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Iguassu FallsOct 13, 2007
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A first glimpse of the falls...
Anna getting closer!
Iguassu Falls
| Iguassu Falls is one of the seven natural wonders of the world - it is also, to date, the biggest wonder of our world. Made up of 275 individual waterfalls, Iguassu Falls is the most breath-taking, incredible thing we have ever seen. We both agreed that the two days we spent in Iguassu were the best of the trip so far. The hotel, the Iguassu Great Adventure, the free roaming wildlife, the Itapui Dam and of course, the falls themselves - we have had the best time ever. Here are our Iguassu best bits... We arrived in Foz Du Iguazu at 8am after 11 hours of overnight travel in torrential rain. As you can imagine we were both pretty tired but there was no chance to worry about that as Pedro (mint!), our tour guide, met us off the bus and were straight into our first day of sightseeing! We headed to the Itapui Dam - the worlds largest hydro-electric structure providing 40% of the electricity consumed in Brazil and 90% of that consumed in Paraguay. It was fascinating and so much more that just a dam - the ecological and environmental elements sets it apart from the rest of the world. After the dam, we made our way to the Brazilian side of Iguassu Falls, taking in the city of Iguassu and the Brazil / Paraguay border on the way. It is difficult to describe Iguassu Falls - how they look, how they sound...they go on forever and the noise is thunderous. The Brazilian side of the falls is so so beautiful. As you make your way further into the falls, it just gets better and better until you reach the final platform allowing you to walk right out into the centre of the falls. The weather was gorgeous, the sun sparkled off the water and an incredible rainbow arched the falls. It was MINT. Our second day in Iguassu was spent on the Argentinian side of the falls. A train system takes you through the Argentinian national park - the wildlife was amazing. During our time in Iguassu we passed through swarms of hundreds of butterflies, sat next to massive lizzards and discovered our new fabourite animal - the nose bear! We walked over 5km through the park, taking in views of the upper and lower falls, such a different view to the Brazilian side but just as amazing. At 2pm, we made our way right down to the foot of the falls to start our Iguassu Great Adventure! This kicked off with a speed boat ride literally RIGHT INTO the falls - it was wicked!!! We got absolutely drenched from head to toe - as if we had jumped into the sea! The boat then sped us down the Iguassu River where we jumped off and went straight into a 4 mile jungle ride! It had started to hammer it down with rain on the boat so not only were we soaked through from the falls, we were dripping from the rain! Try to imagine it as were then told to board the open top 4x4 jungle truck where we sped down a mud track through the jungle - IT WAS MINT!!! We laughed our heads off as the rain became seriously torrential (tropical rainforest style!) and we hung on for dear life! If any of you could have seen us...you would have loved it!! We were picked up at the end of the great adventure and made one more stop off at the three frontiers where Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil all meet - you stand in Argentina, to your left is Paraguay and to your right is Brazil, it is mad! It was the end of two days of amazing sights, feelings and so much fun, we were on such a high. We had booked to stay at the four star Tropical Das Cataras hotel, the only hotel inside Iguassu National Park (on the Brazilian side). Although we made cuts elsewhere to be able to afford it, it was the best decision we ever made! The hotel itself was gorgeous, lovely room, outdoor bbq and mint a la carte restaurant and great pool - we had a few hours of sunbathing, swimming and volleyball on the first day! However the main benefit of the hotel was its location. The hotel sat literally right next to the falls and we enjoyed breakfast and dinner outside with a clear view of the falls. Iguassu National Park is only open to tourists from 9am - 5pm and so outside of those hours, guests of the hotel had the falls all to themselves. We caught an amazing sunset over the falls on the first night and our final morning, we got up really early and walked right into the centre of the falls - it was just me, stu and Iguassu Falls, yet another truly memorable moment to end a truly memorable two days. Iguassu Falls, Brazil and Argentina - DONE. |
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