After having spent over 6 hours viewing the falls yesterday, we decided to get a slower start today, as we had heard that there was less to do on the Brazil side of the falls. People from Brazil and Argentina argue over who has the better park for viewing the falls, but most people tend to vote for Argentina. Brazil does have more land in the actual park, however, most of it rainforest. We actually got into a debate with the cab driver later today (oops) - and obviously he said Brazil is better. But he did say most young people like the Argentinian side since there's more walking hikes, while most older people like the Brazilian - great views with only a short trail :).
There were two choices in getting over to the Brazil town of Foz de Iguassu - we could take a taxi for about $25 or we could take the bus for only $1. For some reason, we decided to take the bus. Looking back we would recommend spending the extra money to get there more comfortably and faster! Our journey started out with a 10 minute walk down the road with our full backpacks, and in extreme heat (it was sunny today unlike yesterday!). We found the small bus shelter and after asking a local, caught the Foz de Iguassu bus as it came by. The bus was packed, so we had to stand. Luckily the first stop (Argentina immigration) wasn't far. Everyone had to get off the bus and wait in line to get our immigration stamp out of Argentina.
Back on the bus, we grabbed an open seat, and were on our way shortly. Still not so bad... A few minutes later, we stopped at the Brazil immigration, where everyone had to get off the bus again and this time get our stamp into Brazil. Instead of waiting for everyone to get back on the bus, the drivers pick up people who have already been waiting there, and leave you. The driver had told us to just save our tickets and we can get on any of the next busses (each running every 15 minutes he said). After the 5 minute line for immigration, we waited and waited and waited while cars and other tour busses were passing right though in a matter of a few minutes. Some people didn't even have to get a stamp - it wasn't clear why, but after asking one of the other travelers, those not getting a stamp are "supposedly" going directly to Paraguay (only a few miles to the border)? It was a big circus - as no one was really checking who got stamped, and who didn't - an easy illegal way across the border (I love the comparison between flights and land travel across immigration!).
While we waited, we noticed a lot of people had to get out of their car or bus and step onto a squishy mat to wipe their feet, and then got back in. Strange. After some mis-interpreted Spanish explanation from an Argentinian we were with, this is Brazil's way of trying to control the entry of some kind of dirt-borne disease found in Argentina. Every few minutes, a guy would come by the mats to water them with a plant watering can to refresh them. Not sure if stepping on some chemicals for 1 second can really kill everything on your shoes (and what about the other shoes in your luggage - and the dirt wasn't even coming off fully!??), but I guess they try!
After about 45 minutes of feeling very stranded there, and a couple of false starts with busses that looked like our company's but weren't the right kind, we finally got picked up and were on our way to Foz de Iguassu. We had booked our hotel already at the Continental Inn, so all we had to do was find it. We had to walk about 5 long blocks up hill and finally we made it there. The hotel was very nice and modern with wood floors and a quiet room.
We caught a taxi and made it to the falls visitor center by 3pm, more than enough time to view the falls before closing time at 7pm. The Brazil side of the falls has only 1 walking trail for viewing the falls, but many more tour operators for adventure sports such as rappeling, rafting and jungle excursions.
After only a few minutes of the trail, we came upon an amazing panoramic view of Iguassu Falls. We might have to agree with the Brazilians that the Brazil side has the best view, but on the Argentina side, you can get up close and personal with the falls. After enjoying the view, we made our way along the trail and stopped at the many viewpoints as we got closer and closer to the Devil's Throat.
The trail is about 3/4 of a mile long, and at the end you can walk out on a long walkway to get a 300 degree view of the waterfalls around Devils Throat. We were happy to stand in the mist for a little while, as the sun was very intense! It made a beautiful rainbow right in front of us (although you have to get wet to see it :)! We took our time enjoying the falls and then made our way back up to the bus to bring us back to the visitor center. There were many more coatis (raccoon-like animals) on this side of the park, and one Chinese guy even decided to pet one of them while they were begging for food - crazy!
We were going to wait for the bus back to town, but got tired of waiting and not knowing when it was going to get there, so we grabbed a cab. After a quick stop at the hotel, we found a sushi restaurant downtown (overpriced and not great sushi), but Mario had a teppanyaki steak that he claims to be the best of the trip so far! We only get a few hours of sleep tonight, as our flight leaves tomorrow morning at 6:50am.
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Day 45 - Iguazu Falls < | Index | Photo Galleries | > Day 47 - Manaus
