Florianopolis with its 40+ beaches was both awesome and terrifying at the same time! Terrifying, because we rented a car. The cars here are stick shift and neither Theo nor I know how to drive one. Quite the adventure. Once, a friend tried to teach me how to drive stick - I didn't have the clutch-gas-release finesse so I'd freak out, let go of everything, and put my hands up in surrender. Theo, our driver, had more of his wits about him however some parts were definitely touch-and-go. It took us about 10 tries to get the car going and on our way out of the bus terminal. We stalled often and everytime we'd start the car, it would jerk forward and the tires would make a big screeching sound. I only wish I had video of the looks people gave us lol :) We also never mastered reversing, so on three separate occasions, people helped us back up our little Fiat so that we could be on our way. Much to Theo's relief, we returned the car (with no discernible damage!) and headed off to the falls!
The Falls are incredible! I've never seen so many rainbows in my life!!
(But here is where a major rant begins: The cities from which you access the falls, Foz do Iguacu, Puerto Iguazu, and Ciudad del Este suck. The whole infrastructure of getting people to and from the falls sucks! So so so maddening!! In the last three months of traveling, I have never been more frustrated and never had so many things go wrong at once! We only had one day for the falls (with a plan to arrive on an early morning bus and leave on an evening bus later that day) so timing was everything. First, our bus got in late. Then, we ended up on a bus bound for Paraguay, going in the opposite direction of the falls, and stuck in traffic nonetheless! How did this happen?! I knew that we had to go from the Brazilian bus station to the Argentinean bus station and catch a bus from there to the falls. But the bus driver who was fully aware that we wanted to go to Puerto Iguazu (Argentinean terminal) just flat out lied. He said his bus would go to the terminal, but it was going to the PARAGUAYAN terminal. wtf?! If Theo and I hadn't gotten off where we had, we would have been stuck without a Brazilian exit stamp and at the Paraguayan border without visas. I was super upset, but then a cab driver said he'd take us to the Brazilian border to get our exit stamps, the Argentinean border to get our entry stamps, and then straight to the falls. Okay, this sounds like we're getting somewhere. But at the Argentinean border, the taxi driver suddenly doesnt have the right documents and drops us off to get our stamps and then catch another taxi. We miss the first bus while searching for this nonexistent taxi, and then catch the second bus to the Argentinean bus terminal. Then we catch another bus to the falls. So much wasted time! You would think that everything is okay now that we're finally here! But, you have to pay 100 Argentinean Pesos entry (per person) and unlike every other place in the park, they don't accept Reais or Dollars. I have exactly 182 pesos. They tell me that there is an ATM, but it's INSIDE the park. So I leave my license and Theo at the gate and go in search of an ATM. Of course the transaction cannot be completed and I end up buying a postcard I don't want so that I can get the change in pesos and have enough to get us admission into the park. Now we're in. The boat ride we wanted to take to the falls isn't running today. Okay. Anything else!?! Not knowing at that point that we could walk, we got in line for the train at the Central Station. The sign that said "departure time" listed the current time so there was no way of knowing when the next train was coming. We finally got on the train for about ten minutes, and then had to get off to transfer trains. There was another 15 minute wait. Then we got on the train that would finally take us to the Garganta del Diablo. Everything took forever and it was looking less and less likely that we'd have time to do everything. The last straw was when I looked down and saw a creepy looking bug on my foot. If you know me at all, you know I Hate bugs - even ladybugs! So I couldn't get it off at first... I couldn't kick my leg because some guy's stupid leg was in the way and shaking my foot didn't do anything. Finally got it off and then my panic and fear along with frustration from a really shitty morning hit me all at once. I started crying on the train. The day of course got better and finally seeing the falls was an amazing experience.... But the established infrastructure of getting from the Argentine side of the falls to the Brazilian falls is still stupid!! We got a bus back to the Argentine terminal and then a bus to the border. The bus waited for us to get our Argentine exit stamps but then left us while we were getting our Brazilian entry stamps. We had to wait a long time for the next bus that dropped us off at the local bus terminal and not the rodoviaria. Had to take a taxi another 6km from there and made it with just enough time to buy a soda and some fried pastries. This was okay, but so Not what we wanted... All day, Theo and I just wanted to sit down and eat a nice meal but we just didn't have the chance. Take an organized tour if you want to do both sides of the falls. Seriously. It's worth it.)
So we arrived in Sao Paolo on Sunday morning and it was relatively smooth sailing the last two days of Theo's visit. We loved Sao Paolo actually - quite the "concrete jungle" with some really amazing buildings and a cool layout. We also ate really well... one amazing Churrascaria, one amazing Japanese Rodizio (with probably 70 pieces of sashimi between the two of us!), and lots of fresh juices and street foods. Best bargaining story ever: I asked the price for a hat and it was 8 Reais. Theo wanted to buy five of them. We asked if we could buy the five hats for 30 Reais. The lady said no...We were both having a little bit of trouble understanding each other. Then another lady offered us six hats for 44 Reais. Hm... but we tried to explain that we only needed 5? So Theo and I are standing there ... deliberating. Then I offer 35 Reais for the five hats. This same lady is hesitant... then she says no. But then another lady comes up and says... 5 hats for 20 Reais. What?! I repeat what she says because really, what?! I take out 20 Reais, she puts the five hats in a bag, and we are on our way. What just happened?! lol Win!
But it's just me now. Theo is back home and I'm struggling not to be sad even as I write this. It's hard, I think, when someone who makes you so happy is just suddenly not there anymore. I feel like there's a big whole in my heart and being alone on a long bus ride doesn't help! But to reference Finding Nemo again, I will "just keep swimming, just keep swimming."
Next on the agenda is Bonito and the Pantanal! I will literally be swimming with the fishies in supposedly crystal clear blue waters and then be on my way to the wetlands in hopes of spotting an anaconda. Pray for me that the bugs don't eat me!
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