Iguaza Falls

Saturday, July 16, 2011
Foz de Iguacu, State of Parana, Brazil
Our 10am bus from Asuncion, Paraguay to Foz do Iguazu, Brazil should have taken 5-6 hours. Things looked hopeful as about 5 1/2 hours after departing, we got to the Paraguay-Brazil border and could see Foz in the distance. We joined a queue of coaches. Then we waited, and waited, and waited. Every half hour or so, one of the coaches in front of us would drive off through border control and we'd move forward a bit. Many other coaches inexplicably drove past our queue and whizzed through the border. I think about four hours passed before we got off the coach and got our passports stamped. We got into our hotel (Hotel Taroba) in Foz do Iguazu at about 9pm, about 11 hours after setting out. A nightmare border crossing. We quickly headed out to a nearby churrascaria (Brazilian steakhouse) called Bufalo Branco and promptly stuffed our faces with succulent BBQed meat. However, after getting through a veritable small farmyard of animals, the old adage "what goes in must come out" would come to mind the next day - what a shitter! After the meal, a few of us stopped by a backpacker hostel a few doors down called Katherina (the owner's ex) which had a bar opening onto the street, some exceedingly drunk backpackers, and one slightly less drunk owner who didn't appear to be particularly bothered if we paid for our drinks or not.

Foz do Iguazu is the access town for the Brazilian side of the Iguazu Falls, a series of waterfalls of the Iguazu River located on the border of Brazil and Argentina (Puerto Iguazu is the equivalent town for the Argentinian side). Numerous islands divide the Falls into about 275 separate waterfalls and cataracts, varying between 60m and 82m high. About half of the river's flow falls into a long and narrow chasm called the Devil's Throat. The Falls are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In comparison to other major waterfalls around the world, Iguazu Falls are wider than Victoria Falls but because they are split into about 275 separate falls, Victoria has the largest curtain of water in the world. Iguazu has the second highest average annual flow of any waterfall in the world, second to Niagara Falls.

On Thursday, we visited the Brazilian side of Iguazu Falls. First, I opted for the helicopter ride over the Falls, a pricey US$110. It was only just okay, pretty short considering the price, but did give views over the complete Falls. Then it was off to the adjacent Bird Park (Parque das Aves), which I thought was brilliant because you could walk through many of the enclosures with birds I'd never been so close to before. The toucan enclosures were great, one of my favourite birds with their bright colours and huge beaks, and a real thrill to be able to walk amongst them and snap them without bars in the way. However, we weren't the only ones snapping, the toucans chasing anyone they didn't take a fancy to and pecking away at their feet. There was also a macaw walk-through enclosure, a butterfly and hummingbird garden, and a caged, majestic Harpy Eagle, one of the largest and rarest birds in the world, which similar to rare animals in zoos, I didn't really want to see caged. I spent about two hours rushing through the Park, and could have spent twice as long there.

In the afternoon, we took a long walkway (Trilha das Cataratas) along the Falls canyon which ended at an extension to the lower base of Devil's Throat. As you got closer to the end of the extension, you'd get more and more wet until it was pretty torrential at the end. There was also an elevator to a viewpoint over the Falls. Rainbows arched over the Falls which showed them off even more.

In the evening, the locals liked to hang out drinking at the local Shell garage (yep, that's right!) so off we set too. The garage provided plastic chairs and tables set outside the shop for their patrons, you just went into the shop, got a case of beer, and drank and smoked away, obviously being careful where you stubbed your cigarette out. A unique drinking experience the likes of which even I had never experienced in my drinking adventures around the world! After our group demolished five or six cases, we headed to Katherina Hostel bar where the owner kindly laid on a BBQ for us for Rs20 each, then some of us went for a long walk to the bar area of Foz. We ended the night at a club with a live stage act, a sort of country and western act with the locals performing some sexy Salsa dancing. Mike however wouldn't go into the club because he wouldn't take his cap off - said cap was a permanent attachment to his head during the trip, although during previous periods of drunkenness, I had been the only person who had ever dared to remove it, twice! I shall not put on record in public what lies underneath it. I should also add that in the club were the fittest girls I'd ever seen, most must have been a 9 or 10 out of 10, I thought I must be in heaven! One problem with Brazil though is I can't really speak the language - unlike the rest of South America where they speak Spanish and I had learnt enough to get by and hold some semblance of a conversation with people, in Brazil they speak Portuguese and it was very frustrating not being able to talk to people and not being able to read menus. It just underlined what an important decision it was to spend the week at Spanish school at the start of my trip and learn the lingo.

On Friday, we visited the Argentinian side of the Falls, although I was a little worse for wear having had a late night and hardly any sleep. The Argentinian side comprises a couple of trails (Upper and Lower) giving various viewpoints of this side of the Falls, as well as a walkway (Paseo Garganta del Diablo) leading directly over Devil's Throat. Most of the group started the day with a speedboat ride which went beneath the Falls and obviously led to you getting completely soaked. I didn't fancy this, especially as it would probably have resulted in loss of my contact lenses, so went wandering round one of the walking trails in the meantime, for which I was rewarded with close-up sightings of monkeys and coati. After spending the next few hours on the Upper and Lower trails, and after a ridiculously overpriced lunch, we headed along the final walkway to Devil's Throat. Upon reaching it, the power, size and noise of the waterfall was incredible.

At the end of the day, it was off to the bus station for an overnight 10pm bus to our next city, Curitiba.

I loved Iguazu Falls. The sheer number of separate waterfalls allowed many different viewpoints, photos and activities involving the Falls. The power and noise of some of the larger waterfalls was amazing, rivalling Victoria Falls. The whole Falls sat in an area of tropical rainforest with many species of fauna and flora, although many of the nature walks I'd read about beforehand were crazily overpriced. The two days we spent there, one on each of the Brazilian and Argentinian sides, was perfect, any longer and I'd have been "waterfalled-out".
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