Iguazú Falls

There is a two mile stretch of river that creates 275 waterfalls that divides Brasil and Argentina. It is considered to be one of the natural wonders of the world and I was blessed to be able to experience this magnificent place in nature. We went to the Brasilian side first. There really are no words to describe this place, but I'll do my best. The Brasilian side shows the vastness of the falls and stunning panaromic views. I walked up to the first view of the falls and was instantly blown away. Then you walk 3 minutes and get a completely different view, then another 5 and more, then another 10 and more. Along the way we saw more butterflies than you can imagine, lush green forest, rainbows at every fall, and even got the awesome experience of seeing not one but TWO double rainbows!!! We finally got to the end and to the largest fall called Devil's Throat. They have a walkway that allows you to be in the falls and look over the drop offs. The views were beautiful, grand, massive, magnificent, spectacular, incredible, cool, neat, astonishing, phenominal, staggering, rad, marvelous, stupendious, bomb, super bomb, huge, breath taking, mind blowing, awe inspiring, unbelievable, incredible, stunning place I have ever seen. It made me feel connected to the universe and God in a way that I have never felt before. I can't express how incredible it felt to know that this world that we are so blessed to live in can possess this much beauty and wonder. It is a place that every person needs to see at some point in their lives.
We left Brasil and crossed the boarder to Argentina. Ray, Brigid's boyfriend, was meeting us here so we hung out for a few days by the pool and relaxed in the AC (!!!!!!) of our room while watching some T.V (!!!!!) (The little things are so appreciated on our trip!) while we waited for him. We went to the Argentina side of the falls yesterday and got a whole new experience and view of it. This side doesn't have the panaromic look but you are much closer to the falls and you feel like you are actually inside them at times. The best way I can describe this would be like a scene from Jurassic Park or Avatar. It was so prehistoric looking and felt like untouched natural beauty. Think of adjectives to describe incredible beauty and insert them here to imagine what it looked like. We were supposed to take a boat ride to the base of the falls but there was a huge tragedy as we were walking there. I'm not sure of all the details, but a boat got too close to the base and hit some rocks capsizing it and killing 2 people. There were 5 others injured and people were stranded on the rocks while waiting to be rescued. It was horrible to see all the helicopters, boats and workers saving these tourist. They said they have not had an accident like that in 10 years and I hope it never happens again. Needless to say, we didn't do the boat ride. It put a damper on the rest of the day but it was still a fantastic time.
We are catching a bus to Uruguay today and are excited to see a new place, learn about it's history, spend some time on the beach, and then head to Chile for Lollapalooza!!! Pictures of the falls and a new update will be coming soon. Love you all!

Carnival in Salvador!

We got into Salvador and the next day our group of 5 became 6 when Carly, one of Jodi´s high school friends, joined us. We were staying in Pelourinho, which is one of the quieter, more touristy neighborhoods. It was a really lucky break for us to find this hostel. It is close enough to Carnival but not so close that sleep was impossible! We didn´t stay in Rio for Carnival because even though they have the best parades in the country, you have to pay to see all of them. Salvador is participatory Carnival and we were excited to be a part of it, not just watch! We had small parades every night in our neighborhood and tons of dancing, music, bands, costumes, and really happy people. One of the best nights was spent right up the hill from our hostel. We stayed local and found this band that was playing with lots of people walking behind it. So, we joined in! Then we got sprayed with this foam. It was so fun. We ended up in a children´s parade and got doused with more spray foam and attacked by little ankle biters! The kids were in super hero costumes and a few of the adults were dressed up as well. Everyone encourages you to join in the parade and dance with them in the streets.

ready to party.

the madness of Pelourinho

oh my gosh. baby covered in feathers. cutest thing ever.

sunset over the harbor.

spray foam parade

we got attacked! but victoria is ready for payback.

the magnificent six

While we were in our neighborhood we met these people in a parade that wanted us to join them the next night. The organizer said if we came he would give us shirts so we could be in a big parade. They were dancing behind the float in a different area called Campo Grande. Usually, you have to pay between 100 and 1,000 dollars to be involved in these parades at the bigger venues. So when were heard free, we jumped! They told us to come around 7 and look for them. We knew it was a long shot, and with the language barrier we weren´t even sure if we understood them properly, BUT we went and it worked out!!!! They were so nice and welcoming! They helped us find the guy and he gave us our shirts (which were pirate themed!), then they bought us beers and told us to hang with them. It was so cool to be dancing in this huge parade for thousands of people. I felt so special! Sadly, there are no pictures of our glorious night of celebrity but I´m totally keeping the shirt and hat to bring home as souvenirs.

