Iguazu Falls

Saturday: Arriving into the Brazilian town of Foz de Iguazu, we decided to cross the border and stay on the Argentinian side after being convinced it was cheaper and the park offered more for tourists. The border crossing was easy enough and by lunchtime we had checked into the hostel (Hostel Sweet Hostel) and had brunch. The Argentinian town is called Puerto Iguazu and was very relaxing and safe to stay in; it reminded us both of a ski resort (with the exception of the snow and salopettes - the place is baking hot!!). The remainder of the day was spent chilling by the pool side.

Sunday: We headed into the Iguazu National Park and embarked on the “Grand Tour” which started with a 4WD excursion through the jungle on the Yacaratia trail; this wasn't so impressive to a couple who had stayed in the amazon recently, but was a nice way to relax. The jeep dropped us off at a small port (Puerto Macuco) where we boarded a speedboat that would take us to the falls via the Rio de Iguazu....this was definitely worth the money as it provided us with fantastic views on the approach (via some rapids) and allowed us to experience the true power, size and sheer noise of the falls. After allowing for a few photos the boat took us very very close to 2 sets of the falls where we got completely soaked from the spray only; to think that this volume of water has been falling at this rate for thousands of years is truly mind blowing. The largest and most impressive of the falls is the semicircular Garganta del Diablo, no boat can approach these and the closest we got by water was 600m away. However the park offers excellent views of this via a 1km walkway across the water to its edge on the upper level of the falls (also including walkways along all of the other falls).

We walked every path available to us in the park, including the lesser walked route 'The Sendero Macuco'; a 2.5 hour round trip through dense jungle where we were treated to a lot of wildlife including, squirrel monkeys, (very) large lizards, racoons and a large type of guinea pig (can't remember its name). The path eventually led to the base of a hidden waterfall (~25m high) where it was possible to bath in the fresh water pool at the bottom; David obviously took the opportunity to take the plunge in his speedos to the embarrasssment of Lynne and the amusement of the few other visitors who watched from the sidelines!
The evening was spent resting tired legs with a couple of bottles of wine (priced ~£1/bottle in Argentina...brilliant!).

Monday: The day was spent relaxing by the pool side.

Tuesday: We boarded the overnight bus to Buenos Aires in the early afternoon, opting for the first class option (on the advice of every traveller we have met who has been through Argentina) called 'Camo-Suite' for approximately an extra £12 each, you have fully reclining seats/beds, covers, pillows, english films, meals (dinner and breakfast) and drinks (including champagne – well some sort of sparkling wine). It was definitely worth the money as we arrived in Buenos Aires rested and ready to hit the city that doesn't sleep!