Iguazu Falls and Chili's!

Ok folks, this will be a long post since we haven't written in a while so hang in there.  The past week has been crazy!  We left Patagonia last Wednesday to head to Iguazu Falls on the border of Argentina and Brazil.  We arrived at the National Park and did the "Jungle Tour," it had been recommended to us by several people.  This consists of: a short ride through the jungle, an "ecological" raft ride, and then... a boat ride "past" the falls.  When we hopped aboard the boat we quickly realized we were the only two people who weren't wearing swim suits, (when we bought the tickets the agent told us we may get a little wet).  The boat driver revved the engine and we knew we were in trouble.  We then went head on into the "Devil's Throat!"  I did have a short lived panic attack but when I saw all the kids around me laughing and screaming I figured this was just part of the tour.  The boat driver then continued to do 360's directly into the falls.  Whew!  Iguazu was so much more than I expected.  It was a pretty wild experience to see the falls from both under and above water.  We will attach pics, it sounds cliché but honestly you have to see them in person to really see how amazing and humbling they are.  The natives say that, "God was only practicing when he made Niagara, he perfected water falls with Iguazu."  Enough said.

We went from Iguazu Falls to Buenos Aires, from the domestic airport there we had to transfer to the international to catch a flight to Lima, then from Lima to Cuzco.  One of the major airlines in South America was striking at the airport in Buenos Aires.  The protestors had barricaded the entrance to the airport.  Our taxi driver was very upset about this, while stuck in traffic we even got interviewed by a local news station.  Our driver said, "This is unacceptable, it's a disaster for everyone.  Look, I have two passengers trying to get to Lima and I'm only trying to make a living.  Unacceptable, disaster."  I left out the Spanish cursing.  When we arrived at the "DISASTER", it was more like 10 dudes banging on drums and high five-ing each other for closing all entrances to the airport...not cool Argentine unions, not cool.

Anyway we made our flight to Lima late that night and had a super early flight so we decided to kill time and grab something to eat.  Now, up to this point, we've avoided any american food that can be found at home, a key travel rule that my dad passed on to me as a child....well, hell, who knew Lima has a Chili's.  I folded.  The egg rolls, queso, wings...tex/mex in Lima was my reward for downing three weeks of Argentine steak.  Well, serves me right, because I got downright sick for two days and still feel that something is not right with the world.  I've re committed myself to the unspoken rule of foreign travel and will diligently avoid american chains at all cost...maybe.

A few things worth mentioning: packs of stray dogs, people smoking on planes, Latin Machismo, butting in line, toddlers drinking wine, bidets in general, socks with sandals and feathered mullets.