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Published: February 16th 2009
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After a 10 hour bus ride overnight from Curitiba to Foz de Iguazu we arrived in Foz (Brazilian side) earlier than expected at 7 am. The bus trip was quite comfortable we had the entire upper level of the bus for ourselves, sitting just in front of the window was like sitting in a cinema and watching a movie. Taking a nighty nighty snoozy snooze pill helped to get a good night sleep 😉. Our priority was to get breakfast, a mini shower or as I call it a cat-shower, get information from the tourist office and head off to the Iguazu Falls National Park. Good news was that we could actually store our backpack at the Park. This was especially beneficiary to us as we were planning to cross the border later that day and sleep at the Argentinian side of the Falls - in Puerto de Iguazu.
Arriving at the falls was quite easy as everything seems to be perfectly organised. Visiting the falls on a Sunday meant that we had to face hundreds of other tourists at the same time - many of them were locals or argentinian tourists. But who cares if you get to experience
one of the 7 Wonders of the World. It is impossible to describe and to catch in a picture what you see. The Iguazu Falls National Park was nothing but amazing. I hope the description and the hundreds of pictures we took can bring you a little closer to what we have experienced. We were told that one of the former president of the US (don't remember who anymore) said he was speechless and that one could not possibly compare it to the Niagara Falls. In total there are about 275 falls. From the Brazilian side you get to see the falls over the 1,600 meters of the trail located in the park. The panoramic view you get from the Brazilian side is even more impressive when you see the rainbows created by the mist in harmony with the incredible sound of the water. The final point of the trail is an overview platform where you get to walk out on top of one of the falls, it feels as if you are amidst the falls and could get swallowed quite easily. As you are closer to the water falls it is inevitable that you get soaked. But what else
does one need on a hot day like this.
Unless you do one of the different tours which are on offer you can see the most of the Brazilian side in just half a day. Being tired though we took it easy and had lots of breaks in the shadow. Around 6 pm we decided to head to Argentina. To get there you need to take 3 buses: 1st one from the park to the corner of Avenida Mercosur. 2nd one from Avenida Mercosur to the Brazilian Border, here the bus waits for you to "check out" and to drops you afterwards at the Argentinian border. After our immigration to Argentina you catch the 3rd bus to drive into Puerta Iguazu. Sounds complicated and it was a bit.
On our way to Argentina we met two Canadian guys from Quebec who recommended us a hostel "Peter Pan" - great place with a swimming pool and newly refurbished room and huge beds😊 So we stayed there for 2 nights. Having sorted our bus journey we took it easy and went for a great meal with the Canadians - steak and pasta with delicious wine from Mendoza in a decent restaurant
- what else can you ask for after such a day? We already loved Argentina.
The Iguazu National Park in Argentina seemed to be far more promising and impressive than expected. We were able to get very close the falls and we could actually hike and wander off on our own without the necessity of joining a tour or following a predefined trail. It was great! Having arrived fairly early the timing for most of our exploration was just perfect, we finished trails just before the next rush of tourists arrived. There are 3 traditional walks which take you to most of the falls:lower circuit trail, upper walk and finally the trail to Garganta del Diablo (The Devils Throat) - which was the highlight. The walks offer panoramic views but also close experience of falls and the vegetation around you. Our ticket included the free use of the train which brings you to most of the trails - or you just walk like we did - and it also included the boat transfer to the Isla San Martin. Different people recommended to do one of the boat tours which go right below the waterfalls - it was amazing, we
got soaked, our adrenaline kicked in and we just laughed almost the entire 15 minutes😊 Crazy!!! We spend the entire day exploring the park and hiking the different walks - it was great but exhausting. The heat and sun were merciless, every little breath of wind was like a present from heaven. Even a nap under a tree was impossible. At the end of the day we reached the viewing balcony of la Garganta del Diablo - one of the biggest falls there. We were speechless, amazed, and scared at the same time. It was really unbelievable, and we were only about one meter away from it or on to of it. Apparently in 1930 they offered tours on a rowing boat just on top of this waterfall, where the boat came very close to the throat and guides had to row as hard as possible to avoid falling over. They stopped offering this as one boat full of tourist went over - apparently boat full of Germans. Horrible to imagine this - how on earth could you come up with something like this. And why would you pay for this.
And here a quick language lesson: The name
Iguazu actually means 'big water' in the indigenous Guarani language ('I' means water, and 'guazú' means big).
Read about our next stop:
Buenos Aires Aynur & Andy
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