Iguazu falls- wow, wow, wow!!!!! (by Rone)

We arrived in Puerto Iguazu after another long bus journey from Colon. As we started walking in the streets of this small town with our heavy packs, we were greeted with torrential rain which completely soaked us.  We were told to not even look at the weather forecast since the weather is very unpredictable and you just have to hope that while there you will be blessed with some sunshine while visiting the falls. 

Iguazu, Victoria and Niagra falls are the main waterfalls everyone mentions. I've visited Victoria falls in Zimbabwe  when I was still a student and was intrigued to read about the  the differences between the 3:  

At the Brazilian side

Iguazu falls are the waterfalls of the Iguazu river situated on the border of the Brazi and Argentina. In 2011 Iguazu falls was announced as one of the new seven wonders of Nature. It contains 150-300 waterfalls,  depending on the water level, and they vary between 60-82m high.  Niagara which at 50 m is a 1/3 shorter, but Niagara has the largest average annual flow (2400 meters-cubed), while Iguazu's annual average is 1746 meter-cubed. The Vic falls has the largest curtain of water in the world, but average flow is1088 meter-cubed. 

Amazing!!!

We were blessed with good weather which was great since we had a very busy day planned. We decided to go on an organised trip which started with a mini bus picking us up at 7am the next morning.  

The company we went with took us through the Argentinian- Brazilian border very quickly and soon we arrived at the Brazilian side/view of the falls. It mainly consist of one view point which you reached with another well organised short bus journey. 
Your reward is a panoramic view of the falls while you get completely soaked from the spray! As you stand there you can feel yourself getting drawn closer.  

One of the first views!!

Stunned!

The border between Brazil and Argentina runs through the Devil's Throat (more details below). On the right bank is the Brazilian side which has about 20% of the falls and the the left side are the Argentinian side making about 80% of the falls.

Getting soaked!

We spent about 2h at the viewing site before we headed to a lunch buffet. Kaz and I don't usually do organised trips or lunch packages, but we were so pleased about the variety of food and quality at this spot. We were in heaven!! Maybe it's because you struggle to decide what to cook after a while with limited supplies and lack of spices when backpacking... Needless to say, we thoroughly enjoyed our meal and felt like rolling out of the restaurant afterwards.

Taxis in Paraguy!!

Our mini bus journey continued by taking us to Paraguay (meaning we visited 3 countries in one day!). There is a famous shopping area  which is situated close to the border of Paragauy and Brazil. It reminded me of Bangkok - complete chaos!! They were selling electronics,  loads of street markets and anything you can think of.

We strolled around for about 90 minutes with another French guy we met on our trip.

Afterwards we reached our last destination in Paraguay which was the largest Hydroelectric power plant in the world. We eventually returned to our  hostal at 7pm, completely exhausted from the day. But what a super and packed day it's been.

At Devil's throat

 There isn't much to do in town so we cooked our meal in the hostel and played some poker - ready for another early start to visit the Argentinian side of the falls.I think this day was definitely my highlight. The area was extremely well organised and wonderful paths were laid our everywhere with information to allow the best views of the falls. Several views presented with breath taking images, but nothing compared to Devil's throat!

The Devil's Throat  is U-shaped, 82m high, 150m wide and 700m long. In comparison, the mist at Devil's throat rises to 150m, but to over 300m at Victoria (but this is vary dependent on the season). We tried to stand there as long as possible before getting completely soaked.

A helicopter rode offer you spectacular views, but I don't feel this is essential since the layout of the paths were excellent giving you the best and closest views of the falls. At one point you can stand and be surrounded by 260 degrees of waterfalls.The Devil's throat in Argentina has water pouring into it from three sides.

Iguazu really did deliver the goods!! It was an amazing few days here, and although you have to take a few very long bus rides to get there from BA, it was so worth it. You can also easily reach Puerto Iguazu by plane if you are on a time limit. Iguazu falls is by far the most impressive waterfall I have ever seen and I have to say that it has ruined any sights of waterfalls for me in the future. I'm not sure anything will ever come close to this again!!!

We left Iguazu for a challenging 20h journey to our next destination: Paraty (The Green coast of Brazil). As you drive along the coast you see why it's called the green coast - literally green fields and trees everywhere on the one side and amazing coastal views on the other side. The town only has a population of only 3600, but there was a big religious festival on the weekend we were there.

Paraty

Breakfast every morning-close to the beach

This created a great vibe and atmosphere with lots of craft markets, little shops, cake stalls and traditional Brazilian food. 

We stayed in a nice B&B, which was literally on the beach, and it's here that we've experienced the beginning of what a true Brazilian breakfast tastes like. 

Colorful boats

We soaked up the experience having cake, fruit and lovely white bread every morning, knowing we will have to burn the calories off …. This inspired us to hire some bikes which ended up in an epic bike ride up the steepest hill to some beautiful scenery. The 3 days here consisted mostly of chilling and exploring the area which included a day trip to Trinadad

Chilling on Trinadad beach

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Trinadad is really a beautiful beach with the water being warm even as we're entering their winter. Paraty was a nice pit stop to recharge batteries, and to enjoy the scenery- it's definitely recommended especially as it provided a half way stop on our way to Rio de Janeiro.

More awesome views of the falls- Just can't get enough!!

Colorful butterflies everywhere