Passport to Roam - National Geographic Kids

Leaving our hotel in Paraguay at 2:00 am wasn't super fun but we arrived at the immigration office just five hours later. While we waited for our boat over to Iguazu Falls, Argentina we stared at the beautiful river from shore. The sunrise and the morning mist were truly magical. This is where Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil all join together.

When our ferry arrived we all hopped on very excited to see some of the largest waterfalls in the world. Tomorrow we would go to the park, but first we had to get our Brazilian visas. We left the consulate office with our passports stamped, explored the town and found a tourist office. After hearing about all the activities we decided that The Great Adventure boat ride was by far the best even though we were told "YOU WILL GET SOAKED". The next morning we suited up, put on our life jackets and boarded the 9:00 o'clock boat. We traveled down the river for a while, as we got close to the falls our jaws all dropped in awe.

We crossed an amazing suspension bridge from Argentina to Paraguay with one more stamp in our passports.



It was a rainy morning when we arrived at the Trinidad Jesuit Mission. The ruins of the church were spectacular and there were beautiful remains of living areas as well. The Jesuits set up a type of living for the native Guarani people that was very communal. Each family was given a small home and the children were schooled. There was a big central plaza with the main church, a hospital, a coligio which housed the priest and also contained art workshops, and the cabildo which was where the Guarani's chosen leader lived. The food was shared equally between every one. The missions were growing throughout Paraguay and Argentina but in 1641 an army of 3000 slave traders took over and there was an abrupt end to the Jesuit Missions. Many years after the missions had been buried in to the earth they were discovered and found in great condition, especially considering they were almost 400 years old. Well that was my history lesson for the day.

Our first night in Cordoba, Argentina we were wandering the cool streets full of art galleries and found an oil painting that perfectly captured our many weeks in South America. There are two horses; saddled gaucho style, standing by a beautiful river that looks like so many we have seen along the way. We just had to have it. After making friends with the gallery owner and making our purchase we wandered a little farther and found a sushi restaurant. We loved having something different for a change and the sushi was very yummy. The next day we went on a city tour and learned about the history of Cordoba.

Pasado del Jamon. We pulled in to The Ham Hotel happy to be there. This was one of the coolest hotels in Argentina. There was a big playground, a soccer field and vines to run and play in. There were also all kinds of animals; dog, cats, horses, guinea fowl, puppies, peacocks, and parrots. Mom and dad had fun touring the beautiful wineries and Everest and I had fun playing at the hotel.

We pulled up to San Antonio, our refuge in the high country near Aconcagua, the western hemisphere's highest summit and stood in awe of the magnificent Andes Mountains. We were ready to do some hiking.

We started our first morning with our new guide, the montana perro (mountain dog), the best guide on the mountain. We hiked up the river bed and down the snail trail. It was gorgeous. The sky was sapphire and the wind was blowing, it was a fantastic day for a hike. The vast mountains took our breath away. We saw so much wildlife, from stallions and cows to colorful birds and foxes.



We went back to a delectable dinner in the refuge after our big adventure with a really big appetite.