Cataratas del Iguazú

April 16-17

Adventure to Argentina

A month or so ago, I began planning for a trip to visit the waterfalls of Iguaçú / Iguazú (name based on which side they rest- the Argentine Spanish or Brazilian Portuguese side). These majestic waterfalls lie on the natural border between the two countries. I traveled during the feriados (holidays) of Holy Week.

I took a bus at noon, heading for the international airport in Guarulhos, São Paulo. My flight was late, set to take-off at 23:55 (11:55pm). So when I arrived there around 5pm, I had ample time to explore the terminal, eat dinner, write in my journal, and prepare for the flight.

Shortly before heading to my gate #, this girl passed by
with her puff-ball of a dog. Walking around, haha.

I spent the wee-hours of Thursday
morning in the Foz do Iguaçú airport
while I waited for the bus system to
start running for the day.

We took-off at midnight, and approximately an hour later landed in Foz do Iguaçú, Brazil. This city is located very close to the border with Argentina, and my destination of Puerto Iguazú- a city in Misiones, Argentina. The following covers my transit between the airport and arriving at the hostel, where I stayed for two nights:






Bus -> bus station in Foz do Iguaçú -> international bus -> Brazil immigration -> other int'l bus -> Argentine immigration (the attendant that saw me wasn't quite sure how to accept me in to the country, I was delayed, and the bus driver left me) -> 3rd int'l bus -> bus station in Puerto Iguazú -> short walk to the hostel.

One of the many buses I took on my journey.

By the end of my journey, I had became very familiar with how the bus system works, ha.

Parque Nacional 

After dropping my duffel bag off at the hostel, I headed back to the bus station to catch the next bus heading to Parque Nacional del Iguazú. When I arrived at the park, I saw that South American residents from the neighboring countries, received