Argentina

Today we did the tour of the Iguazu Falls on the Argentina border. At first, we were also wondering why we would need to see the same falls twice on both sides of the border (and go through the hassle for visas and such). Looking back and comparing both experiences, it was well worth the visit to both sides, especially since Iguazu is SO far from the beaten track that you’d be really hard pressed to be back again. And, everyone that’s gone there tells us both sides are worth’d!

Over on the Brazilian side, you feel a bit more voyeuristic as you walk along the trails and peek through the thick trees in between viewing points to catch glimpses of the falls from across the Iguazu river. Here on the Argentinean side, the falls are located right below your feet as you get an up close and intimate view, feeling the rush of the water as it tumbles down into the mist below. Up until 10m from the drop-off, the river is very calm and if you were paddling down the river you wouldn’t really know what’s coming!

The falls are actually a series of over 275 smaller falls, with one massive convergence point called the Devil’s Throat (scary name!). The falls are also in two tiers, making it seem a bit excessive but also very awe-inspiring. The best part though, has to be taking the boat ride in the Argentinean side.

There are a lot of excursions not included in the park entrance on both sides, but you really have to spend all day there which we didn’t have the luxury as we only had half day on each side. It’s also mostly geared for kids? But there’s one awesome thing that everyone that’s not pregnant or clear from heart conditions should try, and that’s the speedboat adventure tour (forgot the exact name). What it is, is you hop onto a speedboat, and you to do a simple cruise around, but then you see all the crew members start to change into some waterproof gear as they prepare for ‘the shower’.

Then, with a sudden burst of power the tail dips into the water and the boat starts thrusting into the waterfalls. We purposely sat in the first row, and that rush of adrenaline, not to mention the cold shower from a waterfall 20m high is just amazing! Then… we go again at another waterfall, but this time the falls have a bit more ‘umph’ and you can feel water just blowing at your face to the point where you can’t actually open your eyes! IT WAS SO FUN!

The rest of the day we spent going all the way up to the Devil’s Throat lookout point, which was a train ride and another 20min walk before we got to the crowded lookout. The view is pretty amazing as you’re surrounded by waterfalls and mist is streaming all around you. The problem is though, pictures come out horrible because THERE IS TOO MUCH MIST!!

And to be honest, after being blasted by the waterfalls themselves, everything else just seems inferior. Iguazu Falls, despite being very touristy, is definitely worth the visit…. even if it means a 20hr bus ride and nothing else in between! And after all that….we were on our way back on the 20hr bus ride back to Buenos Aires!

Rolling into the bus station at 8am, we had to take a local bus to our hostel which was inconveniently located along the freeway instead of in town. The location was poor, but the facility itself was pretty cool. Spacious and large with this extremely pretty pool in the front, it sort of made up for it. Then again, the people working there were some of the worst service staff we’ve seen so far in our travels. Horrible.

Background: Iguazu Falls is neatly situated along the borders of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. The falls itself is a UNESCO heritage site shared by Argentina and Brazil, and to see everything this natural wonder has to offer, most people say you should visit both sides. Problem is, for Canadians you are required to have a visa! We scrambled back into town to get our visa application in, paid about $60USD/person, paid $8USD for print-outs at the hostel next door and hoped that we got our visa the next day. We were already here, and Iguazu is so far away from anything that you really don’t want to have to travel here again just to see the other side of the falls….. the perils of traveling. We’ve actually heard stories of people crossing the border without visas or even getting their passport stamped, but we asked around and that doesn’t happen anymore… so we didn’t want to risk getting shut out at the border and paid up for the stupid visa.

By the time we got everything done, it was too late to go to the Argentinean side of the falls, and we were sort of stranded in Iguazu without much to do, and to add to the fun it started pouring rain. Fun. The rain stopped and we headed out to a animal rescue centre close by. It was pretty cool as it was all privately run and worked off donations, but instead of acting like a zoo where they kept animals in captivity, they would release animals back into the wild whenever they can. Unfortunately, some wild animals were injured, domesticated and could never be returned, but at least they take good care of the animals!

It was buffet night in our hostel, and since we were living along the freeway where there was no other choice, we ate at the hostel and drank a few beers, chatting up with some people for a couple of hours before calling it a night.