Really Random

I just returned from our trip and have a lot of work to catch up on here at the house. I need to bake and get organized before tonight's small group Bible Study we have here each Thursday.
So this will be a 'drive by posting' !

We had a great time on our trip and I will post pictures soon. The Iguassu Falls are amazing and I find words inadequate to describe them. We were not able to cross into Brazil as they are being 'picky' about visas all of a sudden. My husband crossed back and forth several times a few months ago and never had to show any ID, but it seems they are worried about Swine Flu.

We took the barge over to Argentina to see the falls. The difference is that in Argentina you are literally ON the falls. This makes for an awesome experience but does not provide the same views for photographs as seeing them from below on the Brazilian side.

I was surprised at how comforting I found the sound of the river , like a roar, to be to my soul. I miss living with that sound in the background. We saw plenty of wildlife and became defacto guides for a few Gringos, even though we had never been there before, we could point out the animal life and some plants. We even saw 24 ants! Everyone else was walking right over them and never saw them until we pointed them out. The same with the Walking Sticks.

We had to take a barge across the river at the Tri Border Area which is famous for...well, lots of not so savory things. I personally watched two bribes go down! Jewel was 'reading' the river while we waited for the barge to cross over for us. Two rivers converge here so navigation can be tricky. She read it perfectly and the barge followed the exact rout she would have taken. Just a handy skill picked up from the jungle. Wonder if it will ever be useful?

I always find it funny when crossing into Argentina and seeing their police uniforms which makes a 20 year old cop look like some kind of General with all the braid and gold, and then you cross back over to Paraguay and see the Police in their sensible blue cotton uniforms. Just an interesting observation of the two cultures.

We visited a big grocery store and bought 8 bags of Doritos, 4 bags of plain Ruffles, and 3 bags of Sour cream and onion Ruffles. Yep, that was what we bought...nothing very touristy!

We went down town in Ciudad del Este. I took a few covert photos but had to keep the camera hidden so they are not great quality, but let me say, Ciudad del Este is CRAAA-ZEEE! Very exciting and pulsing with activity. You hear lots of languages and see signs in many different languages. Many armed guards outside of businesses with bullet proof vests and it makes you wonder,"WHY?"

It was there that I realized I had not seen so much weaponry since leaving Venezuela.

On our return trip we stopped at a small dairy store, Lactolandia, and had the best soft serve ice cream! I only know of two places that sell soft serve in the country. It was run by Germans and the blue eyed, blond young men behind the counters were very interested in my daughters. I think that where they live, anyone who looks like them is most likely their cousin! Poor guys could barely fill their orders. Always fun to watch teens! Besides the ice cream, they had CLEAN restrooms!

Those are the high lights of my trip. Clint met with a local pastor to discuss our upcoming move and areas of ministry including Reformers Unanimous, which is a faith based addiction recovery program. Ciudad del Este is full of drugs, gambling, and prostitution, so this type of ministry could be quite useful.

So, how was your week while I was gone?