Iguazu Falls
After Carolyn and Ben had to cancel their trip to Paraguay last month, I wasn’t sure if I should slink back to site alone, or still do the trip to the waterfalls like we had planned. My PCV friend Dani convinced me (quite easily) that we should go anyway, so, less than a week after I got back from Buenos Aires, we set out on a quick weekend trip to Iguazu Falls.
The falls are only 10m shorter than Niagara Falls and, because there are so many of them, they are by far the largest falls in the world in terms of the water that passes through. Iguazu (which comes from the guarani word yguazu, which means big water) is located on the border between Brazil and Argentina, and only a few kilometers from the Paraguay border and Ciudad del Este. The border crossings were confusing – upon leaving Paraguay we technically entered Brazil but noone even looked at our passports, so we were in a bit of no-mans-land til we crossed the border again to get to Argentina, where we were staying. On the way back, the bus stopped to let us get stamped to leave Argentina, then noone was allowed to get off the bus as we passed through Brazil, but we never stopped to do any border things in Paraguay. Strange. We spent a few hours in Ciudad del Este, with the hugest street market I’ve ever seen, where everything is cheap and likely stolen, and you can pay in Paraguayan guaranties, Argentine pesos, Brazilian reales or US dollars.
We stayed in Puerto Iguazu in Argentina, a cute touristy town with bunches of hotels and restaurants serving up outstanding grain fed beef (such a bonus after my steak-a-day time in BA) and caipiroskas (my favorite Brazilian drink, made with limes, sugar, vodka and ice). The falls themselves were in the Iguazu National Park, about 20 minutes outside of town, and a local bus takes you there. In about 6 hours we wandered through the park to see nearly all of the 8 waterfalls. We also took a boat ride to get a great view from under the falls, and to cool off from the hot sun. There were birds, coatis, which look like anteaters, and even monkeys in the forest! It was a great trip, totally tourist and family friendly, and for those of you who are interested in a vacation that’s a little out of the ordinary but not too exotic, Iguazu may just be for you!!!
The falls are only 10m shorter than Niagara Falls and, because there are so many of them, they are by far the largest falls in the world in terms of the water that passes through. Iguazu (which comes from the guarani word yguazu, which means big water) is located on the border between Brazil and Argentina, and only a few kilometers from the Paraguay border and Ciudad del Este. The border crossings were confusing – upon leaving Paraguay we technically entered Brazil but noone even looked at our passports, so we were in a bit of no-mans-land til we crossed the border again to get to Argentina, where we were staying. On the way back, the bus stopped to let us get stamped to leave Argentina, then noone was allowed to get off the bus as we passed through Brazil, but we never stopped to do any border things in Paraguay. Strange. We spent a few hours in Ciudad del Este, with the hugest street market I’ve ever seen, where everything is cheap and likely stolen, and you can pay in Paraguayan guaranties, Argentine pesos, Brazilian reales or US dollars.
We stayed in Puerto Iguazu in Argentina, a cute touristy town with bunches of hotels and restaurants serving up outstanding grain fed beef (such a bonus after my steak-a-day time in BA) and caipiroskas (my favorite Brazilian drink, made with limes, sugar, vodka and ice). The falls themselves were in the Iguazu National Park, about 20 minutes outside of town, and a local bus takes you there. In about 6 hours we wandered through the park to see nearly all of the 8 waterfalls. We also took a boat ride to get a great view from under the falls, and to cool off from the hot sun. There were birds, coatis, which look like anteaters, and even monkeys in the forest! It was a great trip, totally tourist and family friendly, and for those of you who are interested in a vacation that’s a little out of the ordinary but not too exotic, Iguazu may just be for you!!!
posted by Lori @ 5:17 PM
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