Day 39: Argentina to Brazil

After travelling all night through Argentina, Brazil bound, I woke up for the fifth and final time on a night bus. The lush green, jungle landscape outside telling me we were close to our destination. We were served breakfast (I tucked into my gluten free baked goods from the bakery in BA the day before) and before long we had arrived in Puerto Iguazú, northern part of Argentina, bordering Brazil and Paraguay.

I disembarked at 1:45pm and immediately felt the warmth I'd been expecting from South America. However, with my giant bag on my back, I could have done with a degree or two cooler. Here, in the bus station, I had to figure out how to get across the border and find my accommodation. Not without some confusion, I boarded a bus bound for Foz de Iguaçu. I explained to the driver that I needed to get my passport stamped at the border (as was advised by the hostel in the booking confirmation) and he just sort of swatted me away like a nuisance fly. A short distance away, down a busy motorway, we arrived at the border, which was like a series of extra large toll booths. I went to get off and reached for my rucksack. The driver, irritated again, ushered for me to leave it there. It felt counter intuitive to do so, but I was embarrassed, so sheepishly, I climbed off the bus with the rest of the passengers. There was a long, fast moving queue waiting to get passports stamped. Everyone on my bus and the buses that arrived after us, was queueing at border control, and after the swiftest passport control, we were through and the bus was waiting for us.

Back on the bus, we continued on the motorway, towards the Brazilian border control. This time, I got off with my rucksack, alone, and the bus drove off. Great. I walked over to the office where I was met with a grumpy, unfriendly and rude border officer. I asked if she spoke English, and she stuttered over a couple of words. Watching her struggle, I asked, "Español?", and momentarily she lit up and smiled, relieved. This was my first encounter with Portuguese. After being able to communicate in Spanish up to this point, I'd been nervous about finishing in Brazil where I didn't speak the language, but with the border officers half-assed attempt at Spanish and enough gesticulation to make for a good mime show, I got the jist of the converstation and was through border no. 2.

Outside I waited in the wonderfully warm sun for another bus to show. I had to pay a second fare but was relieved to be back on the bus headed for my accommodation, Tetris Container Hostel. My cousin Lynn, who would be arriving later that day, had found this hostel and was so excited about it. Right from the earliest days planning the Brazil trip with her, she wanted to come here, so I was happy to go along with it. Also known as Casa Container, a local landmark, I asked the busdriver to let me out there. And sure enough, it was a pretty cool hostel - a series of brightly painted, stacked, shipping containers converted into a hostel. It had a beautiful courtyard out the back complete with a mini swimming pool and beautiful hanging plants to provide shade. Good shout, Lynn!

Keen to explore, I (finally!) donned my shorts and flip flops and wandered down the road to find a cash machine and some water. At the end of our block, less than 100m from our hostel, I came across a pretty little café/restaurant and was drawn inside. There, I met a really friendly waiter who calmly and carefully outlined every dish on the menu ( I only asked if they had any gluten free options), smiling the entire time. I said to the happy chappy that I'd probably be back later (I did - each day for three days!) and toddled off down the hill.

I walked about 15mins towards the town, coming to a big junction with petrol stations and some ratty shops, got what I needed and headed back. It didn't exactly entice me to explore further, so I headed back up the hill and, conscious of the few remaining hours of sunlight, decided to just sit out and have something light to eat. I went back to the café/restaurant, Emporio com Arte, with the smiling waiter and took a seat on the veranda. It was hot in the sun. I wasn't used to this! And the staff asked if I didn't want to sit inside. I did not.

I sat there a while and another, equally friendly and charming as the first, waiter came to me. Too shy to try Spanish for fear of causing offence, I proceeded to order in English. The bewildered waiter called another collegue over. And before I knew it, I had three different waiters standing around me trying to make sense of what I wanted! In the end, despite the insane heat, I ordered soup with bread (that they insisted was gluten free) and a pineapple juice.

And then I waited. For a long time. I started to wonder if I had even ordered anything! Eventually the food appeared. The soup, thick and hot, the juice, fresh and chilled, and then the large bowl of crispy looking balls of bread. They looked amazing. There was no way they were gluten free! I had to call them back to check... No, no, they said, they're made from "manioc" - this is a root vegetable, not wheat. I couldn't believe my eyes - they looked unreal. I picked one up, and cracked the crispy bread apart and was amazed when this steamy, gooey, stretchy middle opened out. Oh God, they tasted so good! I could have wept - bread, nice bread, that I can eat! I immediately started googling: pão de queijo - literally, "cheese bread". What was this magic?! Could it be true? These delicious, crusty, cheese flavoured, balls of fluffly deliciousness are made of "manioc", or as we know, tapioca. This is extracted from cassava root. And YES! It is gluten free! This recipe was coming home with me...

I sat there and gorged on this amazing, hot fresh baked bread and soup til I thought I'd pop, and chatted to the friendly staff, thanking them for opening up my food-world!

I waddled back up to the hostel and had just enough time for a shower and make myself daecent before Lynn arrived (her flight delayed by 2 hours in Rio). I went out the lobby to make enquiries about getting to the falls the next day, and there she was! After all this time, we were reunited! And she was just in time to avail of the free caipirinas that the hostel offered their guests between 8:00 and 8:30pm every night!

Out in the courtyard with our "caipis", we sat on the sun loungers, catching up and chatting to some of the new friends Lynn had made on the flight over. Roll on Brazil!

Accommodation: Tetris Container Hostel

Weather: Hot and muggy during the day, 25 degrees (felt hotter); balmy evening - no need for jackets - at last!!!