I must begin by apologising profusely for the delay in updates. To all of my diligent readers (basically that refers to my mum, granny and Dan!), I am very sorry, and I will attempt to be more organised from now on!
The long-distance bus trip to Posadas, in the region of Missiones, was surprisingly pleasant. It helped that the bus came complete with effective air-conditioning and reclining seats, screened newly-released films, and featured hostesses that served breakfast and dinnner......Not your typical australian bus I´ll admit!
I arrived in little steamy Posadas, a town of 200,000 surrounded by rainforest, in the early morning, and found myself a basic hostal in which to stay. I spent the day relaxing, and taking a stroll along the riverside esplanade, which was very pleasant. However, Posadas as a town had little to offer in terms of other activities, and so I boarded a local bus the following morning to Iguazu.
The bus, which lacked air-conditioning, and whose windows were sealed shut, was an absolute sauna, given the 35C heat outside. It was comforting, however, that even the locals didnt cope well with the heat, and spent the 6-hour trip fanning themselves with newspapers, and complaining to the driver.
We finally arrived in Puerto Iguazu (the small town closest to the falls on the Argentinian side), after a drive through humid tropical lowlands and rainforest. I was thrilled to find the hostel I had selected had a large swimming pool, and so spent the afternoon by its edge with my trusty book. The hostel was the most resort-like backpacker haunt that I have ever seen. It came complete with a large pool set in landscaped gardens, with a restaurant, pool-side bar, and beautiful resort-like reception building. However, it still offered all of the benefits of a hostel - Free internet, a fully-equipped kitchen, and a basic free breakfast. Furthermore, it was absolutely packed with travellers. (Speaking of which, given there was only two computers for approximately 100 backpackers, and one was temperamental, this partly explains the delay in journal updates!).
The hostel also featured its own small travel agency, and so I paid them a visit and booked a trip the following day to Iguazu Falls (on the Argentinian side). The following morning, I met my travel buddies for the day - an australian ex-rugby player called Garv, and a lovely enlgish girl called felicity - and headed for the falls.
The infrastructure of Iguazu Falls was very impressive, and the area included small shops, information centres, brilliantly maintained trails through the surrounding rainforest, and many viewpoints for the falls themselves. We spent the morning walking the trails and viewing the breathtaking falls from all angles and heights, as well as spotting some local wildlife. In the afternoon, we boarded a speedboat, which took us directly UNDER one of the largest parts of the waterfalls! I was expecting to receive a little spray, but was not at all prepared for the absolute soaking I received - Neither were my clothes, which I was still wearing over my bathers! The boat under the falls was a thrilling experience, and really demonstrated the power of these natural wonders. However, given the humidity, I could not get my clothes dry.
In the later afternoon, it then started to rain, first lightly....then extremely heavily. I was already walking around in very uncomfortable wet clothes, and the minute the rain started pelting down, and the sun disappeared, I felt akin to an ice-block. There was only one solution - take off my wet, cold clothes......and walk around Iguazu falls tourist park in my bikini in the rain - So thats exactly what I did. The local groups of Argentine school boys seemed to appreciate it, but im not sure how many others did. At least I avoided hypothermia!
We returned to the hostel late afternoon after a brilliant day at the amazing waterfalls and rainforest, and discussed our impressions over a nice meal and a few drinks. There was a great group staying at the hostel, and I got on particularly well with Felicity, the english girl on my Iguazu tour.
The following day, we awoke early, and boarded the bus again, this time for a visit to the BRazilian side of the waterfalls. This side was also impressive, although much smaller, and offered more an overview of the waterfalls, rather than an up-close expeience. It did however, feature a fantastic tourist bus which escorted you through the surrounding rainforest, as well as some brilliant boardwalks that took you over the surrounding rivers and up close to the base of the waterfalls.
There was one other advantage of going to the Brazilian side - I got another stamp in my passport - It is official....I have now been to Brazil!.....for approximately 5 hours! ;)
From what I have heard though, Brazil is a brilliant country with a huge amount to see and do, so I dont plan on that being my only passport stamp into Brazil. However, that will have to wait for a future trip.....
That night we again returned to our resort-like hostel, and enjoyed a late afternoon swim, and a few drinks, not to mention a home-cooked pasta meal. Felicity and I realised that not only were we heading in the same direction after Iguazu, but that we were both flying out to London on the same day! (although admittedly on a different flight). We were getting along brilliantly, so we decided to travel together for our remaining two weeks in Argentina. Having seen most of what the Iguazu falls had to offer, we booked an overnight bus to Roasario for the following day, thus beginning the journey South to Buenos Aires.
