Since last time I posted, I’ve been busy traveling to the north of Argentina and finishing up school. First, everyone on our program went to Iguazú Falls with our professor Gisela as the final part of our last Comisión class. We flew into Iguazú and spent the day at the falls. There are waterfalls, and then there is Iguazú. It really is an incredible sight to see that much water cascading down and crashing below. We went to La Garganta del Diablo (the Devil’s Throat), the biggest waterfall in the park, and it does not disappoint. There is so much water in the air that you walk away soaking wet. All the plants were super green and it amazed me that they were able to stay attached to the waterfall with so much force being exerted on them by the falling water. We then went to another part of the park where we saw some smaller (but still beautiful) falls. The park is organized really well and you can get views of the falls from different levels. We started at the base and then crossed to an island where you were basically in the middle of the falls then finally, we crossed on top of the falls and looked down on the crashing water. It was so beautiful—and unlike anything else I had ever seen. Plus, because of all the water in the air, there are rainbows EVERYWHERE and butterflies and flowers. It really seems like a fake fairy world. When we finally left the park at closing time, we went to the city of Iguazú and found our hostel.
The next day, we had the opportunity to check out an indigenous community called Fortín Mborore. The Comisión has been in contact with the community for a few years and the park service does a lot with the indigenous communities to help preserve their culture. We went food shopping for a big lunch feast and then drove to the community. Only a few people could speak Spanish, most spoke only Guaraní. We prepared lunch and played soccer with the kids and learned a few Guaraní words. The community was basically re-founded after the end of the dictatorship because the families of Mborore were forbidden to live together in community. Angela, our contact with the park service & the Comisión had incredible stories of wandering along the riverbank 30 years ago finding small groups of people living together and trying to convince them to move to the community they were starting so everyone from the Guaraní community could live together. She helped to start the community and then founded a bilingual school (Guaraní and Spanish) that now has the highest matriculation rate of any school in the province. She told us how when she started the school, it was just her as the teacher, nurse, administrator, lunch lady etc. Really an incredible woman. It was an awesome day and really interesting to see more of the indigenous communities we had been learning about.
Our last day in Iguazú, we went to the Jesuit ruins at San Ignacio. The ruins have been well restored and you can really see the layout of the community. We were with this hilarious group of older Uruguayans. They were cracking jokes the entire time and we loved spending the afternoon with them. Iguazú was a wonderful trip and I loved spending time with our professor Gisela. She works with the National Park Service and was a constant source of insight throughout the week.
This is the first of a few posts in the next couple days… bear with me as I finish up sharing the last couple weeks. I’m back in the U.S. in 8 days.
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