Foz do Iguaçu

The last weekend in April, I traveled to see one of the new Seven Wonders of Nature - Foz do Iguaçu, or Iguazu Waterfall. Iguaçu is the second largest waterfall in the world, after Victoria Falls in Africa. They are located at the border of three countries - Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. I've never been to Niagara Falls, but I've heard that if you've seen Iguazu first, you won't be very impressed.

I took an overnight bus to Iguazu where I met three other girls from the Fulbright program. We are all living in different cities - Christina lives in São Jose do Rio Preto about 6 hours north of Londrina, Cynthia in Curitiba, the capital of Paraná state and about 4 hours from me, and Chelsea flew all the way down from Northeastern Brasil. Yep, so we were LC³. It was the first time we were all together since our orientation in São Paulo. We then traveled over to the town of Puerto Iguazu on the Argentinian side, where we had a reservation at Garden Stone Hostel (thanks for the great recommendation, Eliza!). After dropping our stuff at the hostel, we decided to go out and explore the town. The only issue was it was POURING. I'm not talking raining hard, I'm talking relentless, torrential downpour. Luckily, we had bought plastic ponchos from a guy at the bus station who had seen a good sales opportunity when four foreign travelers, blurry-eyed from overnight bus travel and confused about how to get from the Brasil side to the Argentina side, asked him for directions. I have to say, it was the best 2 bucks I've ever spent.

Heading into town, we stumbled upon a half indoor, half outdoor market with wooden stalls that sold olives, cheese, sausage, olive oil, etc. They also sold food - homemade empanadas, among other delicious goodies. We ended up spending a good four or five hours here, consuming endless empanadas and cervezas and sharing stories about life in Brasil. I have to say, that afternoon was one of my best moments here yet. We went out to do some shopping around the town (3 of the 4 of us ended up buying the same fleece in different colors - that heavy rain brought with it a frio that no one was prepared for). Where did we end up for dinner? Yep, back at our favorite market.


The next day dawned sunny and bright - perfect day for the park! The falls are actually a series of waterfalls and they can be viewed from two parks, one on the Argentina side and one on the Brazilian side. The Argentinian side has many more trails and viewing points, and we spent the entire day there. A long trail leads you into the park and we were itching with anticipation as we got closer to the falls that we would hear but not yet see. As we caught our first glimpse of the falls, Chelsea and I grabbed each other in excitement. It is truly an impressive sight. We walked along almost every trail and hit every viewing point of the falls. I was amazed at how close you can get! We also took a boat ride that gets you close to the bottom of the falls (and pretty wet!). Along the top section of the falls you can walk out to a point where the water comes together (they call it the Garganta del Diablo, the Devil's Throat) and rushes down one hole. The viewing platform is built so that you can stand on the very edge of the drop off. What a rush! Words truly don't do it justice, so check out the pictures and videos that I took in the slideshow below or on Picasa. We topped off the great day with an amazing dinner at a restaurant "La Vaca Enamorada," where the incredibly friendly owner took a liking to us.

Chelsea and Cynthia had an early bus back the next day, but Christina and I walked to the area called "Tres Fronteras," a place where two rivers connect and you can see Brasil, Argentina, and Paraguay on different shores. It was pretty cool! On the way back, before catching a bus back to Londrina, I had my first authentic mate in Argentina - a type of tea that Argentina is known for. It was three quick days, but definitely an unforgettable trip!



The full effect: