Our month long stay in Brazil ended on the border with Argentina and the world famous Iguazu/Iguacu Falls.

Brazilian Side

We flew (in a rather small plane) from Curitiba to the Brazilian town of Foz. We immediately noticed a temperature increase and, having checked into our Pousada, we also managed to sample our first proper empanada of the trip! This meant that Argentina was close!

Pousada do Foz was conveniently located near to the local bus station and even had a (shabby looking) pool.

Abi’s Rating: 4.7/10 – “I didn’t like that one. Very old.”

Mike’s Rating: 7/10 – Perfect location, breakfast was passable and the staff were friendly. Room was basic but the bed was comfortable.

Our flight had arrived in the morning so it had given us a bit of time to wander around Foz before heading to the ‘Cataratas’ in the afternoon. With only a couple of hours required to enjoy the Brazilian side of the Falls, we decided that an afternoon visit may prove a bit quieter.

We took the local bus (only after doing a full circuit of the station) and the half an hour journey was sweltering as the mid afternoon heat flooded the metal cage. On arrival we swiftly got our tickets and were pleased to see the small crowds of people and tour groups heading for the exit.

We gleefully hopped on the bus (there was a bit of a commotion as a dim witted French youth attempted to grab a large butterfly) that carried us the last few kilometres through the National Park.

Despite this being my third visit to Iguacu Falls, that first glimpse still took my breath away. The incredible panoramic views of the vast waterfalls stretching out in front of us…

We ambled along the path, stopping every few minutes to sample the next spellbinding vista of this natural phenomenon.

After weaving our way through an Argentine school group (we couldn’t avoid the tourists altogether) we arrived at the end of the trail and the viewing platform that looks out across to the Devils Throat. We got a bit wet here as the spray was quite strong but we did not mind as a beautiful rainbow had appeared.

There was just enough time to climb up to the viewing tower for one last sweeping shot (and I finally spotted a pair of coati’s – there were hundreds here a few years ago but I get the feeling that the Brazilians have had a bit of a purge as the Argentine side remains overrun. They are cute at first but become tiresome after a while when they continually try and get into your bag/ steal your food – these two were fighting over a dropped ice cream) before we headed back to our humble abode for a well earned rest.

Argentine Side

In the aftermath of a couple of early mornings, Abi was permitted a lie in to catch up on her beauty sleep.

We walked along to the bus station and asked around until we were pointed in the direction of a bus stop just outside the terminal. As we approached, a bus headed for Argentina pulled in and we rushed to get on. Small problem…not enough Reais left. In anticipation of crossing into Argentina we had spent most of our Brazilian currency and were hoping for a ticket office where we could pay by card!

So we got off the bus and walked a few blocks in search of a cash machine. It was getting hot and we were lugging the bags around (atmosphere = tense) so Abi was stationed outside a supermarket while I searched the interior. I eventually located three machines in the underground car park but none of them worked (Incidentally this was probably where the details of one of my cards were appropriated).

A little side note here as I managed to cancel my card when a strange transaction was detected a couple of days after this. Big shout out to my Father for assisting with the process at some strange hours…we also managed to call Santander through whatsapp and then by placing two phones on top of each other at Dad’s end (I saw it in Casa de Papel and it worked).

Anyhow I returned to Abi empty handed but while I was away she had located the small stash of money that I had allowed her to hold in her purse. Not much…but enough for two bus tickets out of Brazil!

We skipped back to the bus stop hand in hand and luck was on our side as another bus had just arrived so we handed over our last reales and clambered aboard.

The drive to the border is only 10 minutes or so but unfortunately we were the only people on the bus who needed to stamp out of Brazil. So we had to get off at Brazilian immigration, walk 10 meters, have our passports stamped and walk back 10 meters to the bus stop. This process took about a minute but that was long enough for the bus to depart (we were aware of this so it didn’t come as a shock but it was still annoying).

We passed the time waiting for the next one by chatting to an Israeli couple. They were very pleasant but they were the type of people that you see everywhere on your week long Thomas Cook Tui all inclusive. We kept seeing them until we reached the airport in Buenos Aires and had to resort to hiding behind pillars at the end!

