March 10-11, 2020
I still have a few more posts to write about a trip we took last June, but I have to record last week's adventure while it is still fresh in my mind.
We put months into planning a trip to South America, starting with a flight to Iguazu Falls on the Brazil/Argentina border, continuing on to Buenos Aires, and ending in the Patagonia regions of Argentina and Chile. My brother and sister-in-law are humanitarian missionaries for our church. They are based in Buenos Aires but travel all over Argentina as well as occasionally to neighboring countries. They help with the fitting and distribution of wheelchairs to low-income individuals, providing medical equipment to hospitals, creating and distributing school kits, etc. They have been serving eight months, and we were excited to spent the first half of our trip with them.
Unfortunately, we were set on a collision course with the COVID-19 pandemic, which began quietly three months before our trip when the first patient infected with a previously unknown virus entered a hospital in Wuhan, China. On January 21, 2020, the first case of someone with the same virus was confirmed in the United States. Preventive measures began. On February 5, a Princess cruise ship with 3,600 passengers began a quarantine in Yokohama, Japan, and eventually 218 of those passengers aboard were diagnosed with the virus.
On February 11, the disease was given the name COVID-19, an acronym for Coronavirus Disease 2019. The total number of cases had risen to 44,653 in 24 countries.
On February 24, the US had 35 confirmed cases and no deaths. On February 26, Latin America had its first case, a Brazilian man who had recently returned from Italy. On February 29, the US had its first death and announced restrictions involving travel to and from Italy and South Korea. On March 10, there were 259 cases of COVID-19 in the United States.
And that gets us to the day we were scheduled to leave for our Argentina Adventure. Things were crazy in China, South Korea, and Europe, and cases were just beginning to pick up in the United States, but South America was almost virus free, with just a few cases and no known community transmission. There were no travel warnings or advisories regarding any of the places we planned to go. We weren't cavalier about making the decision to go ahead with our plans. It seemed that we would be okay, and the prevalent thought was that COVID-19 would not spread in South America because it was summer there.
So on Tuesday, March 10, we left home at 4:15 PM for our 9:45 PM flight out of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). We left earlier than usual because it was raining and we were concerned about how that might impact traffic. My sister and her husband, who live in Montana, were joining us on our adventure and had left the Billings airport earlier in the day. Our drive went smoothly, we parked the car at the Hilton and caught a shuttle to the airport, and we had plenty of time for dinner before we left.
We were struck by how empty the airport was. What was going on in Europe and Asia was already having a huge impact on the airline industry. However, the first leg of our flight to Lima was almost full.
We flew 8.5 hours to Lima, Peru, landing at Jorge Chavez International Airport at 8:15 AM their time (a two-hour time difference included). By the way, Jorge Chavez (1887-1910) is a beloved Peruvian aviator who was the first person to fly over the Alps. Sadly, as he was landing after that flight, a heavy wind broke the wings of his fragile plane and he died in the crash. (Not a super comforting story to attach to an airport, is it?)
Bob typically likes to plop down and read the news when we are in an airport, but I like to walk around and get some steps in. Lima has a relatively small airport, and I walked to the far end and back, window shopping along the way, seeing lots of intriguing things for sale.
I'll take one of each:
Doesn't EVERYONE want a guitar-playing guinea pig? And FRIDA!!! What are you doing in Lima?
None of these things would appeal to Bob, but I found something that did, a restaurant called La Nacional that had two of our favorite Peruvian dishes on the menu: ceviche and causa. I went back to where Bob was sitting and convinced him to walk to the other end of the airport. I think he was glad he did.
I'm always impressed by the fruit juice drinks available in tropical countries. We ordered two concoctions that were some of the best fruit juices we have had anywhere. We had to remind ourselves we were at an airport. The one on the left is called D'Lima. It is lime juice macerated in rosemary and soda. Very refreshing. The one on the right is called Huambrilla. It is pineapple and orange juice, carambola (starfruit) syrup, and jasmine tea. Amazing.
We shared this beautifully-styled Causa Limeña: mashed yellow potato marinated with lime and chili and stuffed with chicken, avocado, and homemade mayonnaise.
We also had Ceviche Mixto: Catch of the day, calamari, octopus and shrimp ceviche (raw fish cured in lemon or lime juice), served with sweet potato and choclo (large-kernel Peruvian corn).
We actually got in 15 or 20 minutes early and had to wait a few minutes until we saw Dave and Bonnie and Chris and Stan. Reunions at airports are always so fun! The world is such a huge place, and it is impossible to believe we can actually all find each other 5,500-6,000 miles from home!
It was fun to see Dave and Bonnie wearing their missionary name tags that say they provide "wellness services."
Our hotel, San Martin Cataratas [waterfalls] Hotel & Spa was just a few minutes away from the airport. We checked in and then had dinner at the buffet.
