Last day in Iguazu (part 4): 6-26

Since Stacey and I booked new flights, we did not leave until later in the evening, so we arose early to hit the National Park and the waterfalls one more time! We walked the trails for the upper and lower circuits, seeing gorgeous views of the cataratas from above, the side, and right in front of them! It was much colder so we were glad we didn’t schedule any water activities. We saw the same group of Americans from the Butler program that we ran into yesterday, which is pretty ironic considering the size of this National Park. Small world! We spent about five hours appreciating the beauty of the waterfalls and the nature trails…until we realized we had to get to the airport.

Exploring with coffee (cafe con leche) to keep us warm

The waterfalls from the lower circuit

Stacey and I!

The toughest part of the hike- on the side with all the rocks!

Back to la Garganta del Diablo- Devil's Throat

The gorgeous path from the park to Devil's Throat
Goodbye Iguazú National Park!

Our taxi driver to the airport was fascinated by us after half an hour of socializing in Spanish, where she explained how there were elections in Iguazu that day and not only were they all paper—but they were on a Sunday. She gave us her business card to keep in touch, reminding me of Rosa from my flight from Mexico last summer. The Iguazu airport is barely larger than the Columbia Airport, with three gates and minimal staff. When we asked the LAN airline employee a question, he told us he remembered us from the waterfalls yesterday and told us he was with his kids. We’re pretty certain that he remembers us from taking a photo of his family, since that’s something we usually do (offer to take pictures of random adorable families). Small world! Although we arrived a bit early, we were most thankful that our flight was not cancelled due to volcanic ash. The other girls on our trip didn’t even make it to Iguazu, so we were glad to make it there and home safely. The same man from our flight there started a huge applause as the flight landed, which was pretty amusing. We bused and Subte’d back to Buenos Aires and have never been so happy to be HOME. I realized how much I’ll miss our apartment.

Stacey laughing at my eagerness to open the Havanna alfajores on the flight...

so excited that I broke open the box

Now, back to real life…work, classes and a sleepless week!

"We're flying halfway across the country [Argentina] to make it back to work on time tomorrow...and there are people stressing out about driving from St. Louis to Columbia!"

-Stacey