Hi Everyone,
After leaving Salta I visited a town called Resistencia which seems the most unlikely place to find hundreds of scuptures. They have a biennial competition where sculptors have 2 weeks to complete a piece of work and then a selection of the best are posted around the town. Sowhere ever you walk you are bound to come across these works of art. The good, the bad and the ugly - they were all there. It did inspire me to think its an area I´d like to work more in - I thought of you, Kate. I also thought it was such a brilliant idea placing them around the streets and made it all very accesible to everyone. Maybe we could start a new fashion in England?
I had a hilarious evening in the park on the Sunday night joining the crowd watching various bands perform from a stage. I was squeezed into a tiny space with a VERY large enthusiastic señora who clapped and danced to everything, so all I could do was join in. Little children were on their dads shoulders swaying around in time to the music.....and a new phenomena, people were handing up their mobile phones onto the stage with either photos or loving messages to their heartthrobs; lost children were also taken to the front of the stage hoping that their parents would notice them. One child was twice called out over the load speakers - I hope that her parents hadn´t done a runner! There were also some stoney faced women who were not going to enjoy anything even if they tried. So all the world and his wife were out that night.
My hotel in Resistencia definitely got the thumbs down, grubby and my loo got blocked on the first day and nobody did anything about it for 2 days - shan´t be going there again!
Heading up towards Iguazu it definitely felt tropical and very humid. So I was constantly dripping with sweat every moment of the day. At Posadas the next stop I visited the Jesuit Mission - ruins from a time passed. The Jesuits were sent to Missiones to convert the Guarani one of the indigenous people in Argentina. The Guarani were living in the jungle and under constant threat from slave traders and the portuguese, so in some ways this option offered them security, education and the learning of numerous trades - the bitter pill was they had to convert to Christianity and many of their life styles had to change - many of their own rituals. However on the whole it was considered a Utopian dream that worked for a long while. Jealousy over the success of these Missions - there were about 30 of them in Argentina and Paraguay - meant that the priests were recalled to Spain and the Guarani were left open to attack from outsiders. The ruins are what is left of this chapter in history - very evocative of this time. I was left with an amazing sense of organization and purpose in these communities.
Iguazu was fabulous. A lovely hostel called Peter Pan with the rooms built around courtyard and in the middle was a good sized swimming pool. One night at 4 a.m. I was so hot I couldn´t sleep so the obvious solution was a quick dip - or not so quick. The usual ecclectic mix of youngsters - their m usual friendly selves.
The Iguazu Falls were phenominal. Nothing quite prepared me for the size, the volume and the noise of the water falling. Also how many falls there were. I was constantly soaked by spray and what was nice was that although there were a lot of people I never felt overwhelmed by crowds. There is one particular fall called the Devil´s Throat and I was the only one at that view point. To get to it you had to cross from island to island, and there were many, by metal walk ways with the water rushing underneath. I logically knew it was safe but there were moments where I just had to keep going. It was a bit like crossing a large delta. Lovely butterflies and myself and 2 German lads were lucky enough to see 3 Toucans and a crocodile and her baby. Flowers were also stunning but have no idea what they were.
I wasn´t going to but in the end I did, take the boat trip almost under the waterfalls. The Gauchos of the Rivers drive these large rubber speed boats packed with the likes of me and I am sure lay bets with each other as to how wet they can make us. It was huge fun and I was completely drenched. I have decided I would now like to have a go at rafting, so don´t hold your breath! I teamed up with a lovely Argentinian couple and we walked the paths together and did the boat trip too. He makes fabric for tango shoes and other sorts in Buenos Aires!
On the way back to Salta our bus was stopped for a standard police check. This time they wanted to see our passports. Unfortunately I have overstayed my 3 months visa and should have gone out of the country and re-entered to validate the next 3 months. I have to admit I just hadn´t bothered and thought I would go to Uruguay from BA when I got back there. Anyway no such luck. Very officious and unsmiling police said yes there was a problem. So I was taken off the bus and shown into their office and questioned about my reasons for being here, where had I been etc. etc. Eventually they decided that they would give me a temporary visa for 10 days on condition that I left the country before the end of that time. The guy who painfully slowly typed out my visa was a real honey and we almost had a bit of joke together - that was a relief. What I was almost more worried about though was that the time it was all taking. In the end it was about three quarters of an hour that I held up the bus. I was very proud of myself that I was not phased and panicked by it all. My friends on the bus were very pleased to see me back on board, in one piece and with my newly adjust passport. So it looks like I may be going to Bolivia from Salta. I shall keep you posted.
Big hug and much love to you all
Sal xxx
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