Iguazu Falls Part 1 - Brazil
Trip Start
Sep 07, 2011
1
181
289
Trip End
Sep 06, 2012
Where I stayed
What I did
Puerto Iguazu, Argentina
Monday, May 14, 2012
I decided to go with the hostel's recommendation and do Brazilian side today. It only takes about 5 minutes to get to the border, so it won't take long to get there.
After breakfast, I decided to do a little planning about where I am going next and also get myself ready to go to the falls. Whilst getting ready a couple of new people checked in and I asked them what they were up to. They didn't have any plans so I asked if they wanted to come with me to the falls. I think I sprung this on them, but they were happy to come. Yeay, i've found some new recruits and I don't have to go on my own. So, my new buddies are Anni from Oz and Max from Holland.
We caught the 12.20 pm bus and headed off over the border to Brazil. We had to stop at the border on the Argentina side to be stamped out of the country, but we did not get stamped into Brazil. Not sure why, as now we are officially nowhere!!! Maybe it is because they know we are only going to the falls, so it saves on ink!!!
Once we got to the National Park (Parque Nacional Do Iguacu) we hopped on another bus which takes you different destinations in the park itself. I had already been advised by a girl in our room who had been yesterday, to get off at the last but one stop so you can work your way up to the falls. It's like the big build up to the main attraction. See the smaller falls first before you are hit with the big one! Funnily enough, the girl who told me about this is from Fishponds. Small world eh!
We took her advice and jumped off at this stop. Basically it is a 1.5 kms footpath which winds its way along side the river Iguazu on the side of the hill and takes you past some of the smaller waterfalls, with plenty of view points to take photo's and the end of the trail you get to see the main part of the falls, which is known as 'The Devil's Throat'.
As soon as we got onto the trail, we were confront by new wildlife that I had never seen before. These animals looked like Raccoons and they were running around trying to find food by rummaging in the bins. They are called Quatis and are everywhere in the park. You are told not to touch them as they may have Rabies. This time I will listen as I don't really fancy contracting rabies really. They were so cute. They have really long tails and are the size of a small dog. I want one!!!
I haven't really seen any of the falls yet and I have already fallen in love with Brazil. The weather is great, a few clouds in the sky and it is warm. Loads of beautiful birds and animals This is a place for me!!!
We took a slow walk along the path, stopping off at all the view points and taking millions of photo's. You may get bored of hearing about and seeing photo's of waterfalls by the time I finish my blog tomorrow!! Half way along the path we saw a Quatis leap up and take a bag from a woman who was about to eat a sandwich. It was the funniest sight as she didn't know what to do and also, all her food was taken and the Quatis ran off, followed by another 5 or 6 all trying to rip open the bag and eat the food. They make a really funny sound. It is very high pitched and sounds almost like birds chirping.
We finally got to one of the last view points where you can see the Devils Throat, but from a distance, as you get to see the main attraction closer on the Argentinian side. It was absolutely amazing. The roar of the water and the power that it is being thrown over the cliff edge is awesome. It was quite mesmerizing. According to the information guide we were given, the amount of waterfalls within the park range from 150 in the dry season increasing to around 270 in the wet season. It doesn't tell you the height of the falls, which is a disappointment. Maybe one of you lovely people reading my blog could look it up and tell me as I would be really interested to know. I do know that the falling area covers 2,700 square meters. Answers on my comments please. The more the merrier as I know people are actually reading my blog then!!
Oh, another trivia fact for you - Iguacu or Iguazu means 'big waters' in Guarani language! It may come up in a pub quiz one day and you can thank me for that fact!
Me, Anni and Max, spent about an hour just sat on part of the boardwalk watching the falls and all the people around us. One of the funniest things we saw was a group of 3 people, 2 women and one male. The guy was taking photo's of the women and one of them looked as though they had had a session on the botox. Her pose was so funny. She would lean slightly forward with her chest out, her right leg bent at the knee and her foot lifted so she was resting on her toes and her smile was basically gritting her teeth with the most fake smile ever, her lips glistening with lip gloss. Love the staged photo shots. Everywhere they stopped, she pulled the same pose. We decided to give it a go ourselves so if you see photo's of me with a weird pose, it's us taking the mickey!
This has to be another highlight of my trip. I would say this ranks 2nd in my most favourite places in South America, with Ushuaia being No. 1. We just didn't want to leave, but we had to as the last bus left at 5 pm and if we missed it, we would be stuck in Brazil illegally!
On the way back to catch the bus we saw a group of people taking a photo of something. I was intrigued, so went over to look and it was only a ARMADILLO!! At last, I have seen a live one. I did see one at the Valdes Peninsula, but it was dead so that doesn't count. It was so cute. It was a really weird skin which looks kind of rubbery. It was just poking his nose in and out of holes i the ground looks for little insects to eat. This place just gets better!
We managed to get back in time for the last bus and got back to the hostel around 6 pm. None of us could be bothered to cook any food so we went of for dinner. Both Anni and Max hadn't tried an Argentinian steak, so they chowed down on that, whilst I decided to go for a chicken curry, which was more like chicken in a cream sauce with a tiny drop of curry powder and some pineapple. It actually tasted ok, but a little to creamy for my liking!
What an amazing day we had, and tomorrow on the Argentinian side, is supposed to be even better. Let's wait and see!
Comments
What a stunningly beautiful place and I bet it was amazing to be there. Your two new companions must have been really glad they met you.