in some near scrapes with semi-trailers. They also explored the city of Mendoza and went to the nearby hot springs.

Lucie, Josh, Chirag, Em and I travelled to Cataratas de Iguazu (Iguazu falls) the following weekend. We left for Puerto Iguazu - the small, sleepy town on the Argentine side of the falls - on Thursday midday, and 20 hours later, with the aid of sleeping pills and severalquestionable meals (why must everything be vanilla flavoured or have ham in it?) we arrived at our hostel. Drowsy although excited we set off for Parque Nacional Iguazu - words really can't describe the falls - the roar of falling water which can be heard from so far away or the spray of water when you get close really needs to be experienced first hand. We spent our first and second days at the waterfalls, walking the different trails and undertaking the scariest yet most exhilarating boat ride which actually went underneath some of the
waterfalls. The third day was spent lazing around the hostel and walking to the three country lookout (I can see Brazil...and Paraguay! But I'm still in Argentina?) before boarding the bus back home. Nikki, Jules, Julian and Dani travelled to Iguazu with their volunteer organisation, called LIFE. Their first stop was a small, isolated Indigenous Argentinian village. The village was totally surrounded by
jungle and was without running water so they needed to fetch massive buckets of water from the nearby river. Julian (who sort of liked the job) was given the majority of that work. There was also cooking and cleaning to do, as well as spending time with the nearby children. However the people in the community didn't speak Spanish, but a language called Guarani, making communication difficult. They also visited the waterfalls and entered Paraguay and Brazil (however not strictly legally).

Lucie, Em, Ali and I, who work for the Argentine organisation, Voluntario Global have been enjoying our work, although there are many ups and downs. Not speaking Spanish is still the hardest challenge - spanish skills are almost a necessity in our work, but we are starting to accept how big a commitment learning a foreign language is. We are learning more about the children at our orphanage - it is truly awful to think where some of these children have come from, and the huge challenges they will continue to face throughout their lives - whether because of HIV infections, intellectual disabilities, other illnesses or simply trying to escape the cycle of poverty.

The boys at the local private schools are enjoying their work albeit
don't seem to do that much. Although we have been here for over two months, the city still continues to surprise me and I'm loving it more with each day. The coffee culture, the shopping, the bars and clubs, the fantastic food and restaurants - it seems almost ridiculous that one city can offer so much.
Talk soon!