From the Pantanal, Marama and I bused down to Foz do Iguacu, the town on the Brazillian side of the falls. Given that we weren't sure of our plan for the day and whether or not we wanted to stay on this side of the falls overnight, we figured we'd go and see what there was to see and decide later. So we put our bags in storage at the bus terminal and off we went.
We started at the Bird Park which is just before the falls entrance. We both really liked the park for the number of birds and especially the tucans which get up close and personal. They seem to be intrigued by the sound of a camera shutter and so would come right up to the lenses, poking at them with their huge beaks. There were so many different types and they were all so colourful. Definately my favourites at the park. There were also some macaws as well which were pretty cool, with one that you could have sit on your arm for photo ops. Very touristy but of course I climbed on the bandwagon.
After the bird park we hit the falls. I've had some people say to me that compared to the Argentinian side, the Brazillian side isn't really worth a look. I disagree. I thought the Brazillian side was really stunning. Once you get off the bus, they're almost right there in the sense that it's not a long walk before you get a glimpse at them. And they go for miles. Or at least I was told they were 3km long. Once you get to the major part of the falls you're able to walk out on a boardwalk which goes along the bottom of them. Here you're able to get the full impact of the spray that comes off them. Wet we got. You can then take a lift to the top of the falls to see the drop off, though I think I preferred the lower view. Here, Muzz and I met a really nice guy from Costa Rica who we had a drink with in the park hotel. Afterwards he accompanied us to watch the light show at the Itaipu Dam.
The Itaipu Dam is the third biggest dam inthe world though I think it's the largest in the amount of electricity it generates. It supplies 85% of Paraguay's electricity and 25% of Brazils. It also stretches for around 8km, with 3km of it being concrete. That said, it's pretty impressive, particularly at night (though I never saw it during the day) with the lights on it. The dam people also put on a wee show with a sax player and Cirque-de-Soleilesque girl on a ribbon. We all really liked the show though perhaps wasn't worth the exorbatent cost of the taxi ride out there (we were running so late that a bus was out of the question).
After seeing the light show it became apparent that we were staying the night in Foz. Particularly given that the show finished at 10.30, the same time that the luggage storage at the terminal closed. We then had to find ourselves a hostel which turned out to be no easy task. We ended up taking the last two beds at the third hostel that we tried. Who would've thought Foz would be so busy? On top of that we didn't have any of our luggage and I felt so gross with not having showered in more than two days and spending one of those on a bus. I guess this is all a part of the adventure though.
The following morning we headed to Puerto Iguazu, the town on the Argentinian side of the falls. If anyone is thinking of heading there, I definately recommend Hostel Inn to stay in. It's an incredibly huge, clean hostel with two bars, a huge pool and loads of land. I can see how it'd be easy to get stuck there. We however didn't as we had plans to the wazoo. After checking in, Marama and I headed to the triple fontier where the two rivers (Parana and Iguazu) meet, with the three countries of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. Very cool when you think that you can see all three countries at once and take a quick boat across (or swim, if the current wasn't so strong). You can actually head down from the Argentinian side and swim in the river providing you don't stray too far from the shore. Given how hot it was, we decided to go in, especially having brought our togs with us.
From there we went into town to do some emailing and so forth. We were lucky enough to stumble across a tour company place that managed to get us a full moon tour for that night. They do these tours only five nights in a month and that night was the last night. If you are ever heading to Iguazu Falls, I'd do my best to try and plan it for a full moon and if you can, do NOT miss this. It was just the most magical thing I've seen the whole trip so far...and perhaps even ever. (The evening was a little marred by the fact that I wasn't able to get my camera to take any photos that showed anything at all, but on the upside, I was then able to appreciate the view from outside of the viewfinder of the camera).
We revisited the Falls again the following day, doing the full Argentinian side. We started with the inferior path walks and then taking the speed boat under the falls. This was a lot of fun as they take you out on the boats right up to the falls where you get REALLY wet. I tell you what, there is a huge amount of water that comes off them and as such, vision becomes severely impaired. I wasn't able to keep my eyes open for the amount of water coming down on top of us. After that, we did the superior path and then the Garganta Diablo (Devil's Throat). This is the piece de resistance of both sides of the falls, and what we had gone to see the night before by moonlight. Again it was very impressive and a totally different view to the Brazillian side. Here you're right up at where the falls go over and you're able to really appreciate the force and size of it. Absolutely amazing.
