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Published: April 22nd 2006
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Since my first trip to Argentina six years ago, Iguazu Falls has always been somewhere where I wanted to visit. I remembered hearing many times that it made Niagara Falls in New York look tiny, and that it was one of the most impressive natural wonders of South America. I finally got my chance to see Iguazu Falls as the third destination in my tour of Brazil, and it didn´t disappoint.
A Long Day of Travelling, and Lots of Stolen Electronics in Paraguay We left Parati for Iguazu at 9:00 AM Tuesday, and did not arrive until 11:30 AM Wednesday. That is a long day of travelling. It wasn´t supposed to be
quite that long, but our first bus from Parati to São Paulo blew a flat tire an hour down the road. While we waited outside, our guide hitchiked back to Parati and booked us on a private bus. Around 7:00 PM we made it to São Paulo, and a night bus later, arrived in Iguazu Falls.
Because we arrived later on Wednesday then we were scheduled to, our guide decided to move our tours of the Argentine and Brazilian sides of the falls back a day. For
the first day, or afternoon rather, we would go to Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, where we could buy really cheap stolen electronic goods. I was excited to go to Paraguay because it is the one country below Ecuador that I had never been to.
About 100 feet and 10 seconds after entering Paraguay, I understood why I had never been to Paraguay. I have been to some nasty cities, and Ciudad del Este is right up there. It is smelly, dirty, and unsafe. Commerce in Ciudad del Este exists primarily as a market for stolen goods from Argentina and Brazil. There is nothing else there. Paraguay even lost out on the scenic vistas that Argentina and Brazil have of the falls. Moreover, while things like cameras and tvs are a good deal for South Americans, they are still more expensive then United States prices (tariffs in Brazil and Argentina for imported goods often double the price of items like cameras and tvs). My point-and-shoot camera, for instance, was offered for $375 in Paraguay. In the US you could get it for less then $300.
Day 2: The Argentine Side On Day 2 we left early for a tour
of the Argentine side of the falls. The first leg of the tour was a boat ride that would lead up to the mouth of the falls. We were told we would get wet. What none of us understood is that unlike tours at say, Niagara Falls, where there are calm boat rides where passengers might get mist from the falls above, the boat tours in Iguazu were speed boats that went directly under the falls. It was a surprising rush of adrenalin.
After the boat ride we had a short hike to take pictures of the same falls where we had the boat ride. It was cloudy and rainy all day, particularly right before and after lunch. Our last stop of the day was the best - to an area called "La Gargantua del Diablo" ("Devil´s Throat"). Here, the weather started to clear up, and the pictures turned out a lot better.
At night we all went out to a group, first to a place called, quite originally, "El Jardin de Cerveja" ("The Beer Garden"). The Beer Garden was followed by a bar which made absolutely horrible Caiparinhas, and seemed to borrow its playlist from Rick´s American
Cafe in Ann Arbor (i.e. lots of 50 Cent, Nelly and Eminem). The bar was then followed by a club. It was a late night.
Day 3: The Brazilian Side Needless to say, we were all tired when we woke up Friday morning. By 8:30 we had checked out and were on our way for a tour of the Brazilian side of the falls. Our first tour of the day was an optional helicoptor ride. It cost $60 for 10 minutes, expensive, but I eventually decided to do it. I had never been in a helicoptor before, and for me, it was worth the money.
After the helicoptor tour, we continued to the trails inside the park. The amenities on the Brazilian side of the falls were even better then on the Argentine side of the falls. The views themselves were spectacular. From the Argentine side you are closer to more of the falls, but from the Brazilian side you get a panoramic view. The weather was great, and there were rainbows everywhere.
At about 2:00 PM we took of for our final visit at Iguazu - a wild bird sanctuary. This was a great stop as
well. I saw all kinds of tropical and exotic birds - macaws, parakeets, vultures, storks, ostriches. The highlight was definitely the Macaw cage. I was carrying around a backpack, which the Macaws thought would be a nice perch. Two of them landed on my back before I realized what they were doing. One of them chewed a button of my backpack. Better then my ear at least.
Overely, Iguazu was more or less what I expected, although the size of the park and the surrounding towns surprised me a little. Iguazu Falls and the national parks in Argentina and Brazil have the infrastructure of similar attractions in the U.S. There are good hotels, marked paths, restaurants near the park. Unlike some places in Brazil, such as Ouro Preto, it would be easy to travel to without speaking any Spanish or Portuguese. Most of the tourists seemed to be stopping in Iguazu as part of a tour of Rio or Buenos Aires, and for anyone thinking about adding Iguazu to a visit to one of these cities, I would highly recommend it.
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