This morning I woke up and felt like I had been hit by a snot truck!!! Yes, I am the next victim of the Globus flu.
I madly searched through my bag.... Looking for any drug that would assist me with reducing my congestion today. I've been really looking forward to iguazu falls and I don't want a stupid head cold to ruin it for me!!
I hit the breakfast bar, and then organised myself in the lobby, ready for the tour groups transfer to the airport. Shortly after we arrived for our domestic flight from Buenos Aires to Iguazu.
Once we grabbed our luggage from the bus we made our way through the doors into the airport. These doors lead us straight to the counter that we needed to check in to, however there were so many people queued up at this counter, that we got a glimpse of the checkin desk, and then proceeded to walk 500m in the opposite direction from it!! The line just went on and on and on. We arrived at 7am and our flight was at 9.05am, and we were only moving 2 foot every 3-4 mins. It's fair to say we were the sloths of the airport this morning, Its not looking good for us to make our flight this morning.
It got to 8.30 and we were still lining up, and the checkin counters were not even in view!!! We were so lucky, as LAN then opened up a checkin line just for the two tour groups going to iguazu. This streamlined things remarkably. It's amazing just how much 2 tour groups of 40 can bottle neck a checkin desk!! Finally we were all checked in, and pretty much had to run to security. It wouldn't come as a surprise if I was to tell you that there was very little time between clearing security and boarding the plane.
The gate setup was interesting. We arrived at the gate, and they were already checking tickets to board. So we lined up, had our tickets checked, and were sent down the gangway towards the plane. Instead of being greeted by the plane, we were instead greeted by a bus. Is this some form of candid camera?? You got us.... Where are the cameras?? A two hour flight, may just have turned into an 18hr bus trip!!! We were herded on to the bus. Initially I had a seat, however I gave it up for one of the ladies on our tour who has trouble seeing. Let's face it, I will be sitting down for a couple of hours on the plane anyway, so good excuse to stretch the legs.
The bus only departed once we were packed in like sardines!! We drove for a couple of minutes, until we reached a plane. We then walked across to the plane and up the stairs. I was so surprised when I looked at my watch to find out that we had actually all boarded the plane and ready for take off at 9.15.
I was lucky enough to get a window seat and the flight was fairly laid back, no dramas at all!! Apart from the fact that as we descended I thought that my brain was about to explode out of my skull from the sinus located between my eyes!! As we approached iguazu airport, it was exciting to see off in the distance the mist of the falls. It is so surreal to think that in a couple of hours time I will be walking around those falls!! But also crazy to think that the falls are so big, that you can see the mist from the plane!!
We cleared the airport fairly quickly!! It's not that surprising, as it was a domestic flight. As we walked out to gen pub, we met our iguazu guide Wilson. He was madly directing people from the airport to the waiting area for the bus, which was just outside the door. We all got sorted and amazingly no one was lost from the airport to the bus, all of the 2m that we made it out the door. Once we were sufficiently blocking the doors so that no one else could leave the airport, we were loaded onto our coach and driven straight to the Argentinian side of iguazu falls. I was excited!!
When we arrived, Wilson told us that there were no mosquitoes in iguazu, so no need for insect repellent. However, I know what I'm like with mosquito bites, so just as a precaution I sprayed myself with my repellent. I was the only one to do so!!
We all jumped off the bus, and excitedly all gathered around waiting for Wilson to return with our tickets.
We then made the short walk to the little jungle train. It's hilarious, it takes 10min to walk to the start of the falls trail, or you can catch the jungle train that takes 15mins. Obviously it goes the long way!!! So we were smart..... we caught the train!! It was worth it for the experience anyway!!
We started the trail.... There were so many people there. The walkways were quite narrow, with strict instructions keep to the left. That was the plan initially, however within 10 mins of walking along the path, all hell broke loose. There was no rhyme or reason to how people were walking.... They just wanted to get to the main falls, and they didn't care who they hip and shouldered out of the way to get there. Prime photo locations were tight on space. It would actually work if everyone waited their turn, when they got there took their photo and then moved on. But that wasn't the case. People got inpatient and started cutting in, and then pushing people out of the way to get their shots!!! But all of that was forgotten once we arrived at the end of the trail and we saw the amazing falls before us!! It was amazing to see!! The amount of water flowing over the side of the falls every second was remarkable, and the mist generated by this water hitting the water and rocks below was lifting high up in the air. With a slight breeze this mist was blown onto to those of us walking the path. It also created a number of rainbows, just making this place even more magical.
Once we finished at the falls, we then walked back to the visitor centre, where we had some lunch and just enjoyed chatting in the beautiful sun.
Soon after we were herded back on to the coach, and started to head towards the Argentinian/Brazil border. This afternoon we were to cross over to the Brazilian side of the border, stay at a hotel on that side, and then head to the Brazilian side of the iguazu falls tomorrow.
Once at the border, Wilson collected all of our passports and went in to get us stamped out of Argentina. This took quite some time. We then drove through no mans land to the Brazilian immigration building, where again Wilson took our passports in to get stamped in to Brazil. This took even longer. As normal, the immigration officials obviously decide on the day how things are going to work, and today it was that all single people crossing the border would go first, then tour buses. Once it was time for the tour buses to be processed, further priority was given depending on how many people are on board, so the fewest number of people on the tour group would go first. As our group was quite large we ended up at the back of the processing queues, therefore our only option was to wait. Eventually Wilson returned with our passports, but he was not a happy camper. We got through, that's the main thing.
We were then taken to our resort, where we would be spending the night. All checked in, we made our way to our rooms. It was so beautiful and big. I had a bit of time to get my wifi sorted (however they switched it off at midnight) and then get ready for dinner. By this stage my legs began to itch. I looked down, and realised that my legs had been attacked by Mosquitos. What?? As it has it, I was the only one to have mosquito repellent on and the only one to get bitten, that's just not fair.
After dinner, I ended up calling home. I didn't have wifi in Buenos Aires, so I just wanted them to know that I was all safe and sound. Not kidnapped!!!