So what should we do? Get the 37-hour direct bus from Buenos Aires to Rio, or stop halfway at Iguazu Falls? You can see from the title, what we decided. OK it will delay us by a day, but it breaks up the journey nicely, and gives us the chance to see these fantastic falls again. This time from the Brazilian side.
After a mere 20-hour bus ride, we arrive into Puerto Iguazu (the town on the Argentinean side of the border) at about 10.30am. This gives us just enough time to find our hostel before jumping on a bus which will take us, through border control, to Foz do Iguassu (the town on the Brazilian side of the border). From here, we have to take another bus to the falls themselves. It sounds quite long winded, and after the first bus leaves us at the border with the promise that another will be along shortly (which it isn't), we cheat and take a taxi direct to the falls.
The Falls
There's that old adage that says you should never go back, and often it's true - but not in this case. After being amazed the first time here, it's fair to say the falls continue to impress. One minute you're walking along a path through the trees, the next you turn a corner and spread in front of you are the falls in all their glory. The path leads you on through some more trees and eventually you emerge on a walkway over the water, in front of one of the many walls of water. You wouldn't believe how hot it is here, and the spray that covers you is the perfect remedy. We hang around here for a while!
Finally our body temperatures drop to a near-acceptable level, and we continue on to the last viewpoint which is a platform at the top of an elevator. We fill the camera memory cards and pack up for the day. But what a day it's been!
So which side is better?
There are a few differences between the Brazilian and Argentinean national parks in the way they're set up (e.g. open-top buses instead of trains, Portuguese instead of Spanish, Reais instead of Pesos) but I'm happy to say the falls are equally as impressive. In fact, after hearing often that the Argentinean side is better, I would say I probably prefer the Brazilian side. Please note: writing this has just sparked a "discussion" leading to Alicia wanting it to be known she prefers the Argentinean side. We can certainly agree that the Argentinean side is more of an interactive experience, in the sense that you can get closer to more of the falls. And that the Brazilian side has more of the wide-angle panoramic views.