We also saw parades in Bahia. This area was the biggest. They closed down all the roads in the neighborhood so that they could move these massive semi trucks with bands on top through the main street. On the last night Will I Am and David Guetta were playing on the floats. There were lots of people wearing different shirts and dancing behind them. We were pipoca, popcorn, when we went to these parades. The pipoca stand on the side, dance, cheer and watch. This week was filled with so much love and happiness. Everyone is so friendly and ready to have a good time. Sometimes, they got too friendly and love filled! There were lots of men dressed in these blue and white costumes with blue beads around their neck (it was symbolic of their neighborhood and something to do with Ghandi). The way to get these beads was by kissing them. Soooo, we had to pull alot of matrix like moves to avoid face licking by eager men wanting to give away their beads. It was pretty funny to watch them look at you, smile, and then all the sudden they were in your face trying to make out. The whole week was one that will go down in the books for me of fun filled moments with friends and strangers!

watch out for these guys. they´ll lick your face if your not careful!

training them young.

After Carnival we went to the beach everyday, relaxed and swam in the calm ocean. We leave tomorrow for Iguazu Falls and then into Argentina. I´m leaving Brasil with loads of memories, new friends, great pictures and some blue beads! ;)

* I don´t have any many photos as I would like of the different areas because I was afraid of losing/getting robbed of my camera! *

Rio de Janeiro

We got into Rio after a day a half bus ride and instantly fell in love with the city. So many people had warned us about getting robbed and to be super careful because it could be a super sketchy place. We experienced none of that. It is a large city so of course we were cautious but it was such a lively, beautiful and exciting place I could have stayed much longer.
We checked into a really great hostel and ended up spending 10 days there. We were in a friendly neighborhood called Catete that is next to the infamous Copacabana. (We geekily sang that song almost everyday) On our first days there we went to the beaches, walked around and got familar with the city. People in Brasil are just prettier than most. They have so much self confidence and are so proud of their bodies that everyone seems happier and healthier here. All the women wear the brazilian bathing suits and the men wear little speedos. We felt a little out of place with our full coverage bottoms! It´s so refreshing how Brasilian´s love bigger bodies and they are so beautifully proud of them. Plus all the dudes have super stellar bodies too! hehehe. The beaches were white sand and clear blue water. It was a great atmosphere of the city being all around you as you relaxed on the beach. The waves were huge and we got worked several times. You had to swim out past the breaking point, but once you got out there it was so nice to swim in the ocean. We also went to Ipanema beach where the ´rich, beautiful and young´ go (according to our book). It was just down from Copacabana but it was much livelier. Tons of people playing soccer, running, sunbathing, and swimming. The waves were quite bigger there and we watched some surfers and swimmers have a go at it.
Brigid and I swam out with a local but it was so much work not to go under that we ended up just staying close to the shore.

brigid and jodi on our first day at the beach!

we´re at the copa, copacabana!

ipanema beach

just another day at the office.

In the city there is tons of street art and it makes the whole thing look so much better. I love how a picture can turn decrepit buildings into works of art. There are famous staircases that we visited by a man named Selaron in a part of town called Santa Teresa. This artist has traveled all over the world and wanted to make his neighborhood more beautiful with art. He started decorating this staircase with tiles and for the past 21 years has continued to re-work it. He has a house right there next to his art and he is out most days talking and working on it. You can send a tile and he will add it into his art. It was an unreal experience. I felt so much joy seeing all this beauty around me done by one man who wanted to improve his city. We decided we are making one to send to him.

street art

at the top of the famous Rio staircase.

hanging with the artist, Selaron!

represent that ohio tile!

the artist´s explaination of his staircase.

We attempted to find a National Park that was supposed to have waterfalls but we got a little lost and ended up at a Botanical Garden in the middle of the city. It was a happy detour and we spent the day walking around and enjoying all the exquisite flowers.

can you see him? way up on the hill? it´s jesus!

