Lonely Resistencia

I arrived at Corrientes at around 6am today and immediately caught the next bus to Resistencia, a city about 20 minutes away which I was told by my faithful Lonely Planet guide was cheaper and had more to see (just a whole load of statues and sculptures everywhere... 300 apparently) than Corrientes.

The border security around Iguazu falls (where there is a central point between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay) has been relaxed significantly to allow tourists to pass easily from country to country on day trips. I understand that it´s a popular place for immigrants from Paraguay or Brazil to cross into Argentina, and we were stopped twice on the bus at random checkpoints to have our passports checked. A sniffer dog even came on the bus at one point.

Upon arriving in Resistencia I went to the hostel listed in my guide as costing US$6 (less than 30 Peso´s). I was promptly informed that it cost 80 pesos per night. I bargained the lady down to 70 pesos then decided it wasn´t worth it and left. The next hostel listed in my guide was conveniently located just around the corner but was just as expensive, albeit slightly bigger. The cost of staying in this relatively boring city isn´t worth staying until Monday to see if I can organise a visa for Paraguay. I am currently sitting in an internet cafe, cursing my guide book and waiting for a bus this evening. A 14 hour trip to Salta, Argentina, to back up the 10 hour trip from Iguazu to Resistencia last night. Great!

I will use this time to mention something I forgot to previously, and that is I did get around to experiencing some tango in Buenos Aires.

A Swiss girl from our hostel had organised to meet with a tango teacher for a milonga (tango show) in Palermo so, naturally, we all tagged along. We had a fun night watching people of all ages (mainly old) dance tango, listening to a fantastic tango band, and towards the nights end there was a great couple who did several dances in different styles. We organised to meet the teacher, Alejandro, on the following monday for a lesson, which was great! We all picked it up relatively quickly and had a lot of fun learning some not-so-basic moves (it was more difficult for the girls, as the steps are more complicated).

So having left the capital, I still haven´t seen a football game live. Boca Juniors played their rival River Plates a few days after I left, which would have been amazing but the tickets were ridiculously expensive. I´ll be happy if I see a game anywhere before I leave.

Salta is my next destination. Not too far from the Bolivian border and at a higher altitude than I´ve been used to for the trip. From Salta, I´m planning to head north into Bolivia and visit the salt flats before seeing Peru. Hopefully my guide is more accurate around these areas!

I´m off to nap in the park then get some food before I head to the bus terminal.