Iguazu Waterfalls

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It was finally nice to touch-down after 3 days of traveling. I can´t say I was a happy bunny though.....having come from Ecuador´s sunny smile to arrive in Argentina´s winter I started to feel climate-related depression....& I think it reminded me of the days to come (& look forward to!?) at home!! I´ve been so lucky on my travels because I´ve had sunshine for most of the journey.....so finishing off my last 2 weeks in winter was a tough come-back to reality.

I stayed in a hostel in Iguazu that comes highly recommended by lots of travelers. It´s a massive place about 5km outside Puerto Iguazu. It once was a casino but now it has been converted & has all the amenities that you might need.......with a big pool, restaurant, internet & laundry so there is hardly any need to go into town. Most nights they have a massive BBQ which is followed by a show of scantily clad, ass-waggling women in Brazilian costumes.....who do what they can to coax you into joining in on the dancing. It's a spectacle but I was hardly fit for standing that night so it was early to bed for me instead. Any other time.

The next day I got a local bus out to Iguazu National Park to see the waterfalls. Loads of people I'd met along the way had raved about them but I didn't expect them to be so humongous & impressive. When you see the volume of water & hear the thundering noise as it plunges over the edge, with spray & mist cast all around; you'd wonder how there could ever be water or energy shortages. The waterfalls were beautiful & thankfully it was a nice sunny day to walk around the park & take in all the tracks.

The following day, after another breakfast loaded with enough sugar to rot a mouthful of teeth in one sitting, I went on a tour called Tres Paises en un Dia- 3 countries in a day. You leave from Argentina & visit a city in Paraguay. Here you can buy electrical goods that are cheaper than cheap apparently....I was hoping to find leather but we had very little time to shop in the end & dealings are definitely on the shady side.....so I decided to wait. After that, the highlight of the day followed.....a buffet lunch on the Brazilian side. Thankfully I had teamed up with a Kiwi girl who was equally tuned-in to the ways of the backpacker.....eat all you can when you can.......especially if it's free!!! She thought she was hardcore until she met me....we both put away quite a lot in that sitting....however I didn't suffer the same discomfort that she did.....she needs to work on stretching the stomach more.....I'll take her under my wing!!! It was a great buffet though....meat galore & enough protein for weeks to come!!

Later in the afternoon we reached the Brazilian side of the Iquazu waterfalls. You only really need about an hour or so there because there isn't much walking to do. Unfortunately it had been a miserable wet day
& the afternoon mist & cloud never lifted. Nonetheless the falls were spectacular & worth the visit.....the full belly may have biased my decision though....it's hard to know! That evening I went in search of my mobile phone.....was so disgusted to lose it after nearly a year on the road....my mam said that it would never last the year cause it was a piece of crap but it had...until I left it down that was. A few days later I sent my phone a message from the internet asking for the thief to return it to me, if possible, in Buenos Aires. I'm happy to say that after a year, I haven't become over-cynical & thought my appeal could have been fruitful.... but it wasn't so instead I was left without my phone & photos that I'd collected over the course of my trip. Not the end of the world I know.....but for those of you who think I'm the worst friend ever for not contacting you......I have the same number but don't have yours!!!

That night after 3- countries- in- a- day I got the final bus of my journey, Iguazu to Buenos Aires. It's about 20 hours but you really don't notice the time go by. And after many a journey, I'd learned to reserve the seat that was best positioned for viewing the TV screen. The buses in Argentina are luxurious.....food & drinks to keep you satisfied & to bump yourself up to 1st class for a few euro extra......alcoholic beverages are on offer too. Bus travel will never be the same again. Kildare to Dublin....I'll be expecting a packet of peanuts at least.....I know.....dream on!!

SO that was Iguazu. Expectations met. The biggest waterfalls I've ever seen.

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