Rio is the place of Samba dancing so of course we had to experience it! Lapa is another part of town within walking distance of our hostel where the parties happen. We went to a great Samba club and got to watch a live band and some awesome dancers. Everyone tried to teach us, but it´s more difficult than it looks. I ended up just kicking my feet really fast and getting lots of laughs at my attempts. We have yet to master it but we add in our own style with it and it is looking much better! We went to Lapa a few times while we stayed in Rio. Every Friday they shut down the streets and have these huge parties. It was unbelievable how many people were there. It was fantastic! Before we left we had the amazing opportunity to watch some of the Samba schools practice their parades for free. During Carnival, Rio is know to have the most amazing parades, floats, costumes and dancers. However, it´s ridiculously expensive to see them so we were super pumped to get to watch a bit for free! We went to this stadium street (imagine a long road with stadium seating for at least half a mile on each side) to watch the show. There are two ´groups´ in these parades. The people who pay to walk in the parade wearing a specific shirt that they decorate and alter and then the costumed dancers. They play tons of music that everyone knows by heart. One of the guys told us that they start playing the songs about a month before Carnival so that the whole city can sing along. It was astonishing to hear thousands of people singing the same song. They were all so happy and everyone was in the best mood. It was a collective great time had by all. The costumed dancers could Samba so fast you couldn´t even see their feet moving! I was blown away by how dazzling they were in their sparkling outfits. We all wanted to immediately start taking lessons, move to Brasil and be one of those people. Even the men were extrodinary dancers.

Samba da practice!

those ladies know how to shake it!

Victoria, one of Jodi´s college friends, came on our last two days there and we showed her the beach and around town. We ate the tastiest sushi I have ever had and then took the 27 hour bus up to Salvador for Carnival!!!

Bonito Brasil

We made for the border of Brasil and had heard from some people we met that Bonito was a gorgeous stop off we should definately add into our plans. It was worth the 2 days of travel to get there. We took a 19 hour train ride from Bolivia to the border, then a 8 hour (or supposed to be) bus ride to Bonito. The road had flooded and about 5 hours in we were stuck in a huge mud pit. It was hilarious. The bus driver kept going with all the power the bus could muster until we almost rolled off a 3 foot embankment. Luckily, there was trusty tractor nearby that pulled us out and we tried again to forge the road. Surprise surprise, we got stuck again. The tractor came back, pulled us again, and we took an extra 3 hour detour to a passable road. We got to the hostel and set off to explore the next day. We hung out by the pool for a day and then rented bikes to go on a fantastical journey to Banario del Sol (or however you spell it, I think it means sun bathroom?). The people kept laughing at us when we said we were going to bike there, but we paid them no mind and said we wanted to save money and see the country side. Then we learned why they laughed. It was blazing hot and the road was made of dirt and had tons of hills. It took us around an hour and a half to get there but the senery was well worth all that effort. We took our time and enjoyed the lush forest of palm trees, rolling hills, cows, horses, birds and sounds of uninterupted nature. When we reached our destination we were not disappointed. There was a swimming hole with 3 waterfalls feeding it, green grass, lawn chairs to relax on, a zip line into the falls, toucans, and beautiful Brasilians. It was so beautiful. We stayed all day and played like little kids in the water, then biked home. On the way home we were riding next to this group of cows and they started running with us! We felt like real cowgirls hearding cows to pasture. It was an amazing day. Bonito is a wonderland. There were caves to explore, rivers to swim in, so many protected fish and birds to see, and beautiful scenery to enjoy. We all decided we would love to come back and do all that it had to offer but headed out to Rio for some fun in the sun!

don´t worry! jodi to the rescue!

our trusty tractor.

the view on the way to our swimming hole.

bird.

swimming hole.

stellar cheerleading skills on that zip line jodi.

it was the most relaxing place.

swimming with the fishies.

Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz was not that special of a town but it was such a great place for us to stay, we had a hard time leaving. We stayed for like 2 weeks at this dirt cheap hostel/residence, ate tons of delicious fresh food, saw movies, went out, walked around, saw parades and had a pretty great time relaxing. There was a wonderful turtle named Juanito that lived in our hostel with us. I found him in my room one day attempting to put his head in a bread bag for a little snack. It was love at first site. He loved to have his head scratched and was so friendly you couldn´t help but oblidge him with a little lovin. We finally left there and went on a 2 day bus trip across the border and into beautiful Brasil!

juanito!!! the cutest turtle ever!

for just 3 dollars a night you can stay here!

bolivian pre-carnival parade!

