Iguazu Falls
After sixteen hours on a bus from Salto, I was pretty keen to see what all the fuss was about with Iguazu Falls. Turns out the fuss is entirely justified. This place is absolutely unreal.
We started on the Brazilian side, which gives you the panoramic, wide-angle view of the falls. You walk along a series of boardwalks that take you right up to the edge, and the sheer scale of it is difficult to process. There are something like 275 individual waterfalls spread across nearly three kilometres, and the noise is deafening. Water is just thundering down from every direction. To get an even better perspective, we took a helicopter ride over the falls, which was a splurge but worth every cent. From above, you can really appreciate just how massive the system is - it makes Niagara look like a leaky tap (sorry, Canadians). That night we went to a Brazilian churrascaria for dinner, where the waiters come around with skewers of every type of meat imaginable. You flip a little card from green to red when you’ve had enough. Mine stayed on green for an embarrassingly long time.
Day two was the Argentine side, and this is where it gets up close and personal. The walkways take you right over the top of the falls, and you can peer down into the Devil’s Throat - a massive U-shaped cascade where the water just disappears into a wall of mist. It’s genuinely one of the most awe-inspiring things I’ve ever seen. But the real highlight of the Argentine side was the boat ride. They take you in a speedboat right into the base of the falls, and you get absolutely drenched. I’m talking soaked to the bone within seconds. Everyone on the boat was screaming and laughing, and it was one of those pure adrenaline moments that you don’t forget. That evening we had a pool party at the house, which was a great way to wind down after a day of getting battered by waterfalls.
On our last morning we visited the bird park on the Brazilian side, which was actually quite impressive. Toucans, macaws, and all sorts of tropical birds in huge walk-through aviaries. Then we did something a bit random - crossed the border into Paraguay for some cheap shopping. Ciudad del Este is basically one giant duty-free market. It’s chaotic and a bit sketchy, but you can pick up electronics and other gear for a fraction of the price. We had falafel and ice cream (a combination I wouldn’t normally go for, but travel makes you adventurous), before heading back to prepare for our next journey.
And what a journey it was. A twenty-two hour bus ride to Paraty. If you thought sixteen hours was bad, try adding another six on top. By the time we arrived I could barely remember what it felt like to stand upright. But that’s South America for you - the distances are enormous, the buses are your lifeline, and the destinations are almost always worth the suffering.