Anyway the next bus came along and we headed for Argentine immigration. This time everyone had to get off and the bus just about managed to wait for us before heading to the town of Puerto Iguazu.

Argentine Side

The rest of the day was designated as chill time but we still did a fair bit of walking. First to our Air BnB:

Abi’s Rating: 8/10 – “It was nice and cool”.

Mike’s Rating: 7/10 – Perfect location round the corner from the bus station. Whole flat with good air con. Bathroom was interesting and I got electrocuted by the shower.

We then had some lunch at the delightful local bakery and I persuaded Abi that we should find Peter Pan Hostel (where I stayed in 2012 when partaking in world challenge).

In the evening we headed to the tres fronteras (3 borders) to watch the sunset which was not the best we had ever seen. We played cards and watched the water show to amuse ourselves but for some reason the whole thing wasn’t quite how i’d imagined it. A couple of massive flags would have helped – I do love flags.

Dinner was a real treat. Now Brazilian food isn’t terrible but it pales in comparison to it’s neighbour to the South. We had arrived in the big league.

Even Abi sampled my Bife de Lomo and enjoyed it! The evening was rounded off with a trip to Cremolatti and our first taste of Argentine ice cream.

There is no such thing as a double lie in here so we were up early and on the 8:15 bus to the Cataratas. It was 45 minutes to reach the Argentine entrance and luckily I had my Driving Licence as we discovered that it is now a requirement to have a document with you when paying by card in Argentina.

The plan was to head straight to Iguazu Jungle and purchase our boat tickets so that we could experience this first thing in the morning.

While this is an extra cost (about £35 each) it was undoubtedly worth it as the next couple of hours were incredible!

We were taken through the National Park on an open top jeep style truck and then had to descend 256 steps to the large boat waiting to carry us under the falls. Here is a dry bag, here is a life jacket we will tell you when we are going under.

What a fantastic experience to feel the force of the falls. We got absolutely drenched (shock) but it was definitely worthwhile and we brought a change of clothes so it was all good. I had not been on the boat during my previous two visits but I would honestly say that it is essential so don’t miss out on it if you visit the Falls!

Having towelled ourselves off we headed to la Garganta del Diablo to overlook the most powerful part of the falls.

Iguazu is home to approximately 270 different waterfalls that propel a total of 8 million litres of water per second over the top in the days that follow heavy rains. This figure drops as low as 600,000 litres per second in the dry season and the falls have been known to dry up completely on a few rare occasions.

When we were at the falls the estimated figure was between 1 million and 1.5 million litres per second which was particularly low for the time and indebted to prolonged droughts in the country this year.

The Devil’s Throat is one of those things that you have to see to believe. Photos and videos don’t really do it justice and the feeling that you get when facing this wall of water is difficult to describe. It is genuinely spine tingling and a reminder of the sheer force of nature.

On the return walk we spotted a turtle and some fairly large looking fish who were swimming in the shallow pools that surround the top of the Falls…I hope they know their left from right!

We had a caged lunch (to keep the coati’s out but a couple still managed to sneak in and cause chaos) and then headed for the lower trail that would give us some sensational views of the Falls that we had showered in earlier that day.

It also took us right down beside them and a gaggle of Brazilian women annoyed all and sundry by conducting an official photoshoot in position alpha. Abi and I made it our aim to try and edge our way into as many of their photos as possible which amused us greatly.

We were pretty shattered after a lot of walking in temperatures in excess of 30 degrees so we took the decision to head home, happy with our days work.

The evening allowed us another steak (this time Abi ordered her own (shocked face – what has Argentina done to my wife) and we were even too full for ice cream.

Without doubt one of the best days of the trip so far…Iguazu falls is an absolute must for your bucket list if it isn’t already on there!

Next stop Buenos Aires aka The Best City in the World.

#WhatOddsPaddy

A magical few days that saw the odds of an early return home soar. The only rumble in the market came with that momentary lack of cash blip but it settled very quickly!

Odds: More chance of Iguazu running dry