Another World

We arrived in Uyuni and had the best tour ever. We signed up for a three day-two night tour through the Salt Flats and a National Park. The salt flats used to be a gigantic lake in Bolivia but dried up leaving miles and miles of salt. It was the most amazing thing. No pictures could do it justice and I don´t really have the words either, but I´ll try anyway. The first day we met our driver named Octavio. He was a super badass man. We went to a train graveyard to see all the old trains that used to run between Bolivia and Chile then it was out of the dusty town and onto the salt. We started to see what looked like floating mountains in the distance and then hit white land for as far as you could see. They used alot of the salt so they had piles of it drying scattered all over. It´s the wet season, so the water made a complete reflection of the sky. Amazingly wonderous beauty. As we got closer to the mountains we saw that the salt was making it look so trippy. The salt flats alter your perspective, so we took alot of very cool pictures that make people look smaller by just taking a few steps back from the camera. That night we went to our salt hotel. This place was completely made of salt! Salt chandeliers, salt floor, salt walls, salt pillars that held the mattresses up, salt chairs and tables. Jodi licked a wall and got a tummy ache. The next day we got back in our jeep that was seconds away from breaking down for the whole three days, but thanks to Octavio´s badassness he kept us going strong. We left the salt flats and started to see a whole nother landscape. It felt like we were in a Sci Fi movie. It would be desert, red dirt, snow covered mountains, huge rocks in the middle of nowhere. Then, you would come upon these gorgeous lakes that changed colors with the sunshine teeming with flamingos and other birds. There was a red lake, white lake and a green lake that all showed colored water because of the minerals in the land underneath. They were breath taking. The Lonely Planet book describes it as other worldly and I can´t think of a better way to describe it. The last day we woke up and got to watch the sunrise over a lake, at the base of a mountain, while sitting in a natural thermal bath. Then we went to the green lake. It was a highlight. The mist was coming off the water and it was a vibrant green color and then the water was green and there was a huge snow capped mountain in the background. Words do it no justice. I made a rock pile (wishing tree stones) and wished that everyone I knew and loved could come one day to see this magical place. We headed back to Uyuni after that and hit our one problem with the jeep. We got a flat tire, but nevermind any trouble, Octavio to the rescue! He had it fixed in less that 15 minutes and used orange Fanta to clean off the tire so he could see it more clearly. Then we got back to town and took a shower and then got on our next night bus through Bolivia.

our tour jeep for three days.

salt piles in water reflecting the sky.

i always bring my girls!!

brigid getting into my pocket.

the island of cacti in the middle of the flats.

just hanging out with my finger puppet friends, lion and llama.

climbing brigid´s shoe.

giving jodi a shower.

jumping off jodi.

flamingos in the middle of bolivia.

mountain reflection. this picture does the experience of actually seeing this any justice.

where we spent our tuesday morning soaking in a thermal bath. jealous?

We spent three nights on three different buses to get to Trinidad and our Chuchini workplace. All I will say is that Potosi (the first night bus town) sounds like poop and Sucre (the next night bus town) sounds like shit. Those two words describe our experiences, feelings, thoughts and bad images of these two awful places. Then magical Santa Cruz happened. We had a glorious day of vegitarian buffet, Burlesque (a great movie, I don´t care what the critics say), coffee, showers, and lovely senery. Then we went on our last night bus to Trinidad.

uhhh potosi. you were terrible.