All in all a great way to end Brazil and start Argentina. The following day the two of us flew down to Buenos Aires to start the next and essentially last "leg" of our respective trips.
We started at the Bird Park which is just before the falls entrance. We both really liked the park for the number of birds and especially the tucans which get up close and personal. They seem to be intrigued by the sound of a camera shutter and so would come right up to the lenses, poking at them with their huge beaks. There were so many different types and they were all so colourful. Definately my favourites at the park. There were also some macaws as well which were pretty cool, with one that you could have sit on your arm for photo ops. Very touristy but of course I climbed on the bandwagon.
After the bird park we hit the falls. I've had some people say to me that compared to the Argentinian side, the Brazillian side isn't really worth a look. I disagree. I thought the Brazillian side was really stunning. Once you get off the bus, they're almost right there in the sense that it's not a long walk before you get a glimpse at them. And they go for miles. Or at least I was told they were 3km long. Once you get to the major part of the falls you're able to walk out on a boardwalk which goes along the bottom of them. Here you're able to get the full impact of the spray that comes off them. Wet we got. You can then take a lift to the top of the falls to see the drop off, though I think I preferred the lower view. Here, Muzz and I met a really nice guy from Costa Rica who we had a drink with in the park hotel. Afterwards he accompanied us to watch the light show at the Itaipu Dam.
The Itaipu Dam is the third biggest dam inthe world though I think it's the largest in the amount of electricity it generates. It supplies 85% of Paraguay's electricity and 25% of Brazils. It also stretches for around 8km, with 3km of it being concrete. That said, it's pretty impressive, particularly at night (though I never saw it during the day) with the lights on it. The dam people also put on a wee show with a sax player and Cirque-de-Soleilesque girl on a ribbon. We all really liked the show though perhaps wasn't worth the exorbatent cost of the taxi ride out there (we were running so late that a bus was out of the question).
After seeing the light show it became apparent that we were staying the night in Foz. Particularly given that the show finished at 10.30, the same time that the luggage storage at the terminal closed. We then had to find ourselves a hostel which turned out to be no easy task. We ended up taking the last two beds at the third hostel that we tried. Who would've thought Foz would be so busy? On top of that we didn't have any of our luggage and I felt so gross with not having showered in more than two days and spending one of those on a bus. I guess this is all a part of the adventure though.
The following morning we headed to Puerto Iguazu, the town on the Argentinian side of the falls. If anyone is thinking of heading there, I definately recommend Hostel Inn to stay in. It's an incredibly huge, clean hostel with two bars, a huge pool and loads of land. I can see how it'd be easy to get stuck there. We however didn't as we had plans to the wazoo. After checking in, Marama and I headed to the triple fontier where the two rivers (Parana and Iguazu) meet, with the three countries of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. Very cool when you think that you can see all three countries at once and take a quick boat across (or swim, if the current wasn't so strong). You can actually head down from the Argentinian side and swim in the river providing you don't stray too far from the shore. Given how hot it was, we decided to go in, especially having brought our togs with us.
From there we went into town to do some emailing and so forth. We were lucky enough to stumble across a tour company place that managed to get us a full moon tour for that night. They do these tours only five nights in a month and that night was the last night. If you are ever heading to Iguazu Falls, I'd do my best to try and plan it for a full moon and if you can, do NOT miss this. It was just the most magical thing I've seen the whole trip so far...and perhaps even ever. (The evening was a little marred by the fact that I wasn't able to get my camera to take any photos that showed anything at all, but on the upside, I was then able to appreciate the view from outside of the viewfinder of the camera).
We revisited the Falls again the following day, doing the full Argentinian side. We started with the inferior path walks and then taking the speed boat under the falls. This was a lot of fun as they take you out on the boats right up to the falls where you get REALLY wet. I tell you what, there is a huge amount of water that comes off them and as such, vision becomes severely impaired. I wasn't able to keep my eyes open for the amount of water coming down on top of us. After that, we did the superior path and then the Garganta Diablo (Devil's Throat). This is the piece de resistance of both sides of the falls, and what we had gone to see the night before by moonlight. Again it was very impressive and a totally different view to the Brazillian side. Here you're right up at where the falls go over and you're able to really appreciate the force and size of it. Absolutely amazing.
All in all a great way to end Brazil and start Argentina. The following day the two of us flew down to Buenos Aires to start the next and essentially last "leg" of our respective trips.
No comments:
Post a Comment