The bus ride to Iguazu was looooooong, but entirely worth every hour. I arrived in Puerto Iguazu in the mid morning and took a taxi ride out to my hostel. I wasn´t too happy about being so far away from the town and the bus station, but EVERYONE told me to stay in this hostel, and as I had already made a reservation there, I decided to just stick with it. It ended up being a really good idea because this was probably the BEST hostel that I have stayed in ever. This place was more like a resort than a hostel. There was a big pool in the front with a beautiful landscape and a Tiki bar with 2 for 1 happy hour specials on beer and Caiparinhas (sp?)... which I definitely took full advantage of. I also ended up running into some people I made friends with in Rosario the week before. It was a fun time.
The falls themselves are one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. They are set way back in the jungle between the border of Brazil and Argentina. Unlike Niagara Falls that are surrounded by buildings and tourist attractions, Iguazu does not have a building in sight. It is just water spilling over rocks with lush greenery and flowers There are miles of catwalks that bring you around to different falls and views from the top and bottom. You can spend a whole day here and maybe not see everything. I took a little boat ride across the river to an island with some more awesome views and then decided to participate in a Maid of the Mist type of boat ride into the falls. They literally drive the boat under some of the lesser volume falls so you end up absolutely soaked and there are no ponchos provided like they do for the maid of the mist. It actually felt awesome to be wet for a few hours because it was probably 95 degrees and super sunny. After the boat ride, I walked back up the mountain and found the little train that takes you to the massive Niagara-like falls called the Garganta del Diablo (Devil´s Throat). AWESOME. I took a ton of pictures so I´ll be able to show everyone when I get home.
After the whole day spent walking up and down miles of catwalks and soaking up some sunshine, I thought some Caiparinhas were definitely in order and spent the rest of my evening comparing experiences with other travelers who had also visited the falls.
