"I can't believe you can do that...I'm so glad you can do that!"

Thursday, January 5^th, 2017

Iguassu Falls National Park, Argentina

The fourth day of our tour from Buenos Aires to Rio De Janeiro included what I knew would be the highlight of the week - an up close encounter with Iguassu Falls by boat!

After somewhat passively viewing the natural wonder for a day, I was eager to experience and interact with this piece of the natural world. To reach the boat we took a 25-mile jungle jeep ride which dropped us at the water level. This ride really opened up my additional senses as I progressively felt surrounded by the jungle and its native smells and sounds.

I took a front seat in the boat we were off toward the base of the Falls, my anticipation at its height. As we got closer and closer, and saw the boat ahead of us in the Falls, I recognized a sudden feeling: “This is crazy! Someone is about to drive this boat into the and under these massive waterfalls!” Coexisting with that small bit of apprehension was 100 times more excitement for the climax of the ride. It’s that threshold which makes an "experience" so valuable.

Our boat forged ahead, cut a couple sharp turns to raise the surprise level on board, and boom, we were in, under and behind the Falls! It’s loud, I could hear squeals from the boat, but mostly just the thunder of the water and splashing all around me. Then, “whoa” a thick sheet of water hits me from the right, then the front. By now I’ve realized I will be experiencing this mostly with my eyes closed because I have contacts and can barely wipe the water from my face, much less open my eyes without water flushing my contacts right out.

I’m laughing so hard and trying to hold on to my seat and “whoa” a wall of water hits from the left. The entire ride was just 12 minutes but it was instantly the highlight of the week and the most “in the moment” fun, free and somewhat unpredictable experience in a while. I exited the boat still giddy with excitement and the repeating thoughts, “I am so glad we just did that” and “I can’t believe you’re allowed to do that!”

On the ride back to the hotel, still in my damp clothes (!), I recognized that the progression of viewing to experiencing was curated by the tour company and the guide. This illuminated the value of guide and tour companies which I often have dismissed because I typically prefer to do my own research and planning when traveling, to avoid falling into organized mass tourism experiences. I came away understanding that at times there can be tangible value to enlisting the help of on the ground experts who may understand some nuances which can change the type of experience you have.

In addition, I remembered how many people we saw on the paths and the huge buses in the parking lots and I realized the majority of visitors only view the Falls. Maybe visitors don’t like to walk that much and may not even view the Falls as many ways as we did. Some visitors may be afraid of boats and/or water. Some may not be physically able to hike back up the hill after exiting the boat. Others may not be able to afford the ticket. There are limitations for going on this boat excursion.

Thinking about people who can’t participate or who for some reason had reservations reminded me just how important it is in my own life to be completely capable of choosing adventure and up-close experiences when traveling. Just seeing something isn’t fully satisfying for me if there are ways to more closely interact with the natural world.

Beyond recognizing how important that is to me was the question of why. I love being active, yet I also wonder if it is because daily life is typically so disconnected from nature, adventure, and unique experiences. Perhaps at this time in life I am an escapist traveler, looking to escape the regular and predictable. Or, alternatively, perhaps it is to reawaken the feeling of really living -- as an anonymous quote reads, “We do not travel to escape life, but for life not to escape us.”

Tchau Brazil!

The Final Farewell

I have never been great with goodbyes, so it's a little strange I chose to write about our farewell dinner in Rio de Janeiro. On the last night of our 10 day long adventure, our group had the opportunity to celebrate at one of the most lively restaurants in the city called Rio Scenarium Pavilhao da Cultura.

Outside view of Rio Scenarium

Clocks everywhere

 Our amazing guide, Federico, chose this perfect spot for our customer experience based class's last group dinner. The three story building contained the perfect mix of culture and entertainment. The top two floors had a museum-like feel, featuring eclectic, antique decor that easily distracted from the waiting time between drinks and meals. In addition to this, the first floor welcomed dancers of all skill-levels and ethnicity, while various musicians entertained the crowd with jazz-infused samba. Jill, Stuart, Yi, Nina, Kaixin, and I took advantage of the dance floor and showed off our skill (in Stuart's case) or sad lack of samba moves (in my case). Here, lies my first insight. I was not blessed with rhythm, but it's never too late to learn something new. Thankfully, a couple of seemingly local women took it upon themselves to teach me a couple simple steps that I couldn't butcher too badly. With their help (and some from Jill and Stuart), I discovered a hidden interest in the possibility of learning to dance. Like real dance, not the "millennial dancing" that one learns on an 8th grade dance floor. Despite my devastating lack of samba experience, I really enjoyed my time Rio Scenarium. It was a fantastic nightclub/bar vibe that perfectly highlighted the lively Brazilian nightlife so many tourists are looking to experience.

