El Viaje A Iguazu

Monsters from the Rain forestBefore this weekend I hadn't been out of Buenos Aires capital in over two months, and the pressure and anxiety of the city was beginning to become to much to bear. Similar to NYC, life in BA is one of ups and downs, times of pure bliss and moments of shear hatred. I was sick of eating steak and empanadas and hitting up the local bars and clubs that have become my weekly routine, but luckily this trip came just in time to save me from falling into a hole of study abroad madness. The trip consisted of a trip to the ruins of San Ignacio, a one day adventure through Iguazu falls and a tiny journey through an indigenous village close to the waterfalls. I have always enjoyed traveling by bus and the 14 hour ride to San Ignacio was no exception. As I sipped away on wine and whiskey, chatting with someone from the group whom I had never met before, I felt at ease for the first time in weeks. Memories of past weeks dominated by graduation anxiety ceased from my mind as we exited the world of BA and entered the realm of the real Argentina. Groggy and confused as to where exactly my location was in the world, I exited the bus and downed a cafe con leche that brought me back to life. I wasn't exactly excited to see the ruins, as the most important part of the trip, Iguazu was scheduled for the next day. Nevertheless the tour of the Jesuit ruins at San Ignacio were intriguing enough, even if I was hungry and dehydrated, and I left being able to check off another place on the map of my South American Odyssey. The next day was by far and away the best part of the trip and possibly the coolest natural occurrence I have seen in my short but sweet life on this earth. The roaring rapids of Iguazu falls shook the core of my inner being, as I drank Isenbeck beer and pounded nerds, and left me pondering on the beauty of the natural world and human discovery. I wondered what it must of been like for indigenous people to have first encountered this magnificent feat of nature. Though modern humans have built sky scrapers, engineered aircrafts, and crafted highways that span the lengths of countries, the creations of mother earth far exceed those that humans have created. The falls were here before us, and will most likely survive far longer than humans on this earth. The eternal flow of the waters at Iguazu prove the perfection of nature and show that there is something greater than our human existence. Sure humans are great and all I and get along with plenty of them, but they wouldn't be here unless the earth had brought them to fruition. I was happy to leave the falls cold, drenched, muddy and stinky. Sure I'm sick as hell now and I'm back in the real world, trying to deal with midterms that I have no interest in, but for a moment this weekend I enjoyed pure bliss in the mysterious and beautiful world of the rain forest.