Advertisement
Published: March 7th 2010
Edit Blog Post
Well, I'm officially a month behind on my blog posts since I'm writing on March 7 for stuff that happened Feb 7-9. Sorry for the delay, guys and gals - having too much fun :-)
After checking out of the hotel, I took a cab to the Aeroparque (not the Aeropuerto, which is the international airport in Buenos Aires), where I got on my flight to Puerto Iguazu. After arriving, I took another cab to my hostel, which was across the border (in Brasil) in Foz do Iguaçu. The driver told me not to worry that I didn't have any reis (the Brazilian currency), since everyone in this border town would accept my Argentinian pesos. (He was right, thankfully, since I didn't get any cash from the ATM at the airport, thinking that it would only dispense pesos anyway.)
Well, I was hoping to try and see the Brazilian side of the falls on my first day in the area, but I got in a bit late. Couldn't even get an 8-minute helicopter tour, since even if they had still been open (it was about 5pm) I would have had to pay for 3 seats or find two companions
willing to drop the $100 it would have cost apiece on a moment's notice.
Well, since it was about a million degrees and the hostel had a pool, I dropped my bags off in the room and walked to the pool/bar area, only to find a group of Israelis sitting there, so I sat with them and chatted for a few moments. But, they were heading off to do their thing, and so I hopped in the pool. Shortly thereafter Celina, a German girl, hopped in and we and an Australian guy started chatting. They were going to the Argentinian side of the falls the next day, which I was planning on doing, too. We ended up spending the rest of the day together, mostly in the pool, and then along with a Brazilian guy from Brasilia, a couple of French guys, another German girl, an Israeli, and an American, we ended up having a few drinks and singing songs along with the guitar that the Israeli had brought along but that the Brazilian guy also took turns playing. We were up pretty much all night, leaving ourselves just a couple of hours to sleep before catching the van
to the falls the next morning.
Our driver was pretty ridiculous, in a funny sort of way. The German girls, a couple of Swedes, the Australian, and a few others were along for the ride. The driver kept singing the same few notes over and over, though not continuously, and it sounded similar to (but not quite like) the Yellow Submarine. Well, I suppose it was good thing, because at the end of the day it was easy to find him when he picked us up - just follow the sound. We stopped first at a little market to buy snacks and water, since apparently it would be much more expensive at the falls. Also, we stopped to take pictures at the border where, midway over the bridge, you can see where Brazil ends and Argentina starts.
When we got to Iguazu, it was earlier than when we left. Yeah, I forgot about the time change at the border. But that was good, since it meant we were there on the early side, ahead of many of the crowds. We (me and the German girls) opted to do most of the day on foot, instead of by the
little train, mostly because we didn't want to wait around, but also because it gave us a better chance to see the area. And we had plenty of time to kill before we met Mr. "da na na na na na" (our driver) at the end of the day.
It was hot. Really hot. Really humid. So, by the middle of the day, despite the fantastic sights of the falls--which, by the way, is basically the only time up to this point where I can say that the photos just don't do it justice--I was pretty beat. Luckily, I had some USD on me, and they accepted it at the falls (with a not too terrible exchange rate) for the boat that takes you into the falls. As we were getting on the boat, we could see the skies turning dark over the falls. Which made for great pictures, but sort of ruined the point of cooling off under the falls. Here it was, clearly about to rain, and we had just paid for tickets to get on the boat just to get wet. Oh well. When we got off the boat, after getting totally drenched (really fun, by
the way), it started pouring rain and the jungle starting vomiting vegetation on us. I was covered in tree goop and got smacked in the shoulder by a falling tree branch, whipped in the face, and generally covered in bugs.
Needless to say, by the time we got back, the pool just didn't seem quite as appealing as the day before. The water was colder, and so was the air. And I was tired. But still, we hung out for most of the night until I decided I just couldn't stay up any more. And besides, I had a very early morning flight that I had to show up an hour and a half before the flight in order to pay for the ticket. . .
Advertisement
Tot: 0.098s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 13; qc: 52; dbt: 0.059s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Amy
non-member comment
Sha Na Na drove you?
Sounds like fun. What a beautiful butterfly! With all of the nationalities mentioned in a row, I thought you were going to break into a joke :)