Brazil for a Day

If you only have one day to explore Iguazu that's a shame. Ideally, you should spend one day on each side of the falls. While, Argentina is home to over 80% of the falls, the Brazilian side offers an unique perspective, not to be missed. Linda, one of the solo travelers I met the day before, and I organized a minibus in Puerto Iguazu and it couldn't have been any easier. The van picked us up in the morning in front of her hostel. We were the only two passengers for the day. The driver took us to the boarder, took our passports through customs and delivered us to the falls. We never had to get out of the van.

The Brazilian side of the falls are special for the vast panoramic views of the fall, not seen from the Argentine side. Here you are really able to get a feel for the scope of the falls.

Once through the main entrance a bus takes you to a midway point. Here you can walk the long, but easy, pathway that meanders along the cliff, stopping at several vantage points.

The path ends with a metal bridge spanning out toward the center of the mid-point of the Devil's Throat. Then, from there, you take an elevator up to get one last panoramic view of the area before returning back to the man entrance where our driver was waiting to return us to Argentina.

Here in Iguazu was the first time I was finally feeling like a "traveler", the same way I do in Asia and Central America. Most of this trip has been centralized in big cities, urban areas with five star dining and shopping. It's been more like taking a holiday in Europe than following the backpacker route. Here I started to meet people, and hang out with other travelers. Last night I took Sue and Linda back to the Brazilian market so I could share my find with them. It was great to just talk for hours about life and travel and the world. I missed that.

Linda made friends with one of the women who runs her hostel and mentioned that I was interested in learning more about the mate tradition here in Argentina. She let me try some of her mate, which tastes like a very strong, slightly gritty (although that's not the best word to describe it) green tea. I had been warned by some that it's an acquired taste, but I actually liked it. And it seems like the only way you can experience it for real is to get to know a local. She actually took us to the shop where she buys her mate and showed us her favorite brand. I picked some up. Now I just need a mate gourd and straw. But I might never have tried it if I weren't back on the traveler path and meeting people, making friends with locals.

Tomorrow Linda and I go our separate ways: Linda to Brazil and me to BA to see Marc. My solo adventure is coming to a close.

Ride the Boat

The one piece of advice Marc gave me repeatedly before going to the falls was, "Take the boat". Back when he traveled to the falls it was a different place and there were only boat tours from the Brazilian side. Now they offer them on both sides. My first order of business when I arrived into Puerto Iguazu was to secure a space on the boat tour and once I got to the falls I immediately checked in. Just for future reference - the price is the same regardless if you book in the tourist office, your hotel or at the falls. And the boats run every 15 minutes all day so there is no need to rush it.

Regardless, I booked the "Grand Adventure" and got on the first trip of the day. In hindsight I didn't need to book the grand adventure. The Grand Adventure just adds a bus ride through the jungle and a longer trip up the river, but the time you spend in the falls is the same. In fact, you pick up the other people who booked the smaller falls trip up the river. That's where I met Sue.

Sue was the Canadian I followed earlier in the day and she took a spot right next to me on the boat trip up the falls. We took turns taking pictures of each other at the base of the falls and laughed about getting lost earlier in the morning.

The boat trip takes passengers up one artery, allowing for pictures, and then up the other, again with time for pictures. Then comes the call to stow your cameras and other valuables in the waterproof bags they provided. And you better heed their warning because you will get wet. They gun the little Zodiac-esque boat you're in and drive you right up to the base of the falls on one side of San Martin Island. It's a rush. I swear I had a mini heart attack because you get the sensation that you might be sucked up under the falls at any moment.

Then they take you back round the other side of San Martin Island and do it all again under another set of falls. It's one of the most thrilling things I've ever done in my life. Totally worth it. Even though the whole experience only lasts about 15 minutes.

After the boat ride, Sue and I hopped onto the ferry to San Martin Island to explore. Here we saw more amazing views of the falls from a different perspective, but we also saw some wildlife, up close and personal, including some inquisitive birds and an armadillo. Sue also introduced me to her friend Linda, who I remained with after Sue went to grab some coffee.

Later, Linda and I met up with Sue again and battled some friendly, but fearless Coatis who tried to run off with my bug spray. These little buggers, close to a raccoon, hang out in droves near every snack bar, stealing tourists scraps.

Linda and Sue had a bus to catch so they sprinted up to the Devil's Throat with me, where I remained after they took their leave. The Devils Throat is a 1100m metal walkway that takes you out across the river all the way up over the top of the Devils's Throat. Lots of tourists here but you can see why. It's spectacular and the whole time I couldn't help but wonder how they constructed all these paths and if anyone died in their creation. Morbid, I know, but they're incredible.

Breathless at Iguazu

No words can describe the first sight of Iguazu Falls in person. Your heart stops beating for a moment and then it flutters back to life as you gasp to catch your breath. I was not prepared. It's one of those things everyone tells you, "Iguazu Falls is the most incredible thing you've ever seen." All the standard cliches apply. I was afraid it wouldn't live up to the hype. I was dead wrong.

The park entrance feels a little like going to Disneyland, with multiple ticket counters, souvenier stands and turnstiles. There is even a train to help visitors cross the expanse of jungle that separates the main entrance from the falls. I decided to do the Argentine side of the falls first. Most people who have been to both sides will tell you that this is the way to do it. They boast that the Argentine side is the best and that the Brazilian side can be skipped. It is true that Argentina is home to 80% of the falls but if you have the time, do both sides.

I arrived early enough to catch the first train of the day, which was already packed to the gills with tourists. I departed at the first stop: Central Station but noticed that I was only one of four people disembarking here and was wondering if I was in the wrong place. I checked the map and this was indeed the right place to access the high and low circuits to view the falls. The next station was to access the Devil's Throat.

I had an hour before the first boat launch so I decided to do the high circuit. After a false start with down the wrong trail, following a Canadian woman, I circled back onto the right path. Honestly, this was the right way to do it. It was early enough that there were few other people on the high circuit, which fills up quickly later in the day. You hear the roar of the water well before you see it. And even before you hear the roar there is the smoke, rising above the verdant jungle in a steady, dense stream. Later, you realize that the smoke is actually mist propelled upwards from the velocity of the falls. As the roar gets louder, you begin to catch a glimpse of Iguazu through slight breaks in the jungle. Then suddenly, there it is - well, one small part of it you later realize, because it actually seems to go on forever.

In hindsight, doing the high circuit first thing, at the beginning of the day was the best thing to do. Not only is it a great way to orient yourself to the falls, but it seemed as though all the other tourists flocked to the Devil's Throat first, leaving the high and low circuits abandoned. I was in relative solitude as I explored the falls. Looking at the river that feeds the falls it seems like an impossibility that they flow with such volume and over such a great expanse of land. The river at the mouth of the falls seems so tranquil and deceptively shallow. How is it possible to feed such infinite magnificence? You can’t quite grasp it all on first sight.

Because of the power behind the falls, creating the mist, you’re never far from a rainbow, eternally, it seems, hanging in the atmosphere here. The mist means that you’re also usually damp, too. The high circuit takes you on a journey across the top of the Argentine side of the falls, allowing visitors to look down over the falls, and catch a glimpse of the Brazilian side as well. The low circuit puts you mid-level and below, down to the base of the falls, offering an entirely different perspective, each spectacular and unique in their own right.