Trip to Brazil

About 4 PM on Friday afternoon we all loaded our stuff and selves into a big travel bus. Andres who is our guide was there to greet us. I think he has gone with every ACU group bus trip to Brazil. He was a very memorable part of our trip two years ago. One of the bus drivers, Carlitos, was also the same as two years ago. Once we were all loaded we started our long journey. We entertained ourselves by playing games, watching movies, and napping.

The are playing Farkle, not gambling.

When we got on the bus, Wimon told us that Andres would serve us a light snack soon, then we'd have an early dinner. After we had been on the bus 15 min or so, Andres brought through some little candies for us and we enjoyed our snack. At about 5 or 5:15, he served us all sandwiches and a couple of cookies. We were then very surprised when about 8 Wimon asked if we wanted sandwiches then or in half an hour. It turns out the sandwich and cookies had been our "light" snack. And 8 is early for dinner in Uruguay.

Besides serving us food and sodas, one of the great things Andres does is take care of border crossings for us. Going between Uruguay and Argentina, we didn't even have to get off the bus. Andres did all the work. It was really nice.

Around midnight we started trying to settle down to sleep. These buses are more comfortable than airplane, by a lot... but not as comfortable as a bed, by a lot.

When we woke up we were in the Missiones Province of Argentina. Around 8:40 AM Uruguay time, we arrived at the San Ignacio Mini Mission. If you've seen the movie "The Mission" you've seen this mission. It was established by Jesuits but burned down a 150 years ago. They are trying to restore the mission, its pretty neat to visit. It was nice to get out and stretch our legs.

What is left of the old church.

Ben is a little too tall to live in an old Guarani house.

We then headed to the home of Uruguayan born writer Horatio Quiroga. He was a big fan of Poe, if that gives you an idea of his writing style. I had suggested to Wimon that he give the students one of Quiroga's short stories to read on the bus on the way there to set the tone. (Rhonda had the students and I read it last time I was here.) Its called the Decapitated Chicken. Its well... um... interesting. You should read it some time... its quite short. To give you another idea about this guy, his first wife, both his children, and he all committed suicide.

Rosalinda interpreting for our guide at Horatio's house.

I just thought this sign was funny at the Quiroga property. It says "Lugar de Inspiracion." I guess literally "Place of Inspiration," but its at an overlook, so in my head its "Inspiration Point."

After that we headed on towards Foz do Igauzu. We stopped and had lunch just short of the border. When we crossed into Brazil, we did actually have to get out of the bus for 5 min to have our passports stamped personally. We were then just a few minutes from our hotel.

After a stop at a grocery store to get some snacks and drinks, and to visit and ATM, we finally got to our hotel rooms around 5... only 25 hours after we left. Let me tell you it was GREAT to get a shower! :)