Iguazu Falls Tours – an amazing sight in northern Argentina
I wanted to pass along a poster that was on the side of the BA subway, but unfortunately I was not able to find a picture of it. Roughly translated it says something like: “To step on dog poop will not make it lucky day.” Similar to “Please pick up after your dog,” but with a little Latin American charm.
Finally in this intro, I have two other comments. As we left Lola House, we received received emphatic double-cheek hugs from Lidia and Ana, a welcome staple in these parts. Could use more of that at home. We will later find, years down the line, that the double-cheek kiss-hug is standard fare in a lot of Europe, and requred manners in France.
And there are a lot of ham sandwiches (a remarkably universal word pronounced “sahnd-weech-ez”) in Argentina. Sort of like the ubiquitous hamburger in the US. Lola had them toasted in something like a George Foreman grill. I think we need more of those too, sahndweechez, not grills.
Ok, so we arrived in Iguazu at the Hotel Cataratas for our Iguazu Falls tours and are at the pool — did we mention the poolside bar service? A daquiri is really not a daquiri, and you have to basically breakdown the chemical composition of a scotch and water to explain it to the bartender, but you can believe we succeeded. This led to the previously mentioned nap. We are now hungry.
[cmamad id=”1141″ align=”center” tabid=”display-desktop” mobid=”display-desktop”]Taxis to travel the 5 miles to town are 12 pesos, $3.50. Now let me explain ATMs in this country. There appear to be two types. (1) Citibank friendly and the like – enter code, how much, here you go – hey idiot, take your card, but that is another story. (2) Whazzup? Choose network, choose language, choose transaction type in Spanish, enter your weight and Obama’s maiden name, and sorry – your limit is 0. We tried (2) a couple times and now know only to go to (1).
So now we are flush with cash. Note to self: never know when Amex or Visa is accepted. Keep mucho dinero in pocket in man purse (oh, uh, my pouch) because they don’t have phones or desire to pay CC fees.
Oh wait, forgot to say. We get out of the cab, pay the driver $12 (are you ready for “$” means “pesos”) and I’m checking the money. I’m preoccupied. Carol wants some sandals. Great – shoe store right there. Oh my, let’s go. Ok, no change, here, fine got it. Bye.
Carol, those look great — HEY WHERE”S THE BAG?? (Expletive here!) Taxi gone, bag gone, dictionary gone, camera gone….
Now I gotta say that this country is way beyond anything you ever expect from what you are used to. To put it simply, our assumption (with a little prayer) was that we would get that stuff back. I asked for a phone in the shoe store, or I thought I did, and ended up with the phone number to the hotel. Two doors down is an office where you can bet the numbers with Robert Deniro or use a phone.
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I chose the phone, stepped into a private place, punched up the number and left a message with the front desk guy. Paid the phone attendant $.23 (we’re in Pesos, right), about 6 cents (man, who’s paying the overhead here?). And we forgot about it.
Dinner at Cafe Angelo. Menus in Espanol and Ingles. Lordy, lordy, that’s nice for a change. Remember, we brought the dictionary so we didn’t buy calimari again. Dictionary gone. So anyway, we shared a great pounded tenderloin with ham and cheese and an egg on top, and a hearts of palm salad. I explained a martini and demonstrated “up”. This is stuff that goes on at our house in Ramona all the time.
So back in the taxi to the hotel, and we step out, and who is there, THE FIRST TAXI DRIVER! (Another expletive here.) Hey, my man, my brother. Got bag, got bug spray, got dictionary, got camera. Tipped $100. Ok, let’s divide those pesos by 3.75, say $25. Wow. What goes around comes around.
We’re pooped – big day tomorrow. Good night. We are ready for our Iguazu Falls tours tomorrow.
Other info on Iguazu Falls Tours – WikiTravel on Iguazu Falls Tours
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