Thursday, February 14, 2013

Iguaza Falls, Spectacular

Well, I haven't posted since we went to Iguazu Falls.  Iguazu is a Gurani word that means Big Water.  We took 200 photos and none of them do the falls justice so we bought a DVD.  We haven't had a chance to look at it but we will when we get home. 





I'm just going to post a few of the falls.  There are actually over 200.  The biggest and most spectacular is called "Devil's Throat".  Another one we liked was called "Two Sisters."



Here we are in front of Devil's Throat.  Iguazu is much larger than Niagra.  You can see a different view from the Brazilian side but we did not have a visa to go into the country.  We were amazed at what we did see.  We also saw this little creature that appeared quite cute called a coati  It turned out to be a pest.  We had so many photos of them.  Neil kept clicking and I kept deleting.

They would jump on the table and still food and they bite.  So I wanted nothing to do with them. There are signs up everywhere not to feed them and we saw a girl doing so.  I couldn't watch because I was afraid she'd get bit.  Anyway, they were everywhere.

A young brother and sister named Daniel and Emma let us stay at their home while we were in Iguazu.  She was raised there and he is from Buenos Aires.  They were such kind hosts.  Thanks Daniel and Emma. 
Here we are having lunch with them.  They are so cute.

The next day they took us to an animal reserve for injured animals.  Many are extinct so they breed them as well once they are better.  Some they let out into the wild again.  Many animals are hit by cars by tourists there to see the falls.  We saw the usual animals and birds but these are special circumstances.  Daniel's sister works there so we got a special deal.  Thanks again


This is the entrance and Guira Oga is Guarani for bird house.

After visiting here we went to a Guarani exhibit of sorts and saw an enlarged replica of how they trapped animals.  Very interesting.  We had never heard of Guarani until we came here.  Many people in Paraguay speak this language but in Argentina also.


 

The next day we went back to Canuelas.  We had a wonderful time.  Thank you to Sergio and Claudia for the trip and to Daniel and Emma for the place to stay.

There are so many more photos of our wonderful trip to Igagua Argentina and the Cataratas.  My next and final blog will be of our visit with Gaston and Gaby, our trip to Bethel, the final photos we have of the assembly hall and our special thanks to everyone.  Till tomorrow.

Friday, February 1, 2013

Ezeiza Family Day

Well, it's Friday and a lot to say.  First of all we leave for home in two weeks and our last two weeks are full.  Tomorrow we leave for Igazu Falls and we will be back in Canuelas on Tuesday night.  We work Wednesday.  I have my home work day on Thursday next week and then Friday we work and go home with Gabby and Gaston for the weekend.  We return with them to work in Ezeiza on Monday morning.  We work on Tuesday and after work we go to Buenos Aires with Alejandro to spend the night in Bethel and take a Bethel tour on Wednesday.  Wednesday night we go to the English meeting in Buenos Aires and I have my home work day on Thursday.  We work on Friday and come home Saturday.  Wow!!!

So here is how the Ezeiza Family Day went.  First of all the whole family was divided into four teams.  Red, Blue, Green and Yellow.  We were on the Green team and the construction overseer Rob, was the team captain.  This is part of our team.

The game that Neil participated in was the balloon bust.  I think you know you have to run over and sit on a balloon and break it.


I was in the quarter drop.  You have to run with a quarter between your knees and drop it in a cup at the end.  Well, I was successful however, I messed my back up and as of today it is still messed up.  I need chiropractor and acupuncture.


This photo was preinjury and also made me realize something....I am old!


Again, we had asada and chorizo and this is our home overseer, Daniel, cooking.  It was great.  Also, ice cream and soda.


Also there was a vote for who had the most infectious smile on the project.  The winner was the brother on the left named Bruno.  He is who we voted for too.  Our home overseer Daniel is a close second in our opinion.  He is seated next to Bruno.  This is a very happy group.


This was the score board.  I was the person putting up the tags and I will tell you, it is not a popular position to be in.  In our book, everyone was a winner though.


This was tug of war between green and yellow.  Neil is about the third on the right.  Green won but when blue went up against red next, the rope broke so that was all of that game.


This was our table for lunch.  The brother on the left is our old house mate, Shem.  He and his wife Kazumi were transferred to work at Bethel.

This is a photo of the Ezeiza Construction Family as of yesterday.  Yesterday we had hamburgers, french fries, and ice cream so I know you know what that means...yes we had another couple say goodbye, their plane leaves tomorrow and they are back to Florida.  Bye Rob and Brenda.  It is always sad to say good bye.



Neil went around and took a bunch of landscaping photos and he took a bunch of our resident owls.  I think there are about eight and you can see them all times of the day.  They look right at you and you get creeped out by their stare.


This is a sign in the landscaping here in Canuelas near the entry door to the assembly hall.  For those of you coming here for the international assembly in October, this might still be here when you come.  The Canuelas Family is anxious for you to come.


Neil took one photo from Ezeiza.  It is of a plane taking off.  The airport is literally right next door.  He has taken several but hasn't gotten the perfect shot that he wants yet.  He will keep trying.


Next week will be photos of Iguazu and then lastly the most up to date photos of the school and assembly hall will be posted.  We hope you have enjoyed our trip with us.  I also want to introduce you to Sergio, Claudia and Mattais, the family that gave us this wonderful gift to Iguazu.


Thank you so much for a wonderful gift.

Love from the Shaughnessys.