The waterfalls

Probably the most impressive waterfalls in the world can be found in the tri-border area of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. While not the tallest, widest, or most rapid falls around, it is the special combination of the above factors which makes the Iguazu Falls as spectacular as they are. In contrast to Iguazu, the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe & Zambia (the main waterfall there is actually wider than at Iguazu) apparently seem like a petting zoo for little girls. At least that's what the Iguazuans claim.

We got to Puerto Iguazu on the Argentinian side of the falls on a classy 17-hour overnight bus ride. I am not being sarcastic, Argentinian buses really can be very comfy, with welcome booze, champagne, warm meals, beer, bus hostesses, fully reclining seats and so on. 

Trying to avoid the tourist masses, we got up early the next day, and managed to get an up-close view of the most spectacular area, the Devil's Throat, before the many pensioners arrived. Nothing against pensioners, of course, Judith & I aim to retire as soon as possible.

When you get closer to the falls, you have two options. One is to get completely soaked within seconds. The alternative is to wear rain gear at 30°C. Since we arrived at the waterfalls shortly after the rainy season, the falls and hence the soaking effect were particularly strong. We opted to take along our rain gear, but didn't really wear it. Very clever.

The landscape around the falls itself is also quite impressive, with an abundance of tropical plants and wildlife featuring snakes, lizards, fantastic butterflies, and coatis (those things might not be coatis (Nasenbären) at all, but what do I know).


 

 









Judith, Lene, and her friend Maike went to Brazil the next day to see the falls from a different perspective. Since I had already seen the Brazilian side several years back, I took a local bus to the Paraguayan border, walked across the bridge, had a coffee, and went back. At least I got what I wanted: a nice (but illegible) Paraguayan immigration stamp in my passport. Yeah! 

Argentinians and Brazilians continue their football rivalry when it comes to deciding who ownes the best side of the Iguazu Falls. A sample poll among our little team of four resulted in a 2:2 draw. And so the rivalry continues.

After our time in Iguazu, we went on another overnight bus ride (thus saving on hostels) to the beautiful island Ilha do Mel - the Island of Honey - in Southern Brazil. More on that after the break.