Days 108-110, Getting a Brazilian Visa

The following takes place between Tuesday, March 15 and Thursday, March 17, 2011

Unfortunately for Canadians, Americans, and Australians, we need a visa to enter Brazil. Double unfortunately, we need one BEFORE we arrive at the border as, unlike many countries, Brazil does not hand out visas at the border.

Normally one would get one back at home before they even leave for their trip. However, the Brazil visa needs to be used within 90 days of being issued and, seeing as I’m already over 107 days into my trip, it wouldn’t have been possible to do so.

Now here’s the definitive procedure in procuring a visa for Brazil while in Argentina.

Days 106-107, Iguazu Falls

The following takes place on Sunday, March 13 and Monday, March 14, 2011

After another overnight bus trip(that included a french movie with spanish subtitles that seemed to be about a pterodactyl which escapes from the Paris museum, is psychically linked to some weird old man, they die, and then mummies come to life in the museum to help this one womans comatose sister. After that, the woman gets on a ship that turn out to be the Titanic. The End. Confused? So was I) I arrived in Puerto Iguazu in Northern Argentina.

It didn’t take long for me to grab a taxi and get taken out of town to where my hostel was. This was no hostel though. This was like a resort! Huge lobby with a bar, games room, sitting area, and restaurant. Outdoor pool(and a huge one at that), poolside bar with drink specials all the time, and bungalows for rooms.

Days 101-105, Buenos Aires from all Angles

The following takes place between Tuesday, March 8 to Saturday, March 12, 2011

Buenos Aires is a massive city with so much room to explore and discover its hidden treasures. There is also many different ways that one can explore and discover these treasures. From organized tours to random wanderings, there’s not shortage of the things that you can find.

With the realization of my time in South America quickly starting to wind down, I had to make the most of my shortened time frame. So the wallet opened and I started spending crazy amounts of money. Tours and shows were booked, bikes were rented, and money was set aside for a pub crawl. It was going to be an intensive, and memorable, couple days.

Days 99-100, First Steps in Tango Central

The following takes place on Sunday, March 6 and Monday, March 7, 2011

My bus from Mendoza pulled into the Retiro station in central Buenos Aires around one in the afternoon. After getting my bag and tipping the man who pulled the bags out from under the bus(this is a requirement in Argentina) I made my way onto the street and quickly found my way onto Buenos Aires’ aging metro system.

Compared to the subway system in Santiago, Buenos Aires certainly leaves a lot to be desired. Garbage littered the stairs leading down to the metro station and the floor was riddled with ripped up flooring. The cars also seemed like they had seen better days. But considering Buenos Aires had the first underground metro in all of South America, I guess we can let this slide. A little.

Days 96-98, Madness in Mendoza

The following takes places between Thursday, March 3 and Saturday, March 5, 2011

Mendoza, Argentina. If it is famous for only one thing, then it’s because of the wine. Mendoza sits in the middle of one of the most productive wine regions in Argentina. They account for over 50% of the wines produced in the entire country. Travelers come to this small city for the specific purpose of checking out the wineries and scoring some free and/or cheap wine.

In reality, there’s actually quite a bit more to do in the area besides drinking copious amounts of amazing red and white wine. The hostel I was at made this fact known quite well with a huge wall covered with different activities available every day. However, I also learned one con to doing a trip “on the fly” while in Mendoza which affected my entire visit to the city.

Day 94-95, Vistas and Views

The following takes place on Tuesday, March 1 and Wednesday, March 2, 2011

The night before was an amazing time, one of the best nights I’ve ever had to be honest. It was definitely sad to say goodbye to Ben and to know that in one more day I’ll be the one saying goodbye. But what a way to send him off! And for those that are curious about the “incident” with the guard at the India Embassy. 3am, as we were walking by, the girls all decided they needed a cigarette and bummed a light off of the guard. Then Ben thought it would be a hell of an idea if he took his belt off and take turns wacking us all on the ass with it while the guard took photos.

Yeah. We were drunk.

I woke up with Stefan packing up his stuff as his girlfriend from back in Brazil was supposed to be arriving that afternoon and they had booked a different hotel to spend time together. Another hard goodbye was had as I watched him leave the hostel. That left myself, Erin, and Kasandra of the original five still in the hostel.