July 1

Today was a day of transition for the group. We originally planned to leave Obera at 8:00 AM, but did not get off until about 9:30. One of the reasons we were late getting off was because we walked over to the original Olaus Petri church and the school they run (I have been misspelling Olaus Petri this whole trip... sorry about that). Our journey to the last stop of our adventure, Puerta Iguazu on the northern border of Argentina, took about 3 and a half hours. The ride went smoothly and the scenery reminded me of Highway 61 in Northern Minnesota (except for the odd palm tree). We arrived just in time to catch the second half of the Argentina v. Switzerland World Cup match. We watched it in a restaurant full of Argentines who were sitting on pins and needles until Angel Di Maria scored in the 118 minute to make the score 1-0. The place went crazy! The Argentines had to endure another 5 minutes of nail-biting action before the whistle blew and they could finally celebrate a victory. After lunch we walked around town. Cars were honking their horns and waving the Argentina flag. We walked to an overlook just outside of the main drag and could see the Iguazu river. We could also see Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina from our vantage point. The USA match was starting soon so we walked back to the hotel. The game started as we were walking back, which was not a problem because every other store or cafe had the game on. As we walked I would stop and watch as the rest of the group would shop. We ended up watching the 2nd half of the game in our hotel room until the power went out. That was the second time this trip the power went out! The first time was when we were eating dinner in Obera the other night. That time the whole town was out. Tonight only half the town was out. I went over to the bus station to finish watching the match. Sadly USA lost, but it has been a fun ride. We had a light dinner and called it a night. We will spend tomorrow at Iguazu Falls.