Cataratas do Iguasu, and Day 1 in Argentina

Foz do Iguasu - our last stop in Brasil. It made us a little sad to be ending the first month of our travel and leaving Brasil where we had been treated to so many good things. We were sad to be leaving the food and great company of Sao Paulo, the lush sights and sounds of Salvador, the vast expanses of Amazonia and Lencois Maranhenses and the history and sadness of Ouro Preto. But all the same we were more than excited about the famed falls and our upcoming Argentine sojourn. We left Salvador on the same taxi as a German couple ending a ten month trip to Latin America and flew to Foz.

We stayed at the neat, clean (although our room was tiny) Hostel Bambu. We were led to it by a Brasilian tourist from Recife who was just returning from a visit Europe and oddly enough got cheap tickets in and out of Foz. Previously having lived around the area for a number of years, oddly enough he had not seen the falls. He informed us that in a one month trip to Europe he had taken nine thousand photos (oddly enough - thought we because we conservatively calculated that he took a photo every 3 minutes assuming he slept for 7 hours a day and showered/ate for an hour a day.) For the purposes of this blog we name him - Oddly Enough. But he led us the right way and we plonked ourselves down in the Hostel and had a terrible pizza for lunch which quickly made us run to the supermercado for supplies for dinner.

At our dinner cookout, we made the acquaintance of a number of engaging travellers. A. an Italian girl living in London, S. an Australian of Italian origin and J. a Kiwi working in Canada for a couple of months. We even bumped into S. again later in our journey. Of course we were kept oddly entertained by Oddly Enough.

The following day was reserved for two things - the Brasilian side of the falls and a bird park just outside the national park. We didn't intend to be at the bird park for long but it was engaging and held us there for the entire morning. Hard to see in the wild unless you have plenty of time - they had a number of birds from around Latin America including toucans, macaws, parrots, cranes, geese and flamingoes among others. They have recreated a number of environments found around the continent - rainforests, wetlands, savanna - and visitors can walk through a variety of them and see the birds up close. At the end of course, you can get a picture with a macaw on your arm!

The afternoon was spent at the main event - the falls themselves. Needless to say they are stunning. As any guidebook will tell you, the Brasilian side gives you a good overview of the falls while the Argentine side lets you get up close and intimate. Vast torrents of water gush down the numerous falls. We walked down a trail and a series of pasarelas (walkways) - past the initial section of the falls from where we could see the Argentine side and the initial section of the falls, past a small island (Isla San Martin) in the middle of the river, watched a speedboat from the Argentine side ferry thrill-seekers to be almost under some of the falls and finally reached the roaring savagery of the Garganta do Diabo (The Devil's Throat.) Probably the most famous section of the falls, this spectacle is not even visible from a distance since it is hidden behind a layer of spray and mist, one can only hear an awesome roar. The Brasilian side has a walkway constructed right to the edge of the Garganta which goes past a huge sheet of a fall and leaves you near the middle of the Garganta. Wet and cold, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and were suitably awestruck and amazed. We spent hours staring at the falls from all sorts of angles and places and just couldn't get enough. To be cliched but right, words certainly cannot do justice to the falls and they have to be experienced. There's not much we can write to describe the waterfall with the second highest flow rate in the world plunging down a peak height of 82 m split into 275 different cataracts. We hope some of our pictures will entice you enough to go yourself.

Our last half day in Brasil was spent at the massive (second largest in the world) Itaipu dam - a joint project of Paraguay and Brasil. We took a brief tour around the outside of the dam and the magnitude is striking. The project is second only to China's Three Gorges Dam and it has a maximum generation capability of 14 GW. The energy generated is split evenly to Brasil and Paraguay although Paraguay then sells most of what it receives back to Brasil. Itaipu supplies about 25% of Brasil's energy needs and about 80% of Paraguay's. It is one of the most efficient power generators in terms of MW/sq km flooded area. It has a flooded area of 1350 sq km (220 m deep) and swallowed up a set of waterfalls called the Sete Quedas - apparently even more spectacular than Iguasu. Whichever side you fall on in the mega-dam debate, Itaipu is impressive. Finally, back in Foz, we boarded a bus for Puerto Iguazu and made our way out of Brasil.

The entry into Argentina was smooth, although we had to wait a while for another bus from the same company to show up and take us from the Argentine check-point into town. The hostel we'd originally emailed wasn't that great, so we took a dorm in the Peter Pan Hostel and shared our room with 4 Spaniards, one of whom (J.) we bumped into again in Bariloche and El Calafate and expect to meet again in BA!

On the first night itself we found that just across the border, in Argentina, things seemed different. There was a more laid-back feel to the place instead of a great crush of people and things seemed like they'd been around for a while where in Brasil much of the construction and development feels and is new. Argentina feels old money. Maybe it was more than a little psychological but it felt safer too. The fruit and vegetables were immediately more expensive and much less in variety. The wine was cheaper though and there was a wide range of pasta and pizza available everywhere. Our first breakfast of toast, jam, caramel (dulce de leche - ubiquitous everywhere in Argentina) and a bad glazed croissant was disappointing after the big spreads in Brasil. Fruits were not as easily available even though Foz is less than an hour away. No more mangoes *sniff*

The first night we cooked again and at that time, made the acquaintance of three Argentine amigos - L., M. and G. who were having an asado (barbeque) in the hostel's grill by the kitchen. They cooked up an extremely impressive quantity of meat and consumed most of it with bread and cheese. There was not a vegetable or fruit in sight. We struck up a lively albeit somewhat one-sided (from both sides) conversation since only one of them (G.) spoke limited English and our Spanish is certainly nothing to write home about. They were from near Mar Del Plata and were driving around Argentina racing their restored old car. M. was an agricultural engineer, G. worked on automotive electrical stuff and L. was an entrepreneur who had a company which dug ground water wells. They offered us and it was the first time we tried Fernet (with Coca-Cola) and Gancia (with Sprite), two drinks which are very popular around the country - we like Fernet! L. also gave MF Tree a gift - a bright and shiny "tree-of-life" which is made of semi-precious stones. We've been toting it around all over! All in all it was a fun night.

They next day was devoted to the Argentine side of the falls. On this side you can get really up close to the falls. You walk over, under and next to a number of the falls and you can even stand right on top of the Garganta del Diabo and see its roaring torrent below you. We started off on the Sendero Macuco - a nature trail leading to a small waterfall where you can bathe, but got a little bored with the walk so headed back and towards the main falls. We probably took pictures about every five feet along the walkways and got a thorough fill of the falls.