Argentina

So how do you transition from one great country to another? You hang out on the border for a few days, where there just happens to be one of the greatest works of God that our planet has to offer. The perfect gateway between one journey and the next, where a river literally explodes into two meandering pieces, and then with newfound energy the water wanders onward. A fitting place to reflect and celebrate Brazil, and then burst forward with arms wide open into Argentina. The mighty, mighty, unbelievably beautiful - and enormous- Iguazu Falls. When Eleanor Roosevelt had her first glimpse of them, she exclaimed, "Poor Niagara"...

My introduction to the falls began last Wednesday night. After arriving on the Brazilian side in the pouring rain, and almost not getting my passport stamped upon leaving Brazil (you have to be every clear with your taxi driver that he needs to stop at customs), I got to my hostel on the Argentinean side and looked up at a cloudy sky. Discouraging - as we were due for a full moon that night, and I had been looking forward to the chance to see the falls by moonlight. Not only was it due to be a full moon, but a total eclipse of the moon as well, beginning at around 11:45 PM and lasting several hours into the night. I had the utmost faith that nature would give me the perfect moon walk, and lo and behold, the clouds parted! So I boarded a bus, and then boarded a tram, and then began a 20 minute walk by moonlight on a foot bridge across the Iguazu River.

Before you can see the falls, you can hear them. This is not the sound of a dripping faucet. You´re starting to get closer, and you know that you are about to see something special. Something rare. The sound is far away, but it´s huge. You are getting closer, and it is getting louder, and you can feel the mist in the air. It starts to feel like it´s raining. You have been walking across this river for 20 minutes, and the water has been so placid...and now it is about to hurl itself off of a cliff in a fit of passion. You are approaching the most impressive part of the falls, called Devil´s Throat, and when you arrive, you are surrounded by 260 degrees of falling water. Of water about to fall 2300 feet.

The river and the falling water around you is absolutely illuminated by moonlight. Illuminated! Glowing! I was so taken aback- it was one of those moments where your jaw drops and you don´t even realize that you have the purest, simplest, surprised look of joy on your face until you look around and see that everyone around you looks the same way that you feel. I tried to take a few photos, but even in night mode the camera does not come close to capturing the moment-and so I put the camera away. I soaked it all in - and got soaked! On our walk back across the river, the moon started eclipsing. This timing could not have been more perfect because we had maximum light at the falls, and then minimum light pollution to distract from the beauty of the eclipse when we got back to town. I went to sleep after watching the moon go from white to red.

The next day was wild fun. I spent the morning taking a jeep ride through the jungle and then getting completely drenched on a boat ride that took me underneath one of the waterfalls. Drenched! The best part of the boat ride was the wild energy of the Argentines who were accompanying me. This boat ride was so much fun that it was impossible not to yell and scream and laugh like kids. And when Argentines are happy and in celebration, there is an association that their brains make with - you guessed it - soccer. And so we all sang (I hummed) soccer songs for the duration of the ride. Great fun. The sun was hot, and so I dried quickly while hiking around the park- each glimpse of the falls more beautiful than the last. I´m not going to lie - I was quite snap-happy at this point! I decided not to visit the Brazilian side of the falls - I had already said goodbye - and I like having a reason to return.

Friday was a long day of airport delays (- the pilots were on strike)...but don´t cry for me. There was a light at the end of the tunnel- Buenos Aires! On my taxi ride from the airport to my hostel, the taxi driver rolled down the windows and turned up the volume and began singing Argentinean opera at the top of his lungs. We drove past the Obelisco, the Casa Rosada and the Plaza de Mayo. I closed my eyes and could see Evita speaking to the masses from the balcony. This place is so atmospheric!

On Saturday I explored the Microcentro and had lunch at Cafe Tortoni, the city´s oldest cafe and a regular haunt of Jorge Luis Borges and other great Argentine writers. Later, I had dinner and drinks in trendy Palermo Hollywood with some friends who I met while traveling in Brazil. I LOVE this city. It feels Spanish or Italian - there is a street cafe culture, beautiful architecture, dinner starts late, and nightclubs stay open all night. But in addition, there is something in the air that reminds me of New York. Like New York, Buenos Aires feels like a city of immigrants - and it is. I can see the signs of Italian immigrants everywhere - not the least of which are the pizzerias on every corner. Immigrants came here to build a new life but they brought their music, their food, and the importance of extended family with them.

Yesterday, I wandered through the historic, bohemian barrio of San Telmo for its famous Sunday markets. I first heard the music, and then saw the crowd, and moved in closer. And - ah! My first glimpse of tango! A man and a woman, in their sixties, were dancing tango in the street, cheek to cheek. The eight-man tango group played and tried to sell CDs in the background. But for that couple, no one else was around...and all eyes were on them. I watched in awe at the tension, and then the release...the drama of this dance. I am in love.

I wandered into a restaurant called El Balcon and sat down to have my first piece of Argentine beef and glass of Malbec. There were about 30 people inside this small restaurant, and shortly after I sat down, a woman climbed onto the small stage with two musicians and began singing. I thought - how atmospheric! Perfect! But wait. She stepped down after two songs, and a young couple replaced her, dressed in a suit and a dress. The music swelled and they started dancing. I was so moved by the connection that this couple had on stage that I got goosebumps and felt like I was trespassing on a private moment. They had to have been lovers...I do not know how you can dance with another person like that and not be.

I continued to sit there stunned after they finished the dance, at which point they came into the restaurant and started to talk to the other patrons around me in Spanish. The male dancer walked up to me and said something. I said "No hablo Espanol, Americana..." and he said "Do you dance?" and I said "Not yet..." and he said "Yes you do!" and he grabbed my hand and led me around all of the little tables and pulled me on stage. I said "No really - I have only taken two tango classes, and they were months ago..." and he smiled smuggly and said "Don´t worry"...and then the music started. And so I turned my face to the right and let him pull me in close, and we started to tango. I did not miss a beat during the entire dance. It was like my body went into auto-pilot. You just listen to what the man´s body is saying to you, and feel the music, and go. It felt incredible. He smiled at me and exclaimed "That was great!", and everyone cheered, and two different people asked for my email address so that they can send the pictures that they took of me on stage. I was so completely elated. When I left the restaurant, there was a public milonga - a social dance - in the square outside. I signed myself up to attend one of the best dinner/tango shows for tonight, and then I will begin additional lessons. TANGO! I am so hooked!

I will report back soon. So happy! Besos! Katie