Argentina

We went to Iguaçu Falls two weeks ago. I had gone in 2008 with my mom and sister, but only on the Argentinian side as the Brazilian side required a visa, which I did not have at the time. In 2014, I did have the visa to Brazil; however, upon speaking with people at the hostel, Argentina has a newly implemented visa requirement for Americans of $150. Hardly worth forking over $150 plus park entrance fees to see the Argentinian side for one day. Plus Sandra didn't have her immigration papers. So, my situation was exactly reversed between 2008 and 2014 in terms of having the right visas for two bordering countries. A bit unusual in my opinion. Here are the pictures from 2008 of what Iguazu normally looks like.  Beautiful right? That's not how Iguazu looks right now. Brazil is experiencing extremely unusual weather patterns that many believe are due to Climate Change. There is a huge drought in Sao Paulo as a pocket of hot air is sitting above the state caus...

Being in Brazil for the World Cup is different than I thought it was going to be. You think Brazil and you think World Cup and you immediately assume that they country that embodies o Jogo Bonito (The Beautiful Game) is going to love to be the host of the world's greatest sports spectacle. This is the idea I went to Brazil with. When I first arrived, everything seemed to be fitting in with this idea superficially. There are Brazilian flags everywhere, Brazilian jerseys and horns are in every market and store front, and people are wearing Brazilian jerseys. But when you start to talk to people about the World Cup, you realize that it is a much more complicated issue. While Brazilians mostly like soccer, or futebol, many are extremely upset over the quantity of money spent in preparation for the World Cup, mainly stadiums. The most obvious example is Manaus which is remotely located in the middle of the Amazon rainforest and hardly accessible by car. The Brazilian...