Oh, heaven is a place on earth

Trip Start Feb 02, 2010

Trip End Dec 23, 2010

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Where I stayed

Stop Hostel

Flag of Argentina Puerto Iguazu, Argentina
Thursday, March 18, 2010

Sorry for starting a blog with Belinda Carlisle but it aptly sums up the Iguazu Falls from the Argentinian side. As I was wandering around I just thought to myself, this is exactly how they describe heaven, paradise and all that. You see, from the Argentinian side you are actually aloud all but into the waterfalls, so you get a better feel for their size. Walking through the numerous nature trails you witness grass covered mounds with iguana�s perched ontop, butterflies diving between gushing falls and rainbows in every direction. It truly is a amazing and completely different to the Brazilian side. We also opted to do the extra boat ride which is a must as it takes you down the Devils Throat - the largest of the falls, and then into one of the side waterfalls. Awesome views and very refreshing in the heat.

One thing to note is that its completely overrun with tour groups swarming over every balcony and trail like parasites moving from meal to meal.The Brazilian side was practically ours alone in comparison

The Devils Throat

. And what really got my goat was that these people were basically 'photo tourists'. By this I mean, they would get to some amazing view, take a photo and walk off. Literally without looking at the view with their own eyes. Something this beautiful should be savored and used as a place to reflect on love, life and the universe. Philistines!

So obviously Puerto Iguazu is a springboard for the falls. What else? Well, the hostel we found was pretty good and worth mentioning as its paired to a sister hotel - Che Lagarto. We checked them both out and it seems they are pretty much identical (the rooms were cleaner and well decorated in Stop) in all but price, where Che is twice the price! Save yourself some cash and go to Stop.

The only other thing we did in the town was head out to the meeting point of the three connected countries - Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina. It was marked with an obelisque and had some nice views down the rivers. A good place to take a beer and watch the sunset. Oh, I also was very happy to find that here, a 1 litre bottle of Brahma is only 2 peso's or about 35p!

The funny quote from here is thus. We were in a bus and this guy gets on. He looks like a bit of a hippy but is loud, dirty and wearing aviators, vest top and this quim little pony tail attached to an otherwise shaved head. Nicci pipes up in disgust and says to me, "He embodies everything I hate about travellers". Harsh, but kind of true.

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