Iguazu falls
By Jaimy de Vries
The Iguazu Falls are probably (one of) the most impressive waterfalls on our planet. It was chosen to be one of the 7 natural wonders in the world and I understand why. I was and I’m still marveling over these waterfalls, they were so beautiful. I felt so grateful that I got to see these waterfalls. It’s so special to see nature so rough. We were wondering how many waterfalls you have up here. We were all guessing, I thought around 63….well I was quite wrong. Iguazu has more than 250 waterfalls! The Iguazu falls are shared by Brazil and Argentina, were the Iguazu river forms a natural border. The first day we went to the Brazilian, the second day at the Argentinean side.
I came to Iguazu Puerto of course to see the Iguazu falls. Everyone was talking about it during my travel that this is something you need to do. It was actually not in my initial travel plan, but I was so happy I did! Iguazu falls was one of the 7 natural wonders in the world and I love to see all the natural wonders over the world – So it was stupid not to go, I was already so close.
Arrival
I met a Belgian girl Marie, she was sitting next to me on my flight from Salta to Iguazu and we decided to go to the Brazilian side together the next day. Arriving at the airport we saw that you have three options to reach your hostel at Puerto Iguazu. 1. Buy a bus ticket that brings you to your hostel (500 pesos). 2. Grab a taxi or 3. rent a car. We took the bus.
Brazilian side
I had a relaxing breakfast, after that I met with Marie at the bus station, a German girl Laura joined us. We waited a while for the bus to arrive. The timetables you see were not valid, so we just followed the instructions of the people who worked there.
After we left Iguazu Puerto we already reached the Brazilian border. First we needed to show proof of our vaccines & we got a stamp that we left the country. Then we reached the Brazilian migration office were we got a stamp too. It was quite easy. After that we headed to the falls. The ticket was 107 Brazilian sol, around 22 euro. You can take a bus (included in the ticket) to reach the trails to the falls. The entrance was still 7 km away from the falls.
You can make several stops with the bus: to the helicopter & the boat excursions, the trail and the end at the restaurant. We stopped at the trail. We hiked down the stairs and path and saw many picturesque panoramic views over the waterfalls.
Fresh stamps in my passport.
View from the Brazilians’ side
After an hour hike (depending how many stops you make – we did many!) We arrived at the main viewpoint with elevator. While looking at all these waterfalls we were wondering how many waterfalls you have up here. We were all guessing, I thought around 63. It turned out to be more than 260! I lost the bet big time. We walked on the viewpoint on the river, it was a refreshing viewpoint I can tell you. We got totally wet! If you don’t want to get wet bring a poncho with you or buy one at the shop. After the viewpoint we walked to the restaurant to get the famous Brazilian cocktail: Caipirinha. My Spanish teacher said I must try one. And it looks like my favorite drink: Mojito. We tried it and it was indeed delicious. After our cocktail we walked back on the same trail, but then the sun was coming through the clouds, creating beautiful rainbows! We were so happy. “How can the Argentinean side be even better?” we were asking ourselves.
Argentinian side
The next day my Dutch friend Anna joined us on a day trip to the Argentinean side. We arranged a taxi that will bring us to and take us back from the falls for 900 pesos per person, similar to the price for a bus, but with the beneficial that we can leave early to avoid crowds. When we were halfway there the road to the falls were blocked. All the drivers (mostly guys) stepped outside, like dads they were standing there with their hand in their pockets discussing what was going on. We finally found out what was happening: a strike! And they blocked the road to the Iguazu falls and the airport! Ai! This was my last day in Iguazu and I need to get on the plane tonight. I was a bit stressed and afraid that I will miss the best view over Iguazu falls. We saw lots of tourist stepping outside their car and walking to the falls. It was a 1,5 hour walk!? Why?
In the middle of the falls
But we decided to do that too. We didn’t had a choice. We walked through the strike and at the end of the strike there were busses waiting. We were waiting for the bus to leave when suddenly a taxi driver ticked on our shoulders and said he can bring us to the falls for 1000 pesos. “YES please, vamos!” We all said very happy. We drove quite fast and were one of the first visitors in the park. It was so quiet. A benefit from the strike! We headed to the train in the park to get as fast as we can to the devil’s throat, the most popular viewpoint in the park. We were so energetic and happy, probably a little bit of adrenaline because of the strike and relief that we made it to the park. After a nice train ride we arrived at the devil’s throat. In one word: WAUW! The falls are so massive and loud. We looked over a waterfall drop of 50 meters. I felt so grateful to be here and witness this. We stayed at the devil’s throat for more than an hour…. just marveling at the power of the water and looking our eyes out how beautiful it is.
After that we grabbed some little snack before we wanted to head out to the rest of the park. While I was looking to catch some of the beautiful butterflies you see there in the park, Marie’s lunch got stolen by a coati. They look so damn cute, but are so quick and feisty. They don’t have stripes on their tail for nothing, little banditos they are. Even though they look so cute, be careful! They can bite you and you can get rabies.
Marie just had the corner of het bag open and still they got to manage to get 5 pieces of bread out of her bag. She was happy they didn’t stole anything else, like her passport, because they could’ve done that (it happend before!).
Cutest banditos
After that we went to all the walking trails in the park. You have the blue, yellow and brown trail. We started with the blue one and had a beautiful panoramic view over the waterfalls. We saw some people on balconies below us and wanted to head out there. When we did the yellow trail we weren’t there, but a part was closed, maybe the part we wanted to visit? We were a bit disappointed that we couldn’t find the trail we were looking for. Later we saw people coming out of an exit we didn’t know and asked if its worth to go there. A guy answered very enthusiastic yes. So we went there and it turned out to be the balconies below the waterfalls – and again we got very wet!
At the end of the day we had an early dinner and looked back very satisfied, what a day! And we got to see everything in just one-day! When we got picked up by the taxi he brought me to the airport. Bye bye Argentina, it was a good last day! Now some new adventures in Peru.
