looking back this is once again way more detail than any of you wants...sorry, I have a rambling problem... Just skim it.

So Iguazu was really incredible! We felt like we were in a fantasy world at some points. The falls span 2 km and have many different sections. On the Argentine side, there are three different viewing trails you can take. The first afternoon we were there, we walked the trail to Garganta del Diablo(Devil's throat). This is the highest of all the falls...it was high-there really is no good way to describe what it feels like to be standing on a platform at the edge of this thing: having to yell over the rush of the tons of water falling full speed and force over the rocky edge, feeling the mist of water hitting water at a point so far down you can't even see it...all the while knowing that the week before a woman had jumped off this very platform to her death. I just recommend seeing it for yourself : )
That night we were wandering the incredibly small and dead town of Puerto Iguazu after dinner and stumbled upon an open-front pool hall. Lexi got really excited because she likes pool, so we went in...don't worry it wasn't nearly as sketchy as it sounds. The owner and the locals who were clearly the only people that ever came in this place got a big kick out of us. We played a few games and had a great time. Then we went back to our hotel, Casa Blanca(yes, we chose it for the name), which actually had less comfortable beds than what we sleep on in Buenos Aires...this was impressive, but not particularly amusing.
The next day we got up bright and early to head back to the National Park. We walked the Upper trail which goes around the rim of the falls-tons of beautiful vistas! It was on this trail that we looked up and saw two little monkeys playing right above our heads! We stood and watched them for a while thinking how cool it was that we were seeing monkeys in their natural habitat and not in a zoo(Later, when I talked to Hillary she reminded me of all the wildlife they saw in South Africa, and the story no longer seemed so exciting...however I did buy a little wooden carved monkey from a craftsman to remember it by).
After this was the lower trail, that runs just above the water at the bottom of the falls. This was when the sun really came out and we were seeing three different full rainbows, tropical vegetation, huge rock formations, and lots of really big waterfalls...at this point with hardly any people on the trail with us. That was when I really felt like I was in Never Never Land or something. At the end of this trail you can walk out to a point where you're about 10 feet from the base of one of the falls, and you can feel the force of it...not to mention you're getting soaked in spite of the high-quality Iguazu ponchos. Then we descended all the way down to the water's edge where we got in a boat and loaded our valuables into water-proof bags(except for Lexi's super-cool, waterproof digital camera which everyone else was sooo jealous of b/c they were going to have to pay 15 pesos a picture from the guy on the boat). Then we got completely soaked by getting as close as possible to the base of a few different falls and zooming around in the river...then it was time to go home : )
The next morning, Caitlin donned her oh-so-cute "BRAZIL" tee shirt (compliments of Katuschka) and she and Johanna(our friend from Sweden) left at the crack of dawn to go try to get to the Brazil side of the falls before we had to leave that afternoon. Lexi and I weren't even going to try because I didn't have my Argentina student visa with me and my passport was clearly stamped from over 3 months ago, and I wasn't in the mood to get arrested(I don't speak Portuguese). Well, Caitlin was back to the hotel before Lexi and I had even gotten out of bed. Because they love Americans so much, you are required to get a visa even to go into the country for just a couple of hours and it's going to cost you a whopping one hundred DOLLARS...not pesos...US dollars, just for a few pretty pictures. Also, even if you are willing to shell out the dough, you can't do it at the border. You have to obtain the visa at Puerto Iguazu, Argentina, which is a good 30 km from the border...because that makes so much sense! So Caitlin got her picture taken at border control in her tee shirt in honor of Katuschka, and headed back to Casa Blanca. Meanwhile, Johanna went on in free of charge with her Swedish passport that gets her anywhere in the world she wants to go...good thing she had the nicest camera of all of us.
That afternoon, we headed out of Puerto Iguazu on our 18 hour bus ride home that turned into 20 hours when we got stopped along the way, drug dogs boarded the bus, and apparently found something. We got the scoop from one of the bus crew that Lexi had of course already befriended(we love traveling with her). We knew which guy it was and that he had been caught with a small amount of drugs, and we also knew that he was still on the bus when we finally got on our way again. When we consulted Eugenia(our room mate/Argentine law student who speaks perfect English) she informed us that possession of drugs in an amount that is clearly just for personal use is legal. It is only illegal if you are selling or suspected of intending to sell...once again, because that makes sooo much sense.

Love from Argentina!