I noticed this painting in the lobby and asked Dave about it. He did a little research and learned that it depicts a Guarani Indian legend. The story is that a giant serpent god lived in the river, and to pacify him, the locals had to offer him a beautiful virgin each year. When the beautiful young daughter of the tribal chief was about to be sacrificed, she was kidnapped by her lover, a young warrior. They fled in a canoe, but the serpent god was so angry that he caused a giant crack to appear in the earth--the birth of Iguazu Falls. The lovers were swept down the falls. Just as the beautiful girl was about to reach the bottom, the serpent god turned her into a rock so she couldn't escape. Her lover reached out to her to save her, but the serpent god pulled his hands into the bank. They became roots, and the young man became a palm tree overlooking the falls. The serpent god got his revenge. The young lovers would always gaze on each other but never be able to touch. So sad.
Our room was simple and clean and, best of all, cool. Iguazu is very tropical, and we were grateful for a good air conditioner. The view from our window was especially beautiful:
After dinner we all squeezed into a little seven-passenger car that was about half the size of a regular mini-van and crossed the border into Argentina. We had booked a "Full Moon Walk" to the falls, which is offered each lunar cycle for five days--two nights before the full moon, the night of the full moon, and two nights after. We were there on the last of the five days.
We started by riding the Rainforest Ecological Train that runs about four miles from the Visitors Center to Cataratas (Waterfalls) Station. From there we walked for about thirty minutes along a metal sidewalk that spans the wide Iguazu River. There were no lights illuminating our way other than the moon and stars (and what glorious stars they were!), and we were grateful for a cloudless sky.
When I looked up the falls on Google Earth, I could actually see the walkway we took, marked at its endpoint with a pin and the name of the walkway: Paseos de Luna Llena en Cataratas del Iguazu (Full Moon Walk at Iguazu Falls). I've highlighted it in red.
We had about 30 minutes at the falls, then walked the same way we had come in reverse back to the train, which took us back to the parking lot. Unfortunately, our driver didn't arrive to pick us up for almost 30 MORE minutes, but he finally got us back to our hotel around 1:00 AM.
We tumbled into our beds for some much needed sleep, blissfully unaware of what was happening in the rest of the world.
Meanwhile . . .
I had signed up for alerts from the U.S. Embassy, but for some reason my email was frozen and not letting me access new mail. The following email, unbeknownst to me, was sitting in my inbox (highlights added):
I still have a few more posts to write about a trip we took last June, but I have to record last week's adventure while it is still fresh in my mind.
We put months into planning a trip to South America, starting with a flight to Iguazu Falls on the Brazil/Argentina border, continuing on to Buenos Aires, and ending in the Patagonia regions of Argentina and Chile. My brother and sister-in-law are humanitarian missionaries for our church. They are based in Buenos Aires but travel all over Argentina as well as occasionally to neighboring countries. They help with the fitting and distribution of wheelchairs to low-income individuals, providing medical equipment to hospitals, creating and distributing school kits, etc. They have been serving eight months, and we were excited to spent the first half of our trip with them.
Unfortunately, we were set on a collision course with the COVID-19 pandemic, which began quietly three months before our trip when the first patient infected with a previously unknown virus entered a hospital in Wuhan, China. On January 21, 2020, the first case of someone with the same virus was confirmed in the United States. Preventive measures began. On February 5, a Princess cruise ship with 3,600 passengers began a quarantine in Yokohama, Japan, and eventually 218 of those passengers aboard were diagnosed with the virus.
 |
| An image of the COVID-19 virus from here |
On February 24, the US had 35 confirmed cases and no deaths. On February 26, Latin America had its first case, a Brazilian man who had recently returned from Italy. On February 29, the US had its first death and announced restrictions involving travel to and from Italy and South Korea. On March 10, there were 259 cases of COVID-19 in the United States.
And that gets us to the day we were scheduled to leave for our Argentina Adventure. Things were crazy in China, South Korea, and Europe, and cases were just beginning to pick up in the United States, but South America was almost virus free, with just a few cases and no known community transmission. There were no travel warnings or advisories regarding any of the places we planned to go. We weren't cavalier about making the decision to go ahead with our plans. It seemed that we would be okay, and the prevalent thought was that COVID-19 would not spread in South America because it was summer there.
So on Tuesday, March 10, we left home at 4:15 PM for our 9:45 PM flight out of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). We left earlier than usual because it was raining and we were concerned about how that might impact traffic. My sister and her husband, who live in Montana, were joining us on our adventure and had left the Billings airport earlier in the day. Our drive went smoothly, we parked the car at the Hilton and caught a shuttle to the airport, and we had plenty of time for dinner before we left.
We were struck by how empty the airport was. What was going on in Europe and Asia was already having a huge impact on the airline industry. However, the first leg of our flight to Lima was almost full.
Bob typically likes to plop down and read the news when we are in an airport, but I like to walk around and get some steps in. Lima has a relatively small airport, and I walked to the far end and back, window shopping along the way, seeing lots of intriguing things for sale.
I'll take one of each:
Doesn't EVERYONE want a guitar-playing guinea pig? And FRIDA!!! What are you doing in Lima?
None of these things would appeal to Bob, but I found something that did, a restaurant called La Nacional that had two of our favorite Peruvian dishes on the menu: ceviche and causa. I went back to where Bob was sitting and convinced him to walk to the other end of the airport. I think he was glad he did.
