Iguazu falls

---

After a delightful overnight bus journey of 19 hours, which amazingly wasn´t too bad at all, we arrived in Puerto Iguazu in the middle of a tropical storm at around 9am. Coming from the glitz and glamour of Buenos Aires this place is like a shanty town. Its really small, the buildings are very simple, the roads aren´t complete and there´s really not much to do apart from the national park.

After checking into our hostel we took a walk to a point on the river where the borders of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay meet. It was kind of cool to be in the middle of 3 countries at one time. Shame about the walk there, it was raining most of the way. In the afternoon we had a guided tour to the Brazilian side of the national park. So i gained another stamp in my passport which is kind of cool. When we got to the park though we couldn´t see a thing. although we could here the waterfalls it was so misty from all the rain that we couldn´t actually see them. the park rangers said there was 3 times more water than normal and the force of it all was kicking up so much spray. luckily the further we walked up the trail and the closer we got the main falls there, the mist cleared and we could finally see them. and WOW were they incredible. there was a metal walkway which took you out over the middle of the waterfalls on a plateau between the two big falls. it was so scary walking over it because the floor wash simply metal mesh and you could see all the water rushing under you. the end of the walkway had a platfrom which overhung the edge of the waterfall, it was so cool to be out there but you got totally soaked from the spray coming off the waterfall before the walkway. walking further up the trail there were platforms right on the side of the main waterall so you could get really close. good chance for pics etc. you then went up an elevator to be above the falls and see it from up top, where the river comes from etc. was really cool.

as an aside, Iguazu falls means big water in indian.

the next day we saw the falls from the Argentinian side, this was so much better as they have around 80% of the falls on their side. the day started by walking about 1km over these dodgy mesh walkways again to the platforms over looking the devils throat. this is like a horseshoe waterfall where the river just gives way and drops into an abyss at the bottom. once again the platforms were over the edge of the falls, it was incredible to be so close to something so strong and natural. was completely different to machu pichu but just as amazing. there was an old walkway along side the one currrently in use which said destroyed by a flood in 1992. now this walk way was much higher than the one we were on and considering all the rain we had, you could just imagine a wall of water coming down the river and washing it away. the rangers told us that in a few days the park would probably be closed due to flooding. they also showed us photos from 1996 when there was no water at the falls, it was so hard to imagine how it could be bone dry when we were standing there with so much water streaming through. the next part of our tour took us along the top of the Argentinian falls, literally walking along the edge of the falls. so so cool but so scary at the same time. after this was the highlight of the tour, we took a safari truck through the subtropical rainforest to a boat which took us up the river and under the falls. they gave you time to take pics before saying put everything into a waterproof bag as we´re going in. the literally took us right into the rpaids under the falls and we got totally soaked from the spray. was amazing to be so close to the bottom of these massive falls. on the way back down river they took us throught he rapids and the sides of the boat kept going under the water saoking us even more. it was fantastic. after luch we took a walk along the bottom of the falls and another walkway took you literally two metres away from the bottom of a waterfall. it was so powerful that you struggled to reach the end of the walkway, the wind it created was astonishing, and once again we got toally soaked.

it has been an awesome two days exploring the park. the hostel we stayed in has been really friendly too. its quite small so in the eveings everyone just chills outside with a beer or two. we´ve met some really nice people here. although the accommodation is basic and a bit dodgy, its been so much better than Buenos Aires where the hostel was massive and you couldnt socialise with anyone.

next stop is Rosario. Will keep you all posted. hope the pics do the falls justice, as they were INCREDIBLE.

---