To get to Iguasu Falls we took a 14 hour coach journey from Florianopolis (complete with screaming children) to Foz do Iguaçu, a small Brazilian town on the Agentina/Brazil/Paraguay border.
We arrived, exhausted, in the pouring rain, at an interesting hostel called "Favela Chic" - which turned out to be slightly more favela than chic! It was run by a "veteran traveller" from London who tempted us with the promise of a full English breakfast every morning... We were greeted, however, with the aftermath of a huge party he'd had the night before. The hostel was a mess and so was our host - barely awake and quite possibly still drunk! We were invited to make ourselves at home, help ourselves to the leftover BBQ food (chicken hearts on skewers) and warned not to go into the bathroom... As the roof was leaking, we dumped our bags in the driest spot we could find and headed straight out to the Iguaçu National Park in Brazil to see the waterfalls...
We arrived, exhausted, in the pouring rain, at an interesting hostel called "Favela Chic" - which turned out to be slightly more favela than chic! It was run by a "veteran traveller" from London who tempted us with the promise of a full English breakfast every morning... We were greeted, however, with the aftermath of a huge party he'd had the night before. The hostel was a mess and so was our host - barely awake and quite possibly still drunk! We were invited to make ourselves at home, help ourselves to the leftover BBQ food (chicken hearts on skewers) and warned not to go into the bathroom... As the roof was leaking, we dumped our bags in the driest spot we could find and headed straight out to the Iguaçu National Park in Brazil to see the waterfalls...
One of the seven natural wonders of the world, Iguazú falls straddle both Brazil and Argentina with the border running right through the river, meaning that there is a national park either side. On Sunday we went to the Brazillian side, which is a lot smaller but that was perfect given our lack of sleep! As most of the falls are in Argentina, the Brazilian park gave us incredible panoramic views from afar. We were expecting just the one waterfall, but there were 275!
The best part was the Garganta do Diabo (Devil's Throat), where there was a bridge that went over the river, right infront of the falls. The noise was crazy - you could hardly hear yourself talk as the water crashed down onto the rocks just meters infront of you! To make it even more dramatic there was a huge thunderstorm, so there was torrential rain, thunder and lightning too! Jo's waterproof jacket turned out not to be waterproof at all - meaning she got absolutely drenched, while Sam took great pleasure in remaining completely bone dry!
The next day, after a much needed rest, we headed out early to cross the border and see the falls from the Argentinian side. The sun was shining and we headed off to the various trails through the rainforest that allow you to see all of the waterfalls from every angle.. the views were incredible and we took hundreds of photos! There were signs everywhere warning you not to feed the wild coatis (very cute looking raccoon-like things), but we didn't realise the extent of the problem until we witnessed a Japanese girl getting savaged by the very aggressive rodents for her cookie!
We saved the best trail to last... the Argentinian side's Garganta do Diabo, where we walked across the river on a 1km bridge, right out on the top of the Devil's Throat! The noise and spray travelled so far that you could hear and see the mist way before you reach the falls.... and when we got the we were completely overwhelmed by it. We stood in awe for a good 5 minutes before remembering to take a picture. We'd never imagined there could be quite so much water, gushing so fast, with so much power, all in one place!
Typically the heavens opened again and we got sprayed from every direction... this time Jo had her 'Iguazu Falls' knee-length poncho on though and stayed drier than Sam!
Next stop... Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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