Another night bus...this one was the worst and longest yet. Our seats were within sufficient distance of the toilet to induce nausea every time one of our fellow passengers decided to relieve themselves. Intermittent sleeping, mumbling and fidgeting filled the almost 20 hours it took to cover the distance from Salta. The landscape changed dramatically from arid and dusty to verdant and extremely humid. The greens and contrasting auburns of the soil were a welcome change from what we had been looking at for the previous few days.
Puerto Iguazu thrives as a touristic hub for the nearby Iguazu Falls. The falls are world renowned and straddle the border with Brazil. We settled into ´Hostel Sweet Hostel´ deliriously giddy after the journey. This was a cosy enough place, and we were reasonably enamored with it for a few hours sitting by the pool reading until it started to bucket rain and our room flooded. The electricity was on the blink aswell, which apparently is a regular occurrence in wet weather.
I bumped into Peter Stapleton in the hostel, and with his girlfriend and her family who were visiting them for a few weeks on their travels we were taxied through the sheets of rain to a nearby restaurant. We had a great parilla and a few glasses of wine before hitting a nearby bar. It was great to catch up with someone from Naas and we eventually made our way back to the hostel as all had an early start the next morning.
The weather had cleared as we caught a bus to the entrance to the falls. We paid our way, got a few maps and set off into the grounds. The abundance of wildlife became apparent pretty quickly. Coati roamed through the forest and around the eating areas and hundreds of bright butterflies surrounded us as we made our way towards the ´eco train´ that crests the eastern side of the falls. The most spectacular of the waterfalls, Garganta del Diablo (Devil´s Throat) can be accessed by a winding walkway that threads its way over the surging water and right up to the edge of the falls. The power of the water is unbelievable and unfortunately my paltry grasp of the English language precludes an accurate description. Its huge, thunderous, awe inspiring, other adjective adjective etc.
There are a series of trails that wind through the undergrowth and offer amazing views of the main event. The best was the Lower Trail which makes it´s way right down to the river. We had booked a boat trip and were whizzed around for about 15 minutes. It was really refreshing given the humidity, and we got soaked as we pulled in right underneath a couple of the falls!
Sitting on the rocks afterward we admired the view and smugly delighted at yet again landing in paradise. Our revelry was shattered by a guide who informed us that we were sitting in the middle of snake and scorpion infested undergrowth, and we better get our arses out of here pronto!
Satisfied with our day we left and enjoyed a free bbq in honour of the hostel owners birthday. We were too wrecked to partake in the drinking and hit the beds early. Iguazu was definitely a highlight in our South America experience. After months of continual stimulation it can sometimes take something a little special and out of the ordinary to inspire that ´wow factor´ and the falls certainly did not disappoint.
Next stop Brazil!
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