Three days, three countries.
Was originally just going to write about the falls but thought it would be cool to mention our trip to Paraguay as well. We arrived in Foz do Iguazzu off the night bus from Sao Paulo about midday and right away jumped on the next bus to the falls. Threw our bags in the lockers at the Park and got on the tour bus to the start of the trek along the river. The first set of falls you see are pretty impressive and things only get better the further along the trail you go. The roar from all the water is immense as well and this all culminates in a wall of spray, noise and wonder when you reach the Garganta del Diablo, Devils Throat, waterfall. It is fantastic. On the Brasilian side, there is a platform that takes you out right into the heart of the falls where you can get absolutely soaked in seconds. You can also head up in the elavator to get a view down into the falls without getting as wet. The views from the Brasilian side are amazing, particularly of the Devils Throat waterfall which is the main fall and the most impressive with regards to the amount of water that topples over it throwing spray high into the air. The Argentinian side however is better. After seeing the falls we dived over the border and into Puerto Iguazu, getting our exit and entry stamps on the way. Its pretty cool that half way across the bridge to Argentina the pavement changes from Gold and Green to Blue and White. We stayed the night in the town and then headed back to the park in the morning. We decided to go on two of the boat rides that you can take on this side of the river. The first was a calm float down the river in a dingy where we spotted Caiman and many bird species. Before doing this though, we headed for a look at the Garganta del Diablo from the Argies side. The platform here takes you over the top of the falls so you can look down to where the water plummits. Theres not much to see when you look down other than the mountain of mist that is coming back up to meet you but looking around, you can see perfectly the beauty, wonder and power of the falls. The second boat ride that we took was the speed boat which takes you on a mini tour to both the Devils throat falls and another set of falls the other side of Isla San Martin before taking you right into both sets of falls and leaving you soaked through. I think the main reason that the Argentina side is better is that there are more falls on that side and there is more access to get up right close to them. Around every corner on the Argentina side your breath is just taken from you by the sheer beauty of the view in front of you. And every 5 metres it just gets better. The tourists are a pain in the ass but you soon forget they are there (unless your trying to take a really good photo and they wont move) as the place just overwhelms you. Overall, both sides are immense, | would say that you have to visit both of them as the views on both sides are awesome. The falls at Iguazu are probably the most incredible in the world. I havent seen all the other waterfalls out there but I would be surprised if there was any that could trump these. Each individual waterfall at Iguazu is great on its own but put them together and the sight is...wow!!! Niagra doesnt even come close to these wonders. Makes you think that maybe somebody out there did create this world we live in with natural phenomenons as spectacular as this.
After spending the day at the Argentinian side of the falls, we caught the bus the next morning headed for Ciudad del Este in Paraguay. To get there you have to go back through Brasil but you only have to get off at the Argentinian border for you exit stamp and once in Paraguay for your entry stamp. In Paraguay we visited the Itaipu Dam. The largest in the world until China built one in 2008 and the largest engineering construction of the 20th century. It produces more hydroelectric power than any dam in the world and powers nearly all of Paraguay and 25% of Brasil. But enough with stats, all you need to know is that its huge! The sad thing is though, they apparently destroyed a network of falls even more amazing than Iguazu in order to build the dam. The next morning in Ciudad del Este, we headed downtown to Little Brasil as our hostel called it. The place is incredible. You can buy any electrical product you can imagine there for dirt cheap prices. The latest phones, laptops, t.v.s, anything that you can plug in, you can get it here. There is all kinds of other stuff for sale as well. Socks, specs, watches, knifes, guns, taser guns, some guys were trying to sell me knuckle dusters as well. And thats what happens. You cant walk but two paces without someone waving something in your face or following you down the street trying to get you to but a USB stick. The place is full of Brasilians as well. They all come over the border to get the cheap goods as they dont have to pay the ridiculous amounts of tax that they would back home. Its so Brasilian, that despite Paraguay being an hour ahead of its neighbour (which we failed to notice) many of the shops have the time in Brasilian time and they open and close an hour earlier to accomodate the hoards of shoppers heading over the border. The craziest thing about the city is the security guards. They are everywhere, on every shop door, restaurant, patrolling the streets, everywhere and each one of them is carrying either a shot gun twice the length of your arm of some kind of revolver that would blow your head off from 20 feet. Its mad.
After Paraguay it was back to Brasil, sitting on the bus forever to get back across the Friendship Bridge, as I say we didnt notice the time difference and so got caught in all the traffic and people heading back to Brasil once the shops had closed. So from Brasil to Argentina to Paraguay back to Brasil. Three countries in three days and some of the greatest natural and engineering sights in the world taken in inbetween.