Umbrella collection

New Brazilian friend

In terms of cuisine, our table ordered a large spectrum of appetizers that ranged from shrimp puffs, to chicken kabebs, to a sampler of traditional northeast Brazilian food. For main dishes, there was a mix of orders between various meat dishes, fish, and pasta/risotto. The dishes were all amazing, but quite large. Insight number two: take every opportunity to experience the local culture. Often, these opportunities are presented in the form of food. I have learned throughout my 21 years of traveling that your experience becomes so much more authentic when you set aside your expectations and trust in the local taste.  

My last insight from this farewell dinner is in regards to the price. Understanding this a highly recommended tourist favorite hangout spot, the experience is not cheap. Being a tourist comes with a price when you want to visit a popular attraction, because you pay for quality. Rio Scenarium charged a 50 real cover fee in addition to the 11+ real drinks, 29-56 real appetizers, and 34+ real main dishes. And should you still have room for it, this does not include dessert. As a college student traveler, fiscal responsibility when travelling is important to me. However, sometimes it's worth it to splurge on a great experience. 

Paraty Caipirnha Cruise

Paraty, Brazil

“This is my kind of study abroad”

Paraty is a sleepy beach town on the Brazilian coast between Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.  Historically significant as a distribution point and port town for a few different products and trades over the centuries, this little village has an interesting story to match its lovely scenery. It’s charming.

Paraty Marina 

All Aboard!

The morning after our arrival in Paraty, we made our way to the marina (above) to go on a full day "Caipirnha Tour" (aka booze cruise) around some of the islands in the area.  Caipirnhas are the traditional cocktail of Brazil, made of a local alcohol called cachaca which comes from sugar cane.  The drink itself is similar to a mojito.  

There were around 50 passengers on board a boat called Gladiador including another G Adventures group and a fair few Brazilians on their summer holidays.   There was nothing formal about the trip so we waited in a disorganized mass of people, boarded, and took off without any kind of safety announcements. Totally fine unless the boat sinks.  Conveniently for us, it did not.

The boat had 2 levels: the main deck which was shaded and had the wheel house, bathrooms, galley, etc. and the upper deck which had red mats covering the floor and was exposed to the weather.  There were little wires tied about ½ inch above the mats so they wouldn’t fly away if caught by the wind.  Great idea but that just meant almost everyone caught a foot on one and would nearly trip. 

Stuart, Sharon, & EJ

Once we boarded I headed upstairs to the open deck.  Given the heat of the area and that the boat hadn’t started moving yet, it was no surprise that the red mats were roughly the temperature of molten lava so there was a quick run to one corner where I could drop my towel and sit down before melting off my feet.  Most of the rest of the  group joined me up there and we got comfortable as the boat made its way from the marina into open water.  Once moving, the breeze made the temperature perfect and the mats cooled down nicely.  We could hardly feel our skin crisping in the sun.

Island with a jacaranda tree

The scenery was just gorgeous.  Aside from the beautiful, clear turquoise water, we passed jungle island after jungle island with rocky edges, overflowing with greenery, and here and there a pop of color from the purple blooms of jacaranda trees and hibiscus flowers.  Federico (our guide) brought us a container which in any other context would have been an Ikea wastebasket but here it was filled with caipirnhas and we sipped our cocktails and took in the scenery.  We seldom had an empty glass or lack of scenery to view.

Yi is in there somewhere.

Over the course of the day, we had a few different flavors of caipirnhas, all in Ikea wastebaskets, including passion fruit.  This was the point on the trip that we learned Sharon is grossed out by the slimy consistency of passion fruit seeds.  We all found this a little funny but since most of us favored the original flavor anyway, we stuck with that one.  Coincidentally, I believe the smell of passion fruit will always remind me of Brazil.

Several of my classmates and I broke out one of our textbooks, “Don’t Make Me Think” and read as the boat moved through the water.  I wonder what the others on the boat must have thought of us, reading a book with that title while drinking traditional cocktails on a on a boat in Brazil, but I was having a great time.

Nina, Kaixin, and Yi were less interested in being in the sun than the rest of us so they chilled out on the lower deck for a good chunk of the day.  When they did come up to join us, all three of them covered as much of their bodies as possible and with a little help from Stuart, Yi became something of a mummy, even using her textbook and book bag to cover her feet.

