Computer Dying - Cellphone Update

So yeah my computer is dying so I don't wanna waste the last bits of energy writing and uploading photos today. But I wanted to write a little and just say that Iguazu Falls was absolutely amazing. I've been wondering if it was gonna live up to all the hype I've heard for months, and wow did it ever. I was scheduled for a 9am boat tour, but if you remember I'm staying in a room with 16 other beds, so I had my earplugs in and of course slept through my alarms. Woke up around 8:40am in a complete panic - jumped up out of bed - hit my head on the top bunk - sat back down in a daze - then got back up slowly and brushed my teeth fast and started running out the door. I get to the front door and one of the hostel owners, a guy who could literally pass for a California surf pro, is there hanging out with another guy. He tells me to chill out and he will call the tour group and get me on the next tour. He calls and gets me on the 10:30am boat. Perfness McGerfness. I head back to get some breakfast and meet a girl named Jean who's from Seoul South Korea. She had no plan for today so she asks to join me and bam just like that I've got a buddy for the day. Jean is a travel journalist for a major magazine in Seoul but she's currently traveling on her own. She got married last year and before she and her husband have kids she is traveling for 5 months. 1) What a cool chic. 2) She has a very cool husband to understand her desire to travel and be her own person before settling down. Jean is funny and speaks English with a classic Asian accent, but she's very positive and I couldn't be happier to have her with me for the day. We catch a 10am bus and arrive around 10:35am at the national park, where we find out we missed the 10:30am tour and are now on the 1:30pm tour. Oh well. So we walk around the park and see some amazing views of the waterfalls and then get on this huge power boat, which prob has about 45 seats - no roof on the boat. We put all our belongings in a dry bag, meet a chic named Jo from Australia, then the driver takes us directly under the falls. When I say directly under, I mean I couldn't even see because the water was coming onto the boat so strongly. Such a blast!! I've got great pics and video and I will update them when I get to Rio tomorrow or Thurs (where they actually have an Apple store!) After the boat we get in an open air truck that takes us through the jungle, followed by a short train ride up to the top of the waterfalls. Again - surreal views and pics to come! After the falls we get in a smaller row boat where a guide takes us down part of the river describing more about the falls and the jungle and all things in between. Greatness. Me and Jean laughing our asses off the whole day at how much we've been running around and cramming it all in. She's all smiles. I'm having a blast. It's a perfect day. And of course, all perfect days end with one last view of the falls which includes a huge full rainbow. Yes. More laughs. As we are walking out of the park I see a dude in front of me wearing the exact same outfit as me. Huh? Yeah. Random. I ask if he speaks English and he tells me he's from NYC. Classic. We take funny pics together and he tells me to stay warm when I get back home. Not sure where home is anymore, but I do know Chicago is cold as all hell these days. We get back to the hostel and I have an email from a British couple I met on the Inka Trail. They are in town and we all grab a last dinner in Argentina. Yes. I ordered my favorite - matambre de cerdo - and call it a night after dinner. Met some good characters in the hostel just now including two girls from the US who've been doing Peace Corps work in Paraguay for the past two years, and an Australian guy who I may rage in Rio with later this week. 

Shazam. 

The dance continues and I'm starting to feel the momentum of Carnival. Lets hope I get through customs with my Polish passport tomorrow without a hitch. Fingers crossed. Toes crossed.

Here's a few pics I took on my phone at dinner tonight. More to come soon. 

Keep dancing...

Be Curious, Not Judgemental

Had to mention this sign that's hanging on the wall in the hostel I'm at right now in Iguazu (pic below). There could not be a more perfect sign for me in my travels, and in my life. The less I judge the better my trip has been. Whenever I find myself judging others I'm often not accurate in my assumptions, and so I'm abandoning the practice. I hope this resonates with some of you, because it really is the difference between being happy and being frustrated in this life. A great friend and mentor of mine told me about this mantra years ago and I'm glad to see it resonated on the walls of a hostel in northeastern Argentina as well. Had to share...

