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Published: June 27th 2008
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The last time I wrote we were just leaving Rio de Janeiro heading South for Foz de Iguazu which is the name of the town on the Brazilian side of Iguazu Falls. This was a 22 hour bus journey costing R$165 each (55 quid)
Saturday 14th June.
0630 Arrived at Foz do Iguazu. Checked in to hostel then went to falls. There are 275 of them that go up to 82 metres in height. There is approx. 400,000 gallons of water per second flows over them! There were some nice walks through the trees offering long distance views and a few walkways so you can get up close. I wore my 5 quid Primark waterproof jacket. Suprisingly, it doesn't work!
It's difficult to describe the waterfalls. They're biger than Niagra and split the countries of Brazil and Argentina. The photo's don't do them justice. They're very big, very noisy, and very wet!!
Ate out at a real life Churrascaria. Wow! You could tell it was good 'cos the (scruffy) locals ate there. It was R$12 (4 quid) and there is a smal buffet with salads/pastas/rice etc. for you to help yourself to. Then when you sit there is a constant
flow of waiters with various slabs of meat that come to your table and pile some on to your plate. Mostly we could tell what the slabs of meat were, but at other times we just had to eat it! We still don't know (I'll bet that scientists don't know!). The most bizarre thing I knowingly ate was chicken hearts. They're nice. Very meaty - almot beefy!
Sunday 15th June.
Left Brazil to cross the border to Argentina (a 10 minute bus ride across the Rio Iguazu). It's amazing what difference a river can make! Puerto Iguazu (the town on the Argentinian side) is all cobbled streets and timber buildings. It's a cliche I know, but it's like going back in time! The Hostel cost us AR$84 (14 quid) per night with private bathroom and breakfast. We didn't have any AR$ so we went into town to pick some up. Puerto Iguazu has two cash machines, one for local bank cards only, and one that had no money in it! Luckily I had a US$50 note so I broke into that!
Monday 16th June.
Get settled today. Go to cash machine, do laundry and head to bus station
for information on leaving. Laundry closed. Cash machine still empty. Good information from the bus station though, including that there is a third cash machine at the casino on the outskirts of town. We had nothing better to do so we walked out to use it. Finaly got some cash!
Then, the best bit. Take note if you're considering travelling here. Puerto Iguazu bus station has a cafe that has a Menu of the Day option. It's AR$8 each and it's only one course with a drink, but it's enough (we had breadcrumbed and fried steak with rice and salad and a bottle of water each) and for AR$16 (less than 3 quid) for two it's a bargain!
Tuesday 17th June.
Aimee has flu so we stayed in and watched TV today (we have American cable TV). My GOD it's cold. We're indoors and wearing hats!
Wednesday 18th June.
Went to the Argentinian side of the falls. It's more "up-close" than the Brazilian side. It cost AR$40 each to get in - but that includes a train ride to the falls and a boat trip to a little island. They tell you this almost as an apology for
charging so much - it's free for Argies/Brazilians (racists I know). It would have been nice to walk to the falls which we both commented on whilst we sat aboard the "Tourist Express." We later discovered that there IS a walk but they don't tell you about it or the AR$40 entrance fee would sound excessive.
We went along a big walkway that took you to the top of the Devils Throat. 260 degrees of waterfall. Next we headed through the trees for some smaller falls and long distance views, then stood practically right underneath a huge waterfall. I got drenched again (thanks Primark) but seriously, we were about 3ft away from the water crashing down. The noise is incredible!
We then went to catch the free boat trip to the little island. Sadly, due to high water levels this was cancelled. Funny how all the boats you had to pay extra for were running!
Thursday 19th June.
Travelled West from Puerto Iguazu to San Ignacio de Mini. It was AR$32 and took 5 hours. It was our first real glimpse of Argentina. It's very different to Brazil. It seems a lot poorer, though maybe that's because we only
saw big cities in Brazil. Parts of the journey reminded me of Dominican Republic with shacks at the side of the road and the washing hanging out on the barbed-wire fences. There were lots of cobbled streets, and the mud here is very red and earthy. We went through one town and passed the school. Instead of having lessons, the kids were outside painting the kerb, and whitewashing the bus stop. It was like something out of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn! We passed loads of logging trucks, which scared Aimee (Final Destination 2) and the majority of cars were diesel-spewing pick ups, Ford or Chevrolet - from the '50s!
Checked in to Hostel. It was AR$70 per night. We were upgraded to a private cabin which had two bedrooms and a bathroom. It looks nice, though there is plenty of evidence of bugs and spiders.
Friday 20th Jne.
Poured with rain overnight. It's dry today, but stil cloudy - and cold Went to the bus stop to catch a bus to Posadas. Stood there for 45 minutes in the cold and thought, sod it! Loked around San Ignacio instead. It's quite a small town with Jesuit Missionary ruins from
1700's. There's not a lot to see/do here!
Saturday 21st June.
Travelled East from San Ignacio de Mini to Posadas to Resistencia. Felt like we spent all day waiting for buses. San Ignacio is like a town from a horror movie. Once you get there you can NEVER escape!!
Sunday 22nd Jne.
Here's the plan. Resistencia has 300 sculptures around its streets. Sunday is an ideal day to walk around them as shops will be closed and the streets will be quiet. All went according to plan to start with. Saw a few Plazas which were more like childrens play areas, but hey, we'll stick to the plan. Got about halfway around town when we bumped into two dogs. Not abnormal in Argentina (strays are everywhere). We initially assumed they were just coincidentally heading in the same direction as us. They followed us around a few corners so we thought OK, we'll stop here a minute and let them get out of our way. The dogs waited. So, we'll double back on ourselves. The dogs followed. We tried everything. We crossed roads, walked past other people, other dogs, we even let them get slightly ahead and then cut-off
down a side street, but they turned around and followed our scent till they caught us up. In the end we decided we would have to head into a shop or something till they disappeared. It's Sunday. Everywhere is closed! We eventually found a petrol station so we went in there. They sold beer so we got a can each and waited. So did the dogs! Thankfully after about half an hour they started following somebody else. We disappeared quick and went back to the hostel.
Monday 23rd June.
The plan today was to go to Corrientes and spend the day there before overnighting to Buenos Aries. The bus from Resistencia to Corrientes cleverly didn't stop at the bus terminal so we had to get another bus fromn downtown Corrientes. We waited for about 45 minutes and saw every possible bus except the one we needed. Another woman there said she had been waiting for 90 minutes! We decided if one didn't come in the next half hour we would share a taxi. One came ten minutes later. Thankfully, this bus didn't stop at the bus terminal either! We went past it and had to get off and walk
back! The bus to Buenos Aries left at 2000 and cost AR$85 each. This included eveing meal and breakfast.
That's us for now. We're currently enjoying Buenos Aries. We'll update you later!!
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Jane Fowler de Carmona
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I tried to warn you...!
Glad you enjoyed Iguacu...sorry I didn't know about the rip off's and cash situation to warn you... first time I was on an all-expenses paid prize from work, and was so spoiled I barely even carried cash. The second time I was back-packing alone and befriended some locals who obviously saved me a few rip-off the tourist scams! Tried to warn you about San Ignacio and the other bits in between!!! Anyway, you will be having a ball in BA now. Don't rush to get away until you are done. Brilliant city...can't wait to get back. I saw on facebook you are heading to Bolivia...direct from there??? What's the plan? Let me know so I can send some more tips. Looking forwards to Aimee's update. Un beso x