The boat stopped for the first time in an island bay with 6-meter-deep water (18 feet, more or less) where we could swim.  While Kaixan and Yi are not swimmers and Nina decided to wait until the second stop to get in, the rest of us jumped from the top deck right into the water and enjoyed around 45 minutes swimming in stunning blue water.  It was perfect.

The boat moved on, we stopped for lunch, and then again for another swim.  We took turns playing on a stand up paddleboard and Sydney put everyone else to shame.  

There was a moment when I had to stop and appreciate that we were swimming in turquoise water on the coast of Brazil in the middle of summer while Washington DC and all of our classmates were freezing through winter.  This is my kind of study abroad.

Cute little island along the way.

When it started lightly raining later in the afternoon, we moved our bags to the lower deck but stayed on top.  Must of the rest of the passengers stayed below and the music started cranking with many of the Brazilians singing along and a lot of people dancing.

As the rain was stopping, we had one final break to swim at an island with a private residence, apparently the owner was somehow affiliated with a large grocery chain in Sao Paulo.  I imagine the people living there don’t love having party boats filled with drunk people gracing their front “yard” but since they own the land, not the water, it’s allowable for boats to pull in and people to swim/snorkel.  But there were definitely "no trespassing" signs along the water to keep people from going ashore.  

The crew

In the water, there were a good number of fish and of course more came when the boat staff threw bread into the water.  I don’t support such things but it was cool to see some diversity in the marine life.  I saw fish with zebra strips and what I think were juvenile lion fish, a dead sand dollar, and a sea urchin.

The ride back to the mainland was pleasant.  We got back to the marina and disembarked right as the sky opened up and it started pouring buckets.  It was a great way to end a great day, with perfect timing.

Sharon, me (Jill), EJ, Sydney

Aside from the inevitable sunburns that most of us earned that day, excluding the Chinese students who have a similar relationship to the sun as Dracula, we had a great time. 

See ya next time, Paraty!

Top Three Learnings from This Course - Yi Yu

1.     Becoming an ecotourists

We went to several places during this trip. The most impressed me place was

Ilha Grande. The tour guide told us do not throw the toilet paper into the toilet, because toilet paper will be discharged to the sea, causing a very serious pollution of the sea. Until then, I realized how important to be an ecotourists for the society and the world. While we traveling to learned about nature and visited wilderness or undisturbed areas in natural surroundings, at the same time, we need to pay attention to the environment that we were experienced, we only have one world, even though not every aspect can be totally green, at least we need to change the environment, and improve the environment, eventually transcend to a  sustainable world. We, as tourists need to pay attention, also, the government and local people need to set up a standard for helping tourists maintain the good conditions in the local environment.

2.Data-driven methodology

       I am not tourism major, before went to the trip, I finished one individual paper by myself. Even though I went through all the key points that I need to finished the paper, I still cannot fully understand some techniques, such as UX audit, social media monitoring, mystery shopping and importance-performance analysis (IPA). To be honest, I am very dissatisfied with my individual paper. With the passage of the journey, I slowly go through the actual assessment using these techniques, after the trip, I think I improved by how to use these techniques to evaluate. For our group project, Our teams tried to improve all the attributes scores calculate methods over and over in oder to get accurate data, we know it would have some biases somehow, what we can do was to minimize the errors and to provide customers with valuable data. I do believe these techniques not only can use in the tourism industry, I also can apply those in other industries as well.

3. Ways to attract more Chinese tourists.

Chinese tourists are becoming bigger and bigger every year, if the tourism industry cannot find a way to attract Chinese tourists, they will only see others taking the cake away. However, during the 10 days that I traveled in South America, I didn’t see many Chinese tourists as I was expected. Here are some strategies for the tourism industry to attract Chinese demographic.

For hotels, if the hotels want to specifically attract baby boomer generation, the most important indicator is to provide Chinese language materials, such as newspaper, travel guide, etc. For millennials, the most necessary indicators are stable Wi-Fi and Chinese language content on website and hotels are better to have Chinese social media accounts to interact with Chinese millennials. For attractions, provide Chinese tour guide or at least the staff can speak Chinese also help. Moreover, in the theme park, try to provide Chinese signs, Chinese tour maps and Chinese audio if possible.

Despite not being popular destinations for Chinese tourist for now, however, I believe South America countries stand for a great chance of attracting more Chinese tourists in the near futures due to keep improving their services, quality and better understanding about Chinese culture.

All in all, this was my first time traveled with a group, it was an amazing experience to me. Thank you Stuart, Sharon, Freddy and all my classmates, we were work together very well, had a lot of fun in Argentina and Brazil. This is an unforgettable memory which I will not forget it.