Traveling and staying hostels opens up a whole new world of stories and information about different destinations, tours and things to do… Some good, some really bad!! One of those places that we’d heard nothing but good things about was Iguazu Falls. Even people who we had met who never get excited for anything we raving about this place!! Clearly it couldn’t be missed!!After yet another overnight bus we arrived in the city of Foz do Iquazu. Getting a bit pressed for time these days we decided to let a tour agency line up everything for us: our hostel, the tours, and even our departing bus ride for the next day to Florianopolis. Things are sure easy if you’re willing to pay a slight bit more!!
Within a few hours of arriving we were on our way to see the waterfalls from the Brazilian side. The river and waterfall are the border between Brazil and Argentina. Standing on the Brazil side, you are actually looking at the falls on the Argentina. The border to Paraguay is also only a few miles away, which is why the area is called the ‘Triple Frontier,’ where the 3 countries meet. We were expecting to be absolutely blown away, and we were certainly not disappointed. All of the incredible stories we heard from others were not even close to doing the fall justice!! The amount of water pouring over the cliffs was amazing and the falls continued for as far as you can see. Some areas had several skinny falls, others had several falls one after the other like steps, and others were massive powerful falls like Niagara. I’ve never been to Niagara and Dawne was only there when she was younger, but I don’t really think it could compare to this at all!! People told us when we go to Niagara we’ll wonder what all the people are there for.
We spent the afternoon just walking along the path overlooking the falls, gazing in disbelief at what we were seeing. Both of us agreed that this was the most beautiful thing we’d ever seen!! At the end of the path is the largest portion of water fall called “Garganta de Diablo’ (the Devil’s Throat) which is where the main part of the river spills over with tremendous force. It was incredible to see how high the water was spraying when it hit the bottom. It created a heavy mist that was refreshing for everyone seeing as the temperature was well over 30 degrees and crazy humid!! We even got to walk out on a catwalk to stand just a few meters from where all the water crashes down!! Dawne finally dragged me away from the walls and we headed back into town for a dip in the pool.
With the Brazil side now complete, we headed to the Argentinian side of the falls on day 2. We went with an organized group for this side of the falls and had a lot of fun with the others from the hostel who we had met the night before. (They were more Australians and they attempted to explain the game of Cricket to us, much like the previous other dozen Australians or New Zealanders before them. We still have no idea!!). The Argentine side of the falls brought a truly different aspect than the Brazilian side. On the Brazil side you get to see all the falls from across the river, giving you a great panoramic view and a grand overview of all the falls. On the Argentine side you get to go up close with the falls. The trail consists of wooden catwalks that actually take you right up to the edge of the falls, looking straight down from the top. It’s really tough to say which side was better, but doing both is a must for anyone going there. If there was 3 or 4 sides, I’d probably do them all. Seriously, this place is soooo amazing!!! The pictures may be great, but they don't even begin to capture the magic of the falls!!!! I wish we never had to leave !!!!
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