Iguazu Falls, Argentina

Spectacular. Purely awesome. Breathtaking. These are the only words that I can think to describe the experience of visiting Iguazu Falls. Ever since I saw Iguazu Falls featured on Planet Earth I have wanted to make the trip down to South America to see it in person. This was both our first time being in South America, and we knew we couldn’t visit Argentina without making the short plane ride to the falls.

When we arrived we were both amazed to find that our hotel had a spectacular view and we spent most of our first day on the outside patio enjoying it .The next day we booked a boat tour into the falls. {aside: One thing I love about traveling overseas is that things always seem a little extreme and dangerous but nobody seems too concerned. I am fairly certain that if in the U.S., we would have had to sign our lives away before taking the boat tour or walking the overlook platforms.}
Both Josh and I had heard stories about the boat trip and were eager to see how close we could actually get to the falls. Much to our surprise the boat, which was an inflatable-raft motorboat thingy, took us up the raging rapids of the falls stopped for everyone to take pictures and then took us right underneath the falling waters. Needless to say we were thankful that someone warned us to bring our bathing suits because you get drenched! It was exhilarating to say the least.

The rest of our time there was spent traipsing through the various upper and lower trails and taking a train to the “Throat of the Devil” or “Garganta del Diablo “where we were able to walk right on top of the falls and stare down into the mouth. I have attached a slideshow of some of the photos of our trip but none of them really capture the true beauty of what we saw. Next we are off to Sydney. Stay tuned.


Interesting Facts about the Falls:

*Iguazu Falls consists of some 275 separate falls during the river's seasonal low. That number is halved during the rainy season when small rocky islets on the rim of the falls become submerged.

*Falls are the result of a volcanic eruption, which left yet another large crack in the earth.

*Upon seeing Iguazu, the United States, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt reportedly exclaimed "Poor Niagara!" Iguazu is Four times the width of Niagara Falls.

*The falls have been featured in several movies including The Mission, Happy Together, Miami Vice, Mr. Magoo, Moonraker, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Buenos Aires

We have just spent two days in Buenos Aires, Argentina touring the city while sipping espresso with our Spanish dictionary close by.The city was built with "eyes looking towards Europe" and as a result it has a very European feel displaying s touch of both Madrid and Paris. We have spent most of our two days touring the city with our friend Fernando.Unfortunately all we have to show are some mobile shots we took with Josh's phone. We head out today for Iguazu Falls (the largest chain of waterfalls in the world) to spend a few days. We will be back later with more updates.

Josh and I walking through a Buenos Aires park


Josh sipping on some Limoncello


What was left of my Argentinian Steak


The "Pink House" where the President lives and works


Flower stand outside our hotel

First Stop

I can barely keep my eyes open to write this post. We have just touched down in Lima, Peru. We will be here a short time before heading off to Buenos Aires where we will spend a few nights. If I tried to describe the scene right now sitting in the Lima lounge it would be quite entertaining...let's just say the men here resemble that of Mr. Deed's butler (very, very sneaky). Both Josh and I are kicking ourselves for not paying attention in our Spanish classes (sorry Mrs. Hauk)...would have come in in handy. More updates from the road later. Check out our mobile updates on my twitter account.

2 Years : Back in Jamaica

It is hard to believe that we have just celebrated our 2nd year anniversary! We thought it would be fun to head back to where we celebrated our honeymoon...so we took a four day trip down to Jamaica to get some much needed sun. I am so thankful to have such a loving best friend/husband.

Week Trip to Israel

This year Leading the Way had their semi-annual board meeting in Israel. After the prayers and support of my husband and many others, my administrators were kind enough to give me some time off so that I could go along for the trip. Josh went ahead with the group and we met up in Tel Aviv. We spent seven days/nights traveling throughout the country starting in Tiberius, on the Sea of Galilee, then over to Jerusalem and finally down to the Dead Sea. We saw several biblical sites such as the sermon on the mount church, Caesarea Philippi, the church of the loaves and fishes, the area where Jesus is said to have casted out demons into the swine, Caesarea by the Sea, Mount of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane,Kishon valley, Megiddo, Nazareth, Bethlehem, Church of the Holy Sepulchre and we ended the trip walking the Via Dolorosa "the way of the cross". We also spent time touring the Western wall (wailing wall), The dome of the rock, Masada and the Dead Sea. In between tours we spent time with the Leading the Way ministry partners hearing about the impact of the ministry including the radio program and the satellite channel. One of the most memorable moments was walking through Bethlehem and hearing the Leading the Way program playing in a car passing by. Here are a few photos from our trip. Enjoy.
Our Tour Group

Temple from the 1st century near Peter's House.
Ceserea Phillipi
Nazareth's highest point

View from the garden of Gethsemane.

Murals on the wall that separate the West bank from Israel.




Me at the Wailing wall.



Our friends Nick and Jamie with us by the Jerusalem Wall.

Photos from the Dead Sea. We are covered with the Dead Sea mud that is said to be very healthy for your skin.

December/January Recap

Here in the Youssef home things have been quite hectic. I know we have been guilty of not updating our blog for way too long but sometimes you get in those seasons in life where just being together and doing nothing is what you need. So i decided to start with a short recap of December and January;

December: Spent great time with the Youssef's and family from overseas, visited the children's museum with Sarah and Aidan, took Aidan to the PDK airport, Christmas parties, went with the kids to see Santa, fun with all of the little nephews, got sick from all the little nephews, Secret Santa Brunch at the Milbury's,Christmas in the Sham, Josh tinkering with his new remote control helicopter, trip from hell up to Tray Mountain, some much needed rest.

January: Josh takes annual hunting trip with the Wingfields, I spend time in the Sham with my family and new nephew Eli, Josh is back for a week, Josh leaves for an overseas trip for 15 days, I work , we skype, I freeze my blank off, Josh goes to the beach in Sydney,I spend time with my parents and in-laws, Josh comes back, I am happy.

Here are some photos

Pre-Thanksgiving Dinner

So for Thanksgiving this year I have volunteered to cook the Thanksgiving turkey. Although I have been taking cooking classes, it is still a daunting task for a novice cook. In preparation, I decided to have a Pre-Thanksgiving dinner with a few friends. Afterwards, I was pretty proud of myself and have a little more confidence going into the big day. Here are some of the pics.

Oh...I forgot to mention that we didn't eat that night until 10:00...minor timing issue