Iguazu - una ducha muy grande!

Short stop this one, to see the falls on either side of the border, then to begin our jaunt into Argentina. Although we hadn't left Brazil yet, arriving in Iguazu kind of felt like it, as we had been hugging the coast the whole time we'd been there, and now we were inland seeing another side to the country. We took the bus from the airport into the town of Foz do Iguazu, and straight away we got a feeling that it was a funny kind of place - like a halfway house or something. A lot of it only exists because of the waterfalls and the tourism it brings. There were deserted streets at times, then you'd see someone on a street corner, but, I don't know, maybe it was as we'd just come from Rio. Our pousada was alright though, nice set up and had a pool, plus a dog and some cats so Luis had the makings of a good stay. We went for a wander and to find somewhere to eat, but the choices weren't all that great so we plumped for an all you can eat buffet in a pizzeria. Pfffppfffffaaaa, wasn't great but we stuffed our faces, well, I did, and had another serving of chocolate pizza, which was the 2nd time this trip.

I had begun a biggish freelance project a few days prior in Rio, but it was getting to crunch time so I was up until about 2am or something. After breakfast we organised how and when we were going to see things, and we ended up taking a taxi with one of the owners of the pousada, Carlos, which proved to be far better than trying to takes buses etc, plus we had his inside knowledge. So we headed over the border into Argentina to spend the day on that side, as it is a bigger park, there's more to see and do, and still meant we could see the falls from the Brazilian side the next morning. Carlos dropped us off and we were on our way. After walking through the park for a bit, you take a wee train up to where the trails start, so remember, Luis + Train = very happy boy. The first of the two main trails takes you up along the tops of some of the many waterfalls and then down below, one path taking you almost under one! There's some wildlife, we spotted a toucan, some wee lizards, and plenty of coati's, who are related to raccoons, and some beautiful yellow butterflies (see below). The falls are pretty impressive it has to be said, and there are so many, some small, some big, very big. Maria and I took turns to head to the end of the platform which is almost under one of the falls, so the spray is very refreshing in the heat, Luis not so keen though! The big un though is the Garganta del Diablo (Devil's throat) which was the 2nd trail. A long walkway snakes across the huge river until you get right to the side of it - the power of the water, the noise and the rainbows are amazing, it is massive water!

Monday morning and time for the 2nd installment of massive water. Carlos takes us to the Brazilian park and drops us off - this is a bit quieter and much smaller so we only needed a couple of hours. We headed down the trail, winding along, with some fantastic views across the river, until we get to the Garganta del Diablo again, although the viewing platform is lower down and much further back, so maybe a bit better for postcard photos etc. We headed back, our work done, and as we'd done our packing that morning, just had to pick up the bags from the pousada and have Carlos kindly take us to the airport in Ciudad del Este, which is over the other border into Paraguay so another country stamped on the passport, although we're only going this way as the flight to Buenos Aires is cheaper!

The airport was tiny, and there was hardly anyone in it, but we had one of the best meals of the entire trip, a beef milanese with side salad, the meat was awesome. So, sad to say goodbye to Brazil, for now, it is an amazing country and moreover the people are warm, always with a smile on their face and willing to do anything for you. Brazil, we miss you already.