Iguazu

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Hello!

I have not been able to update you all for a while because the internet in the internet cafes in Argentina has been so slow, Caryl & I have nearly lost the plot several times!! We are now in New Zealand and I'm graduall catching up.

Anyway, Iguazu. If you've seen the pictures on Facebook you will see how amazing it is. We arrived in Iguazu after a 24 hour bus journey, I had very swollen ankles and pins and needles which meant that I was waddling around for a few days. I'm going to need to spend my next long bus journey with my flight socks on and my legs up in the air. The hotel in Foz do Iguacu (Hotel Casino) is the nicest so far; modern, clean and it had a pool. The others in Paraty and Rio were a bit shabby (although "not to shabby for Rachel"!), in Paraty I woke up on the middle of one night having a total panic as there were no windows in the room.

On arrival we had a quick shower and sort out and then went to the Brazilian side of Iguazu Falls. Words really can't describe it, not even sure the pictures do it justice. I knew it was going to be a highlight for me but it was better than I ever imagined. There are so many waterfalls, big powerful ones, small little ones, wide ones, narrow ones, high ones, low ones, ones that cascade down from one level to another, where little clumps of trees seem to cling on in the rushing water. It's also so noisy, you can hear as well as see the immense power of the water. The surrounding rainforest is also beautiful, with beautiful butterflies all over the place, they are so friendly and actually land on you. The waterfalls seem to go on and on, the spray as we walked along the river kept us cool. At one point we could walk out over the waterfalls (which was a bit scary, you can see it on the photos where it looks like the water is coming right at you). We got soaked, you couldn't breathe if you looked into the spray. It was just amazing and we knew that the Argentinian side was going to be better the next day.

That night we went out to another lovely restaurant as recommended by Joaquin and thought we were going to have a quiet one. But then we decided that each of us girls would have a different flavoured Caipirinha, just to try them of course! Unfortunately they were soooooo strong and us girls got quite tipsy very quickly. Even the fruit attached to the Caipirinhas was soaked in alcohol. Caryl got some Caipirinha in her eye, not recommended. Then Caryl and I went to a local club with Joaquin and another tour guide called Trevor, that was really cool.

The next day we went to the Argentinian side of the falls (tip for if you go to Iguazu, visit both sides and do the Brazilian side first) so had to cross the border into Argentina. On the bridge near to the border you can see Brazil to your right , Argentina to the left and the Paraguay up ahead. Once in Argentina our visit to the falls started off with a walk over a really long windy bridge over what looked like a river. Then you hear the roar of the water which gets louder and louder as you approached the Devil's Throat. It is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen, huge cascades of water thundering into the depths of the cavern, it was awesome. The spray bellowed up in clouds and you could see birds and butterflies flying into it, they would show up as beautiful bright colours against the white of the spray.

We then went on a little boat ride, supposedly to see the wildlife, and saw a cayman a toucan and a little turtle (I wouldn't really say this boat ride was worth it, you didn't really see much). We then went off to do the high trail which girls you a different view of the falls, that was lovely and you could see so many rainbows in the waterfalls (you could also see the spiders in their webs in the trees above your head, Caryl didn't like that!). Then it was time for our boat ride into the waterfalls, to get there we had to go on a 'jeep safari' which again wasn't really worth it (the most notable thing we saw was a palm tree) but necessary to get to the boat ride. The boat ride itself took us into the rapids created by the waterfalls and then into the waterfalls, right up close! We couldn't take pictures because we got soaked but I can say it was better than any theme park ride I have been on! If you go, take waterproofing for your camera. We didn't stay in there long as a lady on the boat started freaking out. We finished our day with a walk on the low trail which was a nice way to finish off. I didn't want to leave Iguazu, so I will be back.

That night we met up with another Gap group for a BBQ at a local guides house. We had more Caipirinhas, unfortunately before we had eaten much, and especially as there wasn't very much for the veggie (i.e. me) we got tipsy quite quickly. I had to switch to the water, after the shots of something that tasted like orange flavoured triple sec (we had to light it, then shake it about after sticking it to our hands). The other Gap group were really nice, one of the Irish girls studied at Brookes. Caryl and Alice went swimming and the rest is history....

The next day we just chilled as it was so hot and we were a bit tired. We had a nice dinner out which included more Brazilian ice cream and a Submarino (beer with a shot of whisky in) for Jorgen. It wasn't nice.

The next day we had another long bus journey to Buenos Aires. I was ready with my flight socks and Joaquin got us upgraded to first class which meant I could actually get my legs up in the air. The bus got stopped by the police during the journey, we had to show our passports and answer questions about where we were going. They had guns and sniffer dogs but they let us thought luckily! We also stopped for petrol in the middle of nowhere and had to giggle when we saw the chap who was filling us up smoking whilst doing so, he actually left his lit fag on the pump at one point. We then got attacked by a bug, it was huge and the whole of our section of the bus were helping us look for it (and some randoms in a passing car took a photo of us doing it!). Argentina looks a bit different to Brazil. We saw a beautiful sunset and thought of home a lot.

Lots of love, will update you on Buenos Aires soon.

Xx

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