Más Iguazú

This is Maria, our tour guide for our trip through Iguazú. She told us a little bit about the effect of the waterfalls on the indigenous people. The indigenous people of the far north of Argentina are called the Guaraníes. The indigenous people of Argentina have, at time had similar experiences to the Native Americans of the US. Especially in the southern parts of the Argentina where expansion in the late 19th century led to many battles over the land as the government of Argentina claimed the native people land. In the north, this effect was less severe and perhaps because of this there are still pockets of indigenous people. Some of these people do not consider themselves part of the Argentine society and therefore don’t accept the socialized services such as free medical clinics, free education or financial services. As you can imagine they are a very poor people and often make their money by producing and selling crafts.

Bead crafts and wood carved animals are particularly popular however other crafts made and sold by the indigenous people include Mate gourds, toy bow and arrows, wind chimes, drums, jewelry and small leather goods. I wanted to buy this giant wood alligator but decided that the two weeks of traveling I’m doing after the program would surely be it’s demise.

I tried to take a few pictures of the Guaraníes but they all politely declined to be photographed. I asked Maria about this and apparently some believe that having one’s photo taken is undesirable. She didn’t elaborate much but I got that idea that for a people without much technology it is perhaps strange, invasive and  perhaps a bit offense. Some people feel that having their photo taken is like making a spectacle out of them, which could be highly disrespectful. Needless to say, I just put my camera away.

I did get the idea however that the Guaraníes I talked to considered the tourism to be a positive thing because it gave them a way to make money for themselves in  a way they consider to be acceptable (instead of just being given money by a government they feel does not represent them.) Keep in mind that many of the tourists to Iguazú Falls are Argentines, not people from other countries. I think this makes it much more palatable for the indigenous people because Argentines know more about them and sometimes share ancestry with them.

Bueno. I hope everything is going well back in Portland! I only have one more week of classes here! After finals I’ll be traveling around Argentina a bit with some friends before returning to “normal” life back home. Ciao!

Cataratas del Iguazú

I got back from Misiones at 3:30 this morning after another 18 hour bus ride. As you know my program and I travelled northwest to the province of Misiones. At the very tip where the Paraná and Iguazú rivers meet there are some of the most amazing Waterfalls named Cataracas del Iguazú.

The Iguazú waterfalls are naturally seperated into hundreds of smaller falls instead of having one large blanket of falls. This is the actual Iguazú Falls, although it is not the largest, it has the most water flow. Can you see that little boat in the water down by the base of the falls? Neat right? We all took a boat ride that led us directly to the base of these falls. It was amazing. So much water was pounding down on us you could hardly look up. We went from sweat covered and humid to cold and wet in a matter of seconds.

Here’s a really short video of the waterfall. I know, it’s just water falling, but it’s sooo much water falling.

This was, thankfully, not the only place we got to get wet. This is Union Falls:

which is the largest of the waterfalls. It drains into this giant long chasm called the Garganta del Diablo which means the Throat of the Devil. Can you see that mist rising up to the right? As all the water pours into the chasm the mist builds up and erupts out slowing drenching all the sightseers.

As you can probably tell this area of Argentina is much different than the place where I live. The climate and greenery is more tropical as the province is actually partially jungle! Luckily we were able to see some of the wildlife that this climate supports:

Coatí

Toucan

Águila Viuda

As you can see the country is quite diverse. As you go further norther you encounter a great deal of tropical animals that don’t exist in the southern parts. Okay, I was lucky enough not to get sick until I came back from our trip so I’m going to take advantage of my day by going back to bed. Ciao.