Traveling with Judy

Sorry it has taken so long for you to hear from me, but my trip got off to a rather inauspicious start. Not going to spend a lot of verbiage on the details, but suffice it to say I am dealing with two broken ankles and on my way home tonight. This happened on Thursday, 1/9, when traveling from Chicago to Miami where I fainted in the confined space of the plane bathroom. Just dehydrated. Anyway, finally did seek care on Wednesday at a hospital where I learned of my condition. Thank my lucky stars for excellent travel insurance. Everything was handled except for the language barrier, but Joan & Melinda were godsends. Helped with translation and emotional support.

I was able to hobble to see some of the sights including Iguazu Falls, a city tour of Buenos Aires and a tango show before I had to give in to the discomfort.

Nearly 80% of Iguazu Falls is on the Argentina side. The Falls are on the new Seven Natural Wonders of the World, and are considered the most spectacular waterfalls on earth. So sorry to you Niagara as you are just a dot on the map comparatively. There are over 275 falls in total. This view, and imagine the sound, is from the Argentina side. It took us the day to transverse the paths to see many of the Falls.

Just to give you an idea, the Falls are located in the jungle, so we saw plenty of wildlife: monkeys, anteaters, birds and the coatis which are members of the raccoon family. Pesky creatures that are not adverse to attacking backpacks looking for food. Of course the exotic creatures like Puma, Jaguar, Ocelot are nocturnal, so not fortunate enough to see them.

The picture above does not appear to be in focus, but it is the mist from the roaring falls.

Devil’s Throat on the Brazilian side where 20% of the Falls are located. All of the water to the falls comes from rain water. Can’t you just close your eyes and hear the roar of the water? Interesting and time consuming experience going through border immigration when entering & exiting Brazil from Argentina. A story for another time.

Stayed in a little inn outside of the Falls. Had we known better, we would have stayed at a lovely hotel right near the Falls in order to see either the jungle or the roaring water from our rooms. Oh well, live and learn.

Lots of meat in Argentina. I have had my share of protein. This is from our city tour of Buenos Aires.

Lots of color in this area of the City. My pictures are a bit scarce this time as hobbling did not lend itself well to photography. Just have to resort to my memory for images. Uh-oh.

The sensuous tango. Dinner and a show.

Oh, to be this lithe.

Claudio, who will be accompanying me to Chicago. My savior!!!! Wonderful caretaker and conversationalist, but most importantly, extremely experienced nurse. I am so fortunate.

Arriving in Chicago at about noon on Saturday. Claudio will accompany me to Wheaton, and then he will make his way back to Santiago. On Monday, 9:30, I will see the orthopedist. Keep your fingers crossed this whole ordeal will be easily remedied.

Just need to close that this big world is filled with caring and wonderful people. Many times they have brought tears to my eyes because of their generosity. Plus, I need to tell you my traveling companions have been so patient with their time and their concern. I miss them terribly as they are now on their way to boarding the ship for the adventure to Antarctica. I’ll just have to put my final continent on the calendar for another year.

Hugs and love,

Judy