Before our arrival in Foz do Iguaçu I wasn't actually planning on writing a blog post because I figured we would see the beautiful waterfalls, and, as I'm not a literary genius that can conjure up images in peoples' heads with magnificent descriptions, I thought photos would be sufficient. But then a few strange things happened during our two days here that I thought they merited a post (or I just wanted to read about them in the future when I'm sad and missing our difficult travels).

Here it goes... We got off the bus here in Foz after our 16 hour journey to realize that we hadn't screenshoted directions to our hostel or prepared in any sort of logical way to figure out how to get there. Luckily Negar had screenshoted the address along with our confirmation so we were able to compare it to a map on the wall. After asking the snooty lady behind the tourism desk how to get there (why are you working in tourism/customer service if you're the meanest person on the planet?!) we got a bus and we're on our way.

Mind you, we had just traveled 16 hours which meant we hadn't showered in over a day and on top of that we had sweat endlessly since that last shower and were just generally very gross. All we wanted was to shower so that we could feel like our former selves, fully understanding that check in at the hostel wasn't until 2 pm. When we first asked about a shower, we were told we had to wait until we checked in. Immediately after this, two middle-aged ladies (maybe late 40s/early 50s) walk up to the desk and complain how they've just gotten off an overnight bus and would really love to shower as they feel very gross. Guess what happens... The lady at the desk lets them into their rooms although the beds aren't clean. Excuse me? Is this a joke? Is it because I'm 22? Why do they get priority?! We were here first!! All these things are going through my head but I don't say anything. We then go upstairs for some breakfast and attempt to gather our wits about us as we've planned to visit the Cataratas (waterfalls) from the Brazilian side that day. Our friend Amelia goes down to ask again if it would be at all possible to shower (it didn't matter where!!!!) but again she's shot down. Then just afterwards two girls are admitted into their rooms at about noon. This is where I realized I hated the hostel already.

We end up going to the Brazilian side of the waterfalls that day and things pretty much go according to plan. The waterfalls are pretty, we had fun, check out the photos ;)

Upon our return, Negar and I fully thought we would have the whole room to ourselves as around 8 that evening no one had shown up to take the other two beds. Then two bros appeared. Negar was in the shower but I chatted a little with them and found out they're from Floripa (where we had just come from). They pretty much just put down their stuff and turn around to go smoke. Your man asks me if I smoke and I say ocasionally, and he asks cigarettes? I say yes and then he asks, "weed?" No, bro. This made him very sad, like way sadder than it should have. What is it to you if I don't smoke tree? Weirdo. Apparently after I had dozed off that night they asked Negar the exact same thing and we're also devastated that she didn't want to smoke or drink with them.

The next day we wanted to go to the Argentinian side of the Igauçu waterfalls so we got up earlier than usual to have breakfast and prepare ourselves for a full day of trekking around. We didn't have much problem sorting out the bus route but then came immigration and the process is dumb as hell. Unlike immigration crossing, say, from the Canadian side of the border to the American side where you only cross ONE border and only have to show your passport ONCE to get it stamped, here they have this fabulous process where you must get off the bus on the Brazilian side of the border, go through immigration (fill out a form and get a stamp), get back on a bus to be taken across to the Argentinian immigration, get off (get a stamp) and then get back on another bus to be taken into Puerto de Iguazu. It's the dumbest thing I've ever seen. How does it even make sense? If I'm entering another country obviously I've left one!!! How the hell else have I gotten here?!

Anyway, we finally make it to the town but then must alight to catch another bus to the waterfalls. This is where we're informed that we have to pay our entrance into the Argentine side of the falls with Argentine Pesos, of which we have none as we've been in Brazil the past few weeks. You're not able to pay with cards (but you can on the Brazilian side...) and there are no ATMs near the entrance. There's only one ATM in town so we head down quickly to take some money out but the queue is nearly out the door. I don't know if I've ever seen anything so inefficient or just ridiculous in my entire life. Thankfully the lady at the desk of the company we had tickets with quoted us a fairly good exchange rate for our Brazilian Reals and also allowed us to pay for our boat tour into the falls with Reals so we got it all sorted fairly quickly and were able to head on our way.

Open our arrival what do I spy with my little eye... An ATM. Endless bulls*** is a new theme we're adding to our list for this trip.