Iguazu - Day 1

So I got on the bus in Buenos Aires yesterday (Sunday) at 7pm and arrived in Iguazu today (Monday) at 2pm. Yes, that's 18 hours in a bus, my friends. Surprisingly it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I want to do it again, but you'd be surprised at how many movies you can watch…and how much you can sleep. I started off with a Mark Wahlberg movie about a Navy Seal team that all but got wiped out in Afghanistan, which actually made me really sad and emotional to start my journey. Started having thoughts like, "Why haven't I done anything as important as do a tour of duty in Afghanistan?" Never good to compare your life to others - this is something I've learned over the years (even though it happens from time to time). Each one of us has a very interesting, adventurous, powerful, and inspirational story in our lives. The key is to imagine your life from a totally different perspective, that's all. Imagine someone in a plateau village in Mongolia is hearing about how you took a train to work and then took escalators to your office, which is on the 42nd floor of some amazing building. Yeah - that would blow their mind. Let it blow your mind every once in a while - think you'd appreciate it a bit more. So after the Navy Seal intensity with Mr Wahlberg, the next movie was The Hunger Games, Part II. I luckily already saw the first so I watched this one but only got about 3/4 of the way through before passing out around midnight. Woke up around 9am but then fell asleep again and got up around 10:30am. Yes, I'm a champion sleeper on train, plains, and automobiles. People hate me but I don't have time to worry about it…I'm sleeping! Two movies this morning - one about second chances in life and the other about online gaming. Yes, very random but they were both solid. Got into the station here in Iguazu about 2pm and had a 150 ft walk to my hostel. Cannot tell you how nice it was to only walk blocks and then jump in a shower and chill by the pool here. Yes, this hostel has a pool. But don't get too jealous, cause I'm in a room with 16 beds. That's 8 bunk beds to be exact. Luckily it's not all full, and the hostel is very clean, but it's still a lot of people in the same room. My plan is to get to bed early and use earplugs. The guys running this hostel are amazing. It's called Mango Chill - check it out here. Great vibe. I organized a full day of boat rides and exploration of the waterfalls tomorrow - all from the Argentina-side. You can view the falls from both Brazil and Argentina, but I figure I'll see Brazil Wed and then just go to my flight from there. I'm going to take a ton of pics tomorrow so expect a big update then. After I checked in today I took a walk down to the Parana river, which runs all through Argentina, but up here it divides Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil. You can see in the T-formation in my pics - the right is Brazil, the left is Paraguay, and I'm in Argentina. Def a cool walk and a nice experience, but WOW it was hot. I walked around 6pm and was sweating my ars off, so I'm def prepared for it tomorrow. Also, saw some kids skateboarding down this big hill - was great to see their excitement. Also, they would have cars pull them up the hill. Random goodness here in northeastern Argentina. Hitting the hay happy and full of ice cream (for dinner).

I hope you all had a great Monday and just remember, you weren't in a bus for half of it…so you're doing pretty damn good ;)

Final Days in Buenos Aires

Here's the last post before I head up to Iguazu Falls. I came back to Buenos Aires for a few days and was able to see some peeps from the old hostel, as well as a cool chica I met in Mendoza (what up Deb!!), and spend some quality time with Ivana, who I met in Salta. It's been a crazy two days here in Buenos Aires, but I wouldn't have traded it for the world.

Here are some pics from my time here. Thanks to Ivana for the pics of me :) Safe travels to Italy, Ivana, and good luck on your PHD program there!!!

Gonna miss BA...

Mendoza - the Good Life

Life's been moving way too fast lately, but it's been FANTASTIC. I'm in Buenos Aires now, about to run off to a bus to get to Iguazu Falls for a few days. Check it out, apparently one of the 7 wonders of the world!! So excited, but the bus is 19 hours so it's not thaaat cool. Below are some great pics of my last week in Mendoza - wine country. My friend Becca was there with clients and so I was her +1 for all the events, which included a private wine tasting at an insanely cool winery called Piedro Negra - including a tour by the owner and wine maker, a frenchman named Francois (classic). So rad. Then, as if that wasn't cool enough, we did white water rafting another day. Combine that with some insanely great meals and the greatest group of people from St Louis, Cleveland, and Chicago, and you have a perfect week in wine country. I cannot thank Becca and her boss Jim enough - they were amazing. Thanks for making this part of my trip so special. It was great to be around people from the US too - nice taste of home.

More to come in writing soon, but please enjoy the pics!! 

Picasso

Picasso