Iguazu Falls, Argentina & Brazil

Sept 2-5

Iguazu Falls sits into the border of Argentina and Brazil, just about reaching Paraguay too. I can't even begin to explain how massive it is. So massive that there was no one viewpoint where you can see it all (except perhaps from up above, for those who did a helicopter ride or skydive!) Makes Niagara Falls seem pretty tiny in comparison!

The Devil's Throat is the main part of the waterfall, but it is surrounded by hundreds of smaller falls. It is 2680m  wide and the waterfall drops roughly 82m.

We started with the Argentinian side, staying in the town of Porto Iguazu. 80% of the falls are on the Argentian side and on this side you can get much closer to the falls.

Upon entering the park we met lotttts of Coatis: little rodent-like animals that look a tiny bit like an armadillo without its shell.. Hard to desciribe. They were almost as cheeky as the monkeys in Costa Rica! They were super used to humans, so they'd just come right up to us, looking for food. On the occasions when we did have food out, they'd immediately be up on hind legs reaching for it. At one point, as Linda was getting a packet of cookies out they managed to climb up her bag and snatch them away! Greedy little things.

We started roaming around the falls in the sunshine, finding various stunning viewpoints.

Most of us opted to ride the boat under the falls. A short 12 minute journey gave us picturesque views and intense showers under two of the waterfalls. I came out soaking wet and to be honest quite motion sick. Possibly not my favourite activity!

We changed out of our wet clothes, downed some lunch and continued roaming. At this point the grey skies had taken over...

Before long it was pouring with rain. So now we had two sets of wet clothes! Hurruh! We hurried along to each viewpoint, including one at the top of the Devils Throat (the highest fall) where the water from the falls was adding to the rain that was already soaking us.

As soon as we returned to our hostel we dried off then Bini, Linda and I had a quick browse through the shops..our last chance for Argentian souvenirs! Dinner was yet another delicious Argentinian steak and we treated ourselves to ice cream for dessert.

In the morning we said goodbye to Argentina and hellooooo to Brazil!! The Brazil side of the falls is all about the panoramic views, as opposed to the up-close experience in Argentina.

We walked along a path admiring the views. 

As well as coatis we saw lots of beautiful butterflies!

At the end of the path you could get right up close to the falls, but I chose to get myself completely soaked all over again. Instead, I went up to the top of a tower where I got one final view of the waterfall. 

Most of the crew then headed to the bird park, but those who know me would know that I would never choose to set foot in a bird park... However, it seemed to be the only place nearby offering lunch, so Laura dragged me in and then insisted that we go meet a toucan. I hid behind her and Kim as we passed a million different kinds of crazy birds and eventually found a toucan. I have to admit...as far as birds go, toucans are pretty cool. They're just so strange looking with their huge beaks. 

I also enjoyed looking at the flamingoes (from a safe distance!) Flamingoes are also strange birds, really.

That evening I had the most amazing meal of my life. Buffet! But this buffet was not just any buffet. There was everything you could possibly imagine... I started with sushi, then worked my way through the endless meats, potato salads, paellas and finally...dessert. So many desserts. 

On top of the amazing dinner, we also scored a show! A brilliant show. It was  about an hour of Latin American music, dance and costume. They showed off the traditional dances from many different countries, including a bit of Samba, Tango...all sorts.

One of the highlights was the act from Argentina- where a man performed malambo, which involved spinning boleadoras around in time to the music. He got a man up on stage and flung them right by his face at a ridiculous speed!

With an extra day to spare before leaving Foz, many people chose to skydive or pop into Paraguay. Jess and I however opted for a lazy day in the sun. We took advantage of the wifi, the pool and even went for a run.