We pay for our tickets and head into the park, not really having a clue as to where we're headed. As we had bought tickets for the boat tour, we figure we should try to find out where we get on the boat. We head down a path where all the other people seem to be walking all the while aimlessly staring at our map. We come across a board that gives an overview of the park but obviously doesn't indicate where we are, so a kind man standing in one of the booths asks us if we need help. He tries to sell us a bus tour but we say we've already bought one with another company so he says we should go ahead and ask them because he doesn't want to lead us astray. This is where his matezo catches a glimpse of Negar and basically falls in love with her eyes. He says they're beautiful, fogosos I believe is the Spanish (Portuguese??) word he uses - "spirited". Now Negar hears it all the time that her eyes are beautiful and she thinks everyone is lying to her because they have no other components to give. But people, her eyes REALLY are that beautiful! I don't know why she just won't believe her million admirers daily on the street! That being said, bro... You are at work. You are currently working so you are (in any sort of normal world) meant to be upholding some semblance of professionalism. Or so one would think, right?! The bus that picked us up from the Brazilian border and drove us to the Argentine one caught sight of my friend Taeya and said "que hermosa" or something along those lines. You are our bus driver! What are you doing?! When we finally found our water boat tour the guy giving us our vests said the same thing to me! What is it with the endless unprofessionalism, we wonder? Some may say it's kind, it's meant to be a compliment, but we have no idea what we're doing most of the time and all we need if your help. You can keep your compliments if you help me out. I prefer directions over free compliments, you men at work...

Anyway, we eventually find out boat tour after a slight trek through the jungle and after passing many signs that dangerous (potentially life-threatening) animals could be in our midsts. Sweet, nothing I haven't handled before. Beware of Dengue fever and all that jazz. All stated in a matter-of-fact way. Hilarious.

The boat tour was quite fun, they took us into two waterfalls and we got splashed incessantly and water poured over from the sides of the boat so that by the time we got out we were completely drenched. We then hiked up to the upper observation deck to get some different views and then took the train to the furthest side of the falls to catch our last views of the day. We were quite exhausted at the end of it all and looked forward to heading back to the hostel to recover before our long bus journey the next day.

We made it back to the Argentine border and through immigration without any trouble at all and then were taken over to the Brazilian side to get what was meant to be our fourth stamp of the day. That was not meant to be. Negar went ahead of me and gave the immigration officer her passport and her entry/exit papers to which he then asks her where she's going. Brazil, she responds. No, he says, where are you going? What do you mean, she answers, I'm going to Brazil. He then calls over what appears to be his superior and he asks her the same question. She gives the same responses. He then asks her to explain what she means. "I left Brazil this morning to go to Argentina to see the waterfalls and now I'm coming back into Brazil." This really cannot be rocket science, boys. Turns out that the passport lady that morning had stamped the entry side of our documents and not the exit one like she was meant to, which therefore meant that both of us had TWO entry stamps into Brazil and ZERO exit stamps. Somehow (obviously this is a joke) we managed to enter the country twice without ever having left. Like what morons! I understand that it's the same queue for both entry and exit stamps but you saw my passport and you saw that I already had a single stamp for Brazil so the only logical thing would be that I need another stamp to leave, so that I have two Brazilian stamps in total. Or even read the papers I gave you! My country of destination is Argentina and on the entry side it says I'm coming to Brazil again! We had a field day with this one... And then at the end of it all your man didn't even give us another stamp (an exit one would have been nice) so in our passports it stills says we've entered twice without ever having left. We must love this country so much (and we do) that we just keep reentering. They won't be able to get rid of us, I tell you...

Anyway, we finally get back to Foz do Iguaçu and the bros are in our room. We chat in broken Spanish/English about our respective days. They then show me that they've brought a ton of alcohol with them and say maybe tonight we can drink something. I had absolutely no desire to drink anything but I said maybe later, let me shower cause I've never felt this disgusting ever. Negar and I then go up to the roof for a short while and eventually return to our room to go bed. We change into our glasses and underwear and t-shirts (cause this country is way too hot for anything else) and climb under our bed sheets. At some point they come in and invite us to come drinking with them. We say no, that we're tired and just want to go to bed. They are made very sad by our response. Bros, what part about our appearances leads you to believe that I want to drink let alone party and fist pump with you? This is my "going to bed" look. As shocking as it might seem, this is not as good as it gets. I can sometimes look better and if I'm going to go out I typically do. Please pick up on your context clues: I'm not going drinking with you.

Our final day in Foz is a lot of waiting around for our bus at 5 that evening. To emotionally and psychologically prepare ourselves we go buy endless snacks at the super market and then wait around in the hostel with our friends until it's suitable to leave. Around 3 pm we go downstairs and ask the girls at the hostel desk what time the city bus leaves for the bus station and they tell us on the hour. On the hour? And it takes 45 minutes to get there?! We start panicking because there's no way we can make our bus to Porto Alegre if we get the bus at 4 so the girls say we should get a taxi. Alright, book one for us at 3:30. No problem.

We then go upstairs to tell the girls what we've been told and they call bulls*** on the hostel girls. They say that they took the bus that morning and it came within 15 mins and that the bus number the girls gave us is not the only one that could take us to the bus station. So we leg it to the bus station and to our pleasure a bus comes within 15 mins to take us the station. Endless bulls***, I tell you.

We finally make our bus and the 19 hour journey to Porto Alegre commences... Where we stop eight times in 4 hours... More on that later.