Falling over Iguazu

We arrived in the pretty town of Foz do Iguazu after another night bus from Campo Grande in the Pantanal. After speaking with the helpful man at the tourist information centre, we decided to take his advice and pop across the Rio Parana to Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, as dozens of billboards on the way into Foz had promised cheap electronics and other duty free items. "If they ask for your ($100 USD) visa, play dumb and come back without paying" he advised. Fortunately, immigration chose not to check our bus, and we were free to wander the tout-filled streets who called us to their shops for "very cheap stuff". The things we did look at were not "very cheap", and we´re not exactly die hard shoppers, so we walked across the Friendship Bridge, back to Brazil. We had our favorite kind of lunch - buffet where you choose from all kinds of items and pay by weight. The local bus system in Foz was very easy to navigate, and we made our way out to the Parque do Iguazu.

We had a quick look at the Visitor Centre, and then were shuttled deeper into the park to the start of a 1.6 km trail which would take us alongside the Rio Iguazu where we gazed in wonder at the 270 different falls that lined the canyon. The falls mark the border between Brazil and Argentina, and although most of the falls are on the Argentinian side, the panoramic view from Brazil was spectacular. Imagine a large horseshoe, with dozens and dozens of separate falls along both sides of the legs, and the wonderful Garganta del Diablo (Devil´s Throat) at the neck. Along the trail we also saw coatis (pictured right), lizards and butterflies which seemed to like to land on our sweaty arms.

We spent the night at the Youth Hostel, close to the falls, and we spent the next morning at the Bird Park, where we were able to walk in large, open aviaries with toucans, macaws, rheas, hummingbirds, hawks, and countless other birds. The toucans were our favorite, with their brilliant red, yellow and orange beaks, and their curiosity made us laugh. In the afternoon, we visited the Itaipu Dam, the largest hydro-electric dam in the world. The size and scope of the dam was pretty impressive, and the tour of the facility was pretty slick - the dam did nothing but good for the communities and the environment (yeah, right).

A couple more bus rides and a quick taxi landed us in Puerto Iguazu, Argentina. We woke up early the next morning to begin our tour of the Argentinian side of Iguazu Falls, We began with a 6 km walk in the jungle part of the park, where we saw toucans and capuchin monkeys, and a lovely waterfall. We then made our way back to the main part of the park, and walked the Lower Walkway, a series of catwalks that took us along the canyon to view many of the lesser falls, and to Isla San Martine, an island in the middle of the river, which also provided wonderful views. We decided to have a more intimate experience with the falls, and took a trip in an open powerboat which doused us 3 times in the cool water of San Martine falls. A walk along the Upper Walkway provided us with the unique perspective of being at the top of the falls, just at the point where the water began its 80m journey down to the River. A short train ride took us to our final destination, the walkway out to the Garganta del Diablo, which was simply gorgeous. The viewpoint placed us at the top of the falls, less than 50m from the centre of the raging waters. The site tickled the senses - the sight was breathtaking, the sound was thunderous, and the feeling of the mist was very refreshing in the 38-degree sun.

After Iguazu, we made our way to San Ignacio to visit some Jesuit ruins, then to Resistencia, a city with over 400 sculptures that line the main streets, where it was very very hot. We decided to head for the mountains and spent a couple days in the very cool and very nice Salta.

Location: Cafayette, Argentina