Day 22:
| San Ignacio Hostel (1 night) | 370 |
| Mission Ruins ticket | 270 |
| Bus to Puerto Iguazu | 590 |
| Water | 20 |
| Hostel Porambas (2 nights) | 800 + 2.54 USD |
| Empanadas | 160 |
| Water (2L) | 55 |
| Buffet dinner | 220 |
| Total: | 319.1 RMB (USD 45.39) |
I stopped in San Ignacio to visit the ruins of an old Jesuit mission, apparently one of the most complete in South America. Though very atmospheric, the visit was a bit underwhelming. I was very impressed by the mid century resort style hostel, where I was “accidentally” upgraded into a private room due to a miscommunication when checking in and fortunately managed to get away with the dorm bed price.
Day 23:
| Roundtrip to Waterfalls | 360 |
| Water | 80 |
| Iguazu Park Admission | 800 (13.42 USD?) |
| Ice cream | 50 |
| Parrilla | 500 |
| Total: | 1790 ARS (217 RMB) (USD 30.87) |
The purpose of visiting Puerto Iguazu was to see the “Niagra Falls of South America,” and they were well worth the admission price. I’m not sure I could have been convinced to shell out an additional 2,500 for a boat ride into the waterfalls and there was plenty of walking trails (all handicap accessible) around the almost Disney Land type park. Dinner was a very satisfying barbecue with a group of backpackers from the hostel at an outside, market-adjacent Brazilian style place. I feel we got a bit shorted on the sides, though the mountain of meat on the grill was just enough to fill everyone up.
Day 24:
| Quiche | 210 |
| Coffee and cookies | 80 |
| Overnight Bus Ticket to Corrientes | 20.85 + 2.4 USD |
| Luggage handler tip | 10 |
| Total: | 199.77 RMB (USD 28.42) |
Though I had a whole other day to kill in Puerto Iguazu and you can get 50% off admission on the second subsequent day, I didn’t think it was worth going a second day when I wasn’t going to follow the trail to the swimming hole or shell out for the value-added excursions. I had a nice chill day around town, instead.
Day 25:
| Grilled cheese and coffee @ McDonald’s | 160 |
| Lomo (steak sandwich) | 380 |
| Hostel (2 nights) | 1040 + 4.37 USD |
| Water | 60 |
| Chipa Relleno | 70 |
| Total: | 238 RMB (USD 33.86) |
I originally booked three nights at the Catedral Hostel in Corrientes, but realizing that buses do not depart every night, I managed to shorten my stay a day without eating more than a dollar on the HostelWorld fee. It was a bit hard to find good food because a lot of things close down on Sundays, but it was a very scenic McDonalds on one of the plazas and I ate in a well regarded resto-bar (perhaps I should have taken advantage of the 2-for-1 pizzas on Sundays, but as it was the waiter didn’t want me to order the milanesa because it was for more than one person). Chipa M’boca is sort of a dough wrapped around a stick and barbecued; relleno means they filled the tube with ham and cheese.
Day 26:
| Sube recharge | 100 |
| Salad | 310 |
| Pizza | 335 |
| Allergy medicine | 100 |
| Total: | 845 ARS (102.4 RMB) (USD 14.57) |
I took a day trip to sister city Resistencia, but because it was a national holiday (Day of National Unity), the several worthwhile museums were all closed, so it amounted to walking around in the blazing sun “enjoying” some of the myriads of sculptures around town and a very nice (though not so big) salad in a cafe (No Me Olvides). I spent the late afternoon on the beach in Corrientes (one of five public beaches open during the summer) and somehow suffered an intense allergic reaction with a runny nose and extreme discomfort in my right eye. It might be the beaches as the trip to the beach in Rosario also lead me to stick with glasses for a couple days while the redness and agitation in my right eye receded. One funny thing about the near worthless Argentinian currency is that the pharmacy couldn’t be bothered making change for the 94.something peso pack of pills so they gave me a band-aid instead. (I’ve also seen grocery stores giving handfuls of candies instead of small change).
Day 27:
| Coffee and pastries | 300 |
| Ice cream | 85 |
| Overnight Bus to Salta | 2230 (USD ??) |
| Luggage handler tip | 10 |
| Total: | 2625 ARS (318.2 RMB) (USD 45.27) |
In a small and popular Italian style bakery and cafe (Martha de Bianchetti), I managed to order an espresso (two actually) and both a basket of chipacitos (little cheese bread balls) and an array of little gourmet cookies. It was both excellent and a success in navigating in Spanish.
Day 28:
| Luggage Handler tip | 5 |
| Salta Hostel (5 nights) | 1490 + 4.73 USD |
| 6.25 L water | 90 |
| Total: | 225.4 RMB (USD 32.06) |
The bus was scheduled to arrive at 10:30 am, but didn’t reach Salta until nearly 5 pm. I’m lucky I was traveling “business” class and they handed out packs of uninspired snacks for dinner and breakfast. I don’t mind tipping the guys who load and unload your luggage, but sometimes they are a little aggressive with the request for “propina” (tip). I was mildly disappointed that the hostel did not organize a barbecue as advertised in their online description, and though I could have easily gotten some food from the supermarket to cook (like everyone else in the hostel), I couldn’t muster up an appetite.
So, two of my credit card transactions, namely the entrance ticket at Iguazu and the bus ticket from Corrientes to Salta are not showing up on my credit card activity, so I might be able to just keep traveling through Argentina, putting everything on my card and having Wells Fargo pay for it. Does that make me a Robin Hood or a Frank Abagnale?
Running Total: 5024.8 RMB (USD 714.85)
Daily Average: 179.46 RMB (USD 25.53)