So, the next part of my journey is not a very happy tale. We were unbelieveably excited to spend two weeks working and living with a family in this amazing jungle preserve. Then we got there and it was just bad. This story is not for the faint of heart, nor the easily offended because there are a few curse words in here. Yeah..... here´s my story..... So we are in the mosquito season of Bolivia and the rainy season. We knew this going in but didn´t think it would be as bad as reality. Literally 50 to 75 mosquitos swarming your body at all times bitting through your clothes. First, we had to walk part of the way to Chuchini from Trinidad because a taxi wouldn´t take us because the road was flooded, then we later found out two of the family members were waiting for us in town to bring us there but we didn´t know it. Arggg. So, as most of you know I have a large fear of putting any part of my body in water where I cannot see the bottom of.... This was a dirt road where we got dropped off. The guy said a 2 km walk. We started off with high hopes and 30 pounds on our backs. Immediately the mosquitos start to SWARM us and we freak out and put on a shit ton of bug spray and rub it into our hair and clothes. This mildly helps. We march on expecting to find Chuchini in like 15 minutes. We are on a very small road in the middle of the jungle. Then we see some water on the road. No big deal, we walk around it and keep on keepin on. Then after 30 minutes of intense heat and bugs we see a huge lake in the middle of the road. Okay, so it wasn´t a lake but it was seriously close to knee level high for 100 feet. I almost peed my pants. However, I braved it took off my shoes and set out on a hard road. It was gross and awful and probably one of the worst things I´ve ever done. There were crocodiles and bugs and snakes and lots of other terrifying things living in that water. Luckily Katrina cleared the way and we were all safe. Then, we hit another lake and again  took off our shoes and muddled through. After 45 minutes of jungle trek we made it! Then we rested, tended to our 40 or so mosquito bites, and the next day did our one day of work. I cannot describe how awful the bugs were. I´m not that big of a baby when it comes to being uncomfortable, especially when I sign up for it, but this was fucking, ridiculously horrendous. Swarmed all day long, for 8 hours while I cut down trees, pulled weeds, chopped wood, cleared brush, feed the animals and did other manual labor. It was ungodly hot and we had to wear gloves and mosquito net hats which they just bit through anyway. ahasdsfjdsjfkhfdklgdufhslkdfndfjnglfkgduhfsñdkfmdhf. Bad words, bad words, bad words. Not a fun time. Then, Brigid got sick and barfed all over the little cabana and in her hiking shoes while we were all sleeping. It was not a fun way to end the day. She was sick all night, bless her heart and then we told them we couldn´t do it. This was too much and it wasn´t the work or the house or the food or anything it was those damn bugs. We becamed obsessed with killing them. I wanted them all dead. Dead. Slow and painful deaths. You could hear them swarming outside the windows. Uhhhhh it gives me the shivers. They told us that they were so sorry. They never had many visitors during this season and knew it would be bad but didn´t want to turn down the help. So we decided to stay a few days and do the touristy thing. We moved into a nicer cabana and did house work, hung out and they took us for a few boat rides on the river which were really fun. We saw really neat birds and caught crocodiles at night. A ha-larious thing that happened was during our second boat ride we lost the motor to the boat. Ibis, their son who lives there, took us on a fun boat ride to see the lake and river. We were going pretty fast for a small fishing boat and I see this tree up ahead that we don´t seem to be turning away from. I look behind me and see Ibis´ face in a mask of horror because the motor fell off. He dives into the lake while the boat is quickly heading towards the shore. I realize, no Ibis, no motor, big trouble. We crashed into the tree-shore line. Luckily no one was hurt, we were all laughing so hard at our luck. Ibis went into the jungle and cut down some trees, then tried to fish out a hundred pound motor from the bottom of a muddy lake that was around 10 feet deep. He rowed us back to the house and then went out again to find it. He got it on his second try and all was well again. Eventhough there were some amazing experiences, it was still awful. We were trapped in our stupid house for 90 percent of the day and couldn´t enjoy the gorgeous senery around us. This place is amazingly beautiful and we couldn´t even go outside for 10 minutes to look around without the swarm. Long story short, it sucked (sorry mom). The family was great and nice and bless their hearts they tried to make us have a good time but it just fucking sucked. So, that´s Chuchini story. Huge let down but not an experience i´ll soon forget. We are now in Santa Cruz again and loving it! We are here during the celebration of the founding of the city. There have been parades for two nights and we are loving relaxing, walking around, eating fresh fruit and vegtables and maybe going to see another movie at the cinema! Hopefully, another blog will happen soon. We are off to Bonito, Brasil in two days to explore more jungle and then to the coast and Sao Paolo for some beach time! Hope everyone is well!

the road to chuchini, where i almost lost my mind.

ready for our one day of work in chuchini.

where we lost the motor, crashed into the shore and then waited for an hour while ibis and leo swam around looking for it!

i got a gator!!