A Spectacular Week in Argentina

Buen Dia! This week all 13 of us hoped on a 16hour bus north to MonteCarlo - Peruti Village, Iguazu Falls and San Ignacio. I don't think words can convey how spectacular the experience really was.

We started off in Monte Carlo - a small town seemingly in the middle of nowhere, surrounded solely by red dirt - which turned to mud as it began to rain as we arrived. We found our way to our bungalow hostels, settled into our rooms and got ourselves ready to visit the village we would be volunteering in for the following days.

Some background on the village: Peruti is a small village located outside of Montecarlo in Misiones. The indigenous people of Peruti once relied on the jungle and rivers to survive, however, as trees are logged and dams are built, their resources have changed and can no longer sustain the community. This leaves them in a tragic position between two worlds. They cannot live off the land anymore, but they lack the education and awareness to enter modern society.

And so, we set off in the mud and the rain and into the jungle. We found a community full of happy and bubbly and adorable young kids who just wanted to be played with. Over the three days we:

- Deloused the majority of littlies, washed their faces and hands (only to have them jumping in the mud within minutes)
- Collected water, picked up rubbish, cooked, cleaned,
- Played big soccer games in the dirt - (boys vs. girls)
- Trekked through the jungle to find the toilet
- Ate copious amounts of Mandarins straight off the tree, distributed clean clothes, taught some of the older children basic English and honestly spent the majority of our time playing with our new found friends.

We celebrated 'Patriot Day' with face painting, balloon animals and were invited to a special assembly at the local school. By the end of this part of our trip we were all absolutely exhausted, covered in red mud and sporting various bug bites, and could not have been happier. These children were amazing, and we were truly lucky to meet them the ways we did...

Come Thursday we were on our way to Iguazu Falls. Our hostel, Peter Pan - very aptly named was located conveniently close to the Retiro making it super easy to actually get to the falls. By lunchtime we were in the National Park, and awestruck by the beauty of nature. There were butterflies everywhere, rainbows and the sight of the falls, it was like a fairytale... We saw Devils Throat first. The sound of the water rushing over the cliffs and the slight of the spray flying high into the sky was positively brilliant. We stood awestruck for I don't know how long, it was so peaceful and calming. There really aren't any words that can describe it properly. After some time, we tore ourselves away from Devils Throat, and made our way over to the Upper and Lower falls, all of which took our breath away.

Every time we turned around we found ourselves gasping, and "oohing" and "aahing" at how amazing this place we were truly was. We stood in the spray of the waterfall, soaking up all we could for as long as possible! We just watched the water rushing over the cliffs, knowing there was perhaps nothing quite as spectacular in the entire world. Then came the boat ride! The majority of us got took the jetboat across the lower river, taking in a full frontal view of the falls, and then, straight into them. Screaming and rejoicing were all that could be heard under the water, the excitement was incomparable and the looks of genuine happiness on everyone's faces summed up our whole day in the most wonderful and magical places in the world!

The following day should be defended, as no matter what, it was never going to compare to the previous. We crossed the boarder into Paraguay, to see the 'real' South America. Rosie had forgotten her passport at the boarder, and rushed back to Peter Pan to pick it up, and somehow, to everyone's relief, navigated all on her own and found us amongst the streets of Paraguay!

Every cliche of South America you can think of was probably epitomised in Paraguay. We strolled, apprehensively through the 'Black Market' clutching our things, looking for the oasis of an apparent manicure and massage place. It was of course another experience!

Then by Saturday it was back on the bus! This time to San Ignacio, we arrived at about 2 in the afternoon. Our hostel was like a big kids playground! Big swings and slides and seesaws! Pool and table tennis and naturally a playstation! Half of us went to the Ruins during the afternoon, soaking up the afternoon sun and how brilliant the setting sun looked over the Ruins... We walked around for hours listening to information about various buildings. It was amazing. The other half enjoyed the night light show as lights played across the ruins in the dark, and enjoyed fiddling with the slow shutter speed settings on cameras. We all met up for a group dinner, before the following day that would prove to be the perfect end to an amazing trip!

Sunday! We were picked up in utes, and taken to our guides home in the jungle, on the second largest river in South America (second only to the Amazon). We climbed rocks and made a fire before splitting into two groups for the trek. We jumped into our guides speedboat and cruised over to the reservation where we would trek for the morning. We climbed the mountain, and saw the most beautiful view of the river at the top. We walked through the jungle, climbed vicariously placed boulders, swung on 'Tarzan' vines, saw WWII ruins and searched for any sign of wildlife. After a few hours we were back on the boat, and stopped to jump off a cliff into the water. What an adrenalin rush! We swam in the water that was warm like a bath, assured that we would not be eater by sea snakes or piranhas, and soaked up the sun! Then it was back to the house for a barbecue of 'Chorizo Pan' or sausage sandwiches and fruit! The groups swapped, and the second group made their way our to the island, having a similar experience, coming back equally as roughed up by the jungle! It was an absolutely wonderful adventure of a day, and I'm sure none of us would change it for the world!

By late afternoon we piled back into one ute - 10 in the tray - it was certainly a squash, and headed back to the Retiro to be bought back to Buenos Aires! Despite having various superficial injuries, cuts, scrapes, bumps and bruises, big kids let loose in the jungle, what would you expect, we all arrived home safe and sound, and blissfully happy with ourselves and the experiences we'd just had. It was an absolutely spectacular week that will in every sense of the word be treasured by everyone for a long time to come...

All our love, Sarah!