“Would you like to join the asado tonight?” I had just arrived in Puerto Iguazú and was very hungry, so the invitation to the hostel bbq was perfect. Not only could I enjoy some grilled meat, but I also talked to a bunch of other travelers, some of whom wanted to visit the waterfalls on the Argentinian side the next day too. So we formed a group and would head out the next day after breakfast.
We located the right bus, but had to run back to the other side of the station to be able to buy the ticket by card. By the time we were on the bus, we were a group of 9, but somehow only 8 got off the bus. We tried to text the last girl, but didn’t get a reply. Afterwards we found out the bus driver had stopped people from getting on the bus, even though it wasn’t full yet. Anyway, she’d made a friend and had had a good time. Arriving at the national park was a bit chaotic. There is a train that takes you to the end of the park, to the famous Garganta del Diablo. You had to get tickets for the train and they were out of tickets until more than an hour later. Luckily a very friendly employee started announcing you could walk 10 minutes to a place with more train departures.
The train was more like a themepark thing, with open wagons with benches. It took us through the jungle to a series of walkways and platforms. We walked over the wide Iguazú river. The walkway was just wide enough for 2-way foot traffic, but it meant you got stuck behind the slow people. It was stressful. When we reached the viewing platform we put on our rain jackets. The ‘devil’s throat’ was thundering down, spraying water into the air, which the wind blew into our faces. It was ridiculously busy with people competing for a good viewing and photo spot. We were getting soaked and most of what you could see was just water drops. We stood at the top of the waterfall, so although you get a sense of its force, you don’t get a good impression of its size. Honestly, I was disappointed. I couldn’t enjoy this in the mass of people.
We waited a long time in the very unorganized shop/snack bar and sat at the picnic tables for lunch. Then we hopped back on the train to get to the lower and upper circuits. Finally I understood what all the fuss was about. From these loops you got amazing views of the falls. Some were smaller waterfalls in the bigger system, some were walls of water coming down. We saw a couple of monkeys in the trees and many gorgeous butterflies. At a picnic area the tables were located in a cage to protect the coatis from the human food. These funny-looking animals were jumping against the cage, trying to get to the food. The babies could even crawl under and were then chased away by the staff. We saw coatis on the trails as well. At one point a family of at least 30 was jumping out of the jungle onto the wooden walkways. They just kept coming. It was crazy!
You’d think you’d be sick of waterfalls after seeing them all day, but the next day some of us headed to the park on the Brasilian side. We were walking towards the bus station when a bus stopped and the employee shouted “cataratas Brasil?” We said we needed to pay by card and after some confusion we hopped on the bus, hoping it would be alright. This border region is strange. Three countries come together: Argentina, Brasil and Paraguay. Local people can just cross the border and Argentina is the only country that requires a passport check. So we were told we could visit Brasil without officially getting into the country. We got through Argentinian customs and drove by the Brasil side. Officially I was nowhere. I couldn’t help wondering what would happen if the bus would crash and I needed a hospital.
At the Brasilian national park everything was well organized. We got tickets in the machine and then boarded a double decker bus. We got dropped off at the trails. Just like on the other side, the paths are paved and it’s more sightseeing then hiking, although there were a bunch of stairs. We were very surprised with the views here. The Argentinian side brings you very close and provides some overviews, but in Brasil you look right at the waterfalls on the other side of the river. You finally get to see just how big they really are. It’s like a whole part of the rocks is covered by a curtain of water. It also helped that the weather was slightly better and we got some blue in the sky. The sun was creating beautiful rainbows in the spray of the water. At the end of the walk we got to a platform where you got pretty wet again. We were standing at the foot of a waterfall though. It was incredible.
We had some lunch at a big picnic area with several shops and food options. I had a delicious frozen yoghurt with açai, something that’s very popular in Brasil. Brasil is also a lot cheaper than Argentina so we decided to take the bus into Foz do Iguaçu town for happy hour. We found a big terrace with live music and were happily sipping caiprinhas for a couple of hours. Then we took the bus back to Argentina. There was a long line of cars, but our bus had priority so our wait was not that bad. Back at the hostel we cooked steaks with salad and rice. How Argentinian of us. It was delicious. I was so lucky to meet a great group of people for this part of my adventure.
