The amazing Iguazu Fall....Oct 25, 2009
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We have today visited the Iguassu falls. This was a tremendous experience and we were very impressed by the falls. They are gigantic. It is almost impossible to describe the sheer size of them - something that really should be experienced.
Our day started at the bus terminal in Foz do Iguazu when we arrived there at 9.30 in the morning. We had to change bus at around 7.30 in the morning at some other place in Brazil - we even failed to notice where it was. The trip here was very enjoyable and we had really good sleep on the buses. Throughout the day we couldn’t believe that we had slept on a bus - we were feeling so rested. It also felt great not having to travel on dirt roads.
It’s much more comfortable traveling by a long distance coach than it is traveling by an airplane. The chairs are softer and recline further. You can get a good night’s sleep and hopefully wake up reasonably refreshed. The buses here in Brazil are much nicer than the Peruvian and Bolivian ones. It almost feels like the Peruvian and Bolivian coaches are the retired Brazilian ones - probably not far off the truth in reality as well…
We managed to get to our hostel - Paudimar Central - in Foz without any greater problems. The lady in the tourist information recommended that we take a direct bus there which seemed like a great idea. The only problem is that it’s Sunday today and buses only run so often. If we had waited for the bus she recommended we would have had to wait for more than one hour. To avoid this, we jumped on the first bus to the central bus station and then managed to change buses there. It turned out to work really well and we got to within two blocks of the hostel.
At the hostel we managed to secure a double bedroom with en-suite and air con. The hostel is nice and modern. It has its own pool and is reasonably centrally located in the city. The shower is nice and hot and everything is in good order. The staff at the reception also speak good English which makes the experience a bit more enjoyable.
We have found that very few people here in Brazil are keen on speaking English. Apparently English is taught in school but few people seem to be willing to speak. Some girls at reception even had a fit of giggling when we tried speaking English to them. I guess this part of Brazil doesn’t see too many tourists? I have however found that the Brazilians might claim not to speak English but once you ask them a question in English they normally understand and give you an answer in Portuguese.
Spanish has also worked reasonably well for asking questions. You normally get an answer in Portuguese and have to guess what they’re saying. Normally when you ask for directions you have to look at the hands and try to figure out the directions from that…
We also love this hostel for their high-speed internet. We have a backlog of 15+ GB of pictures to backup on-line. The upload speed has been very slow in Bolivia, typically in the region of 100 - 150 kbps. We were amazed and shocked when we found saw that the upload was at 500 - 800 kbps. We have now actually managed to put a 10 to 20 percent dent in the backlog!
After checking in to the hostel and having a shower we headed out again to get some breakfast. It was now nearly eleven in the morning and we headed to the local McDonald’s. We haven’t had that for a few months and needed a fix. We were somewhat surprised when we asked to have the meal “super-sized” and they didn’t know what it meant (we were sharing a meal)! In the end, the food turned out as expected - and we got it super-sized too.
From outside McDonald’s we caught the 120 bus to the waterfalls. The ride took about 30 minutes and it stopped right outside the visitors’ centre on the Brazilian side. It is possible to view the Iguassu falls from both the Argentinean and the Brazilian side. For convenience, we chose to view it from the Brazilian side. It is said that it offers a greater overview of the falls but it’s easier to get closer to the falls from the Argentinean side.
We were not too bothered about closeness so the Brazilian side seemed like a good choice. Furthermore, we’re planning to go to Paraguay tomorrow. It’s not possible to cross directly from Argentina to Paraguay; you need to go through Brazil. Hence, it seemed unnecessary work to go to Argentina first, and then having to go through Brazil the next day to get to Paraguay.
The visitors’ centre was very interesting and from there we took a bus to the falls. We followed a walkway next to the falls and got a really amazing overview of the falls. They are really gigantic and incredibly impressive. It’s rumored that when the first lady of the US Eleanor Roosevelt saw the falls exclaimed “Poor Niagara!”. And it is certainly true that the falls are far more impressive than the Niagara falls.
We took the following facts about the falls from wikipedia. It gives some statistics about the falls.
The waterfall system consists of 275 falls along 2.7 kilometers of the Iguazu River. Some of the individual falls are up to 82 meters in height, though the majority are about 64 metres. The Devil's Throat, a U-shaped, 82-meter-high, 150-meter-wide and 700-meter-long cataract, is the most impressive of all, and marks the border between Argentina and Brazil. Two thirds of the falls are within Argentine territory. About 900 meters of the 2.7-kilometer length does not have water flowing over it.
We walked along the path looking at the falls. The Brazilian side did give a very good overview and it was amazing seeing the amounts of water falling down. It was also a bit difficult to take pictures as it was getting so misty from the waterfalls that the lens got covered in water.
Iris really liked the waterfalls but was somewhat disappointed that the water wasn’t blue and clear. Instead it had a sort of muddy color. It would have looked a lot better if it had been crystal clear.
At the end of the path was the Devil’s Throat. It was very impressive to look at. They had also built walkways (made of concrete) that enabled you to walk out right into the middle of the basin next to the falls. This was very impressive. But we got absolutely soaked from the mist and water drops despite wearing our rain jackets. It was definitely very humbling experience standing in the middle of the gigantic waterfall.
After visiting the waterfalls we went to a fast food restaurant at the top of the falls. We bought a hot dog but it proved so disgusting that we couldn’t finish it. After this we jumped back on the bus to the visitors’ centre and left it by the 120 bus again. We didn’t get back to the hostel until around 4.45.
The rest of the day was filled with a trip to the supermarket to pick up some food for dinner (bread, sardines, olive oil and balsamic vinegar) and planning the next day’s activities.
The plan for tomorrow is to go to Asuncion in Paraguay. We’re planning to get up early and leave the hostel at about eight in the morning. We’re then catching the bus to Ciudad del Este in Paraguay and then take an onwards coach to Asuncion. The trip from Ciudad del Este to Asuncion normally takes about six hours. We’re hoping to get to Asuncion early afternoon tomorrow.
We were also considering various excursions in Paraguay - for example visiting El Chaco. This seemed like a great idea until we searched wikipedia and realized that we had already crossed El Chaco once. Santa Cruz in Bolivia is right in the middle of El Chaco. We had also gone through El Chaco in Brazil…
So what looks most likely is that we’ll spend one or two days in Asuncion and then get on a 20 hour bus and go to Buenos Aires. There doesn’t seem to be that much to see in northern Argentina - at least from what we have read. If anyone knows otherwise please send us an email.
We’re now heading to bed and hoping to wake up early so we can cross the border to Paraguay.
Marcus