I'm always impressed by the fruit juice drinks available in tropical countries. We ordered two concoctions that were some of the best fruit juices we have had anywhere. We had to remind ourselves we were at an airport. The one on the left is called D'Lima. It is lime juice macerated in rosemary and soda. Very refreshing. The one on the right is called Huambrilla. It is pineapple and orange juice, carambola (starfruit) syrup, and jasmine tea. Amazing.
We shared this beautifully-styled Causa Limeña: mashed yellow potato marinated with lime and chili and stuffed with chicken, avocado, and homemade mayonnaise.
We also had Ceviche Mixto: Catch of the day, calamari, octopus and shrimp ceviche (raw fish cured in lemon or lime juice), served with sweet potato and choclo (large-kernel Peruvian corn).
Both dishes were just about as good as any causa and ceviche we've had anywhere, including on a previous trip to Peru.
The second leg of our flight left Lima at 12:35 PM, and we arrived in Iguazu, Brazil, at 6:35 PM (with another two-hour time change), about twenty-two hours after we left home.
As we approached the airport, I was impressed by all the water . . .
. . . and by how green it was, especially considering it was the end of summer, the driest, hottest time of year.
Coming in for a landing!
We actually got in 15 or 20 minutes early and had to wait a few minutes until we saw Dave and Bonnie and Chris and Stan. Reunions at airports are always so fun! The world is such a huge place, and it is impossible to believe we can actually all find each other 5,500-6,000 miles from home!
It was fun to see Dave and Bonnie wearing their missionary name tags that say they provide "wellness services."
I noticed this painting in the lobby and asked Dave about it. He did a little research and learned that it depicts a Guarani Indian legend. The story is that a giant serpent god lived in the river, and to pacify him, the locals had to offer him a beautiful virgin each year. When the beautiful young daughter of the tribal chief was about to be sacrificed, she was kidnapped by her lover, a young warrior. They fled in a canoe, but the serpent god was so angry that he caused a giant crack to appear in the earth--the birth of Iguazu Falls. The lovers were swept down the falls. Just as the beautiful girl was about to reach the bottom, the serpent god turned her into a rock so she couldn't escape. Her lover reached out to her to save her, but the serpent god pulled his hands into the bank. They became roots, and the young man became a palm tree overlooking the falls. The serpent god got his revenge. The young lovers would always gaze on each other but never be able to touch. So sad.
Our room was simple and clean and, best of all, cool. Iguazu is very tropical, and we were grateful for a good air conditioner. The view from our window was especially beautiful:
After dinner we all squeezed into a little seven-passenger car that was about half the size of a regular mini-van and crossed the border into Argentina. We had booked a "Full Moon Walk" to the falls, which is offered each lunar cycle for five days--two nights before the full moon, the night of the full moon, and two nights after. We were there on the last of the five days.
We started by riding the Rainforest Ecological Train that runs about four miles from the Visitors Center to Cataratas (Waterfalls) Station. From there we walked for about thirty minutes along a metal sidewalk that spans the wide Iguazu River. There were no lights illuminating our way other than the moon and stars (and what glorious stars they were!), and we were grateful for a cloudless sky.
When I looked up the falls on Google Earth, I could actually see the walkway we took, marked at its endpoint with a pin and the name of the walkway: Paseos de Luna Llena en Cataratas del Iguazu (Full Moon Walk at Iguazu Falls). I've highlighted it in red.
I'm not good with night shots and didn't have a tripod, so these are the best shots I got. Trust me, it was spectacular.
We had about 30 minutes at the falls, then walked the same way we had come in reverse back to the train, which took us back to the parking lot. Unfortunately, our driver didn't arrive to pick us up for almost 30 MORE minutes, but he finally got us back to our hotel around 1:00 AM.
We tumbled into our beds for some much needed sleep, blissfully unaware of what was happening in the rest of the world.
Meanwhile . . .
I had signed up for alerts from the U.S. Embassy, but for some reason my email was frozen and not letting me access new mail. The following email, unbeknownst to me, was sitting in my inbox (highlights added):
Date: March 11, 2020
Location: Argentina
Location: Argentina
Event:
The government of Argentina announced upcoming enhanced screening and
quarantine measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Travelers should be
prepared for travel restrictions to be put into effect with little or no
advance notice. Visit the website of the Argentine
Ministry of Health (in Spanish) for additional information on these new
measures.
Public statements by Argentine government officials
noted a 14-day self-isolation quarantine for anyone, regardless of nationality,
arriving in Argentina who has visited a country with sustained transmission,
including the United States, all European countries, China, Japan, South Korea,
and Iran. Health screening measures are in place at the Buenos Aires
International Airport and the Argentine authorities may quarantine individual
travelers, including passengers transiting the International Airport, if the
Argentine authorities determine the traveler to be a health risk. Failure
to comply with the quarantine measure may be a criminal offense. A
presidential decree with more details on self-isolation and travel restrictions
is pending. Please refer to the Argentine Ministry
of Health website for further details.
Your pictures of the falls at night are much better than mine - great job. This will be a memorable trip.
ReplyDeleteNice pictures, kind of expensive pictures, but still nice.
ReplyDelete