Our second day in Foz do Iguacu brings our second jaunt to
Iguacu Falls – this time on the Argentinian side. We enjoyed the Brazilian side
so much it was hard to imagine how the Argentinian side could top it.
We walked to a hostel around the corner from ours, early in the morning – taking a private car to Argentina - as
it takes less than half the time if done privately, and costs only R$10 (£2)
more. Unfortunately, on the way to our transport – the Brazilian side walk
betrayed me, sticking its many broken bricks in to the air, suitably splitting
open my toe on a particularly jagged stone. We taped up the wound and hope it
doesn't interfere with our day of walking!
Taking the private car with us was a lovely couple from
Vancouver (originally Ghana and Japan), who we would end up spending the day with.
Arriving in Argentina after a brief stop at the border, to get our passports
stamped, we’re now faced with the Argentinian Iguacu National Park. Unlike
Brazil, this side has many paths and tours of the falls one can take – which we
fully took advantage of, split toe or no. Starting on the lower, shorter
course, we wandered through flora and fauna (coati) and eventually arrived to the smaller sets of waterfalls,
seen from afar from Brazil, now up close and personal.
Walking further along the metal board walk we come across
more and more waterfalls of increasing sizes. From the short course we could
view the ‘Devil’s Throat’ from afar – which was still very impressive. Taking
the obligatory selfies here and rainbow shots there – we move further on down
the gangway until we reached the boat launch. We’re handed thick waterproof bags
for our goods, and fat orange life jackets for our bodies. They were ominously
soaked. We hobble on to the speed boat – maybe a 60 seater – and proceed to
blast off across the water.
Unlike the slow ‘Maid of the Mist’ in Niagara, this
boat shoots through the water at speed – diving you straight under the
waterfalls. First we entered a smaller waterfall – only getting briefly moist –
however, the boat then rocketed toward the largest accessible falls. Diving
straight under the torrential white spray, eyes unable to even open against the
lashing water – we got spectacularly soaked. After two epic drenching sessions
we returned to shore – squidging and squelching along the tracks. Fortunately it was
a glorious, sunny day – and it wasn't too long before we were suitably dry.
After a quick lunch, dodging the voracious coati, we headed for the long course. This
upper, longer course took you along the rest of the falls that we’d seen the
previous day, winding along the aquatic-jungle path on a metal platform
floating over the water. It’s easy to see why most people seem to enjoy the
Argentinian side more – as there’s simply more to do and see.
Finishing the
upper course – we decided to race the pedestrian train to the last stop – the
Devil’s Throat. The 2 km walk was warm, sunny, and full of butterflies and even
a couple of monkeys – and we just barely missed beating the train to the
station. However, as we now only had 1 hour before we were supposed to board
our van back to Brazil – we really had to run. Literally diving and weaving
through the crowds on what seemed like the never-ending platform – we finally
emerged in the mouth of it: the Devil’s Throat.
It’s simple to see why it got the
name, as the falls was a horseshoe shape like the Niagara Falls (throat like?)
– but was 10 times as torrential, with huge white plumes of water rocketing in
to the sky. The noise and atmosphere was electric – hearing the roar of the
falls at your fingertips. After soaking in the view (literally) we had to run
back along the extensive platform and catch the train back to the entrance. All
in all it was an incredible experience, probably more fulfilling than the
Brazilian side – though both were amazing. Arriving back in Brazil with no
troubles – we call it a night, ready for our early flight to Buenos Aires in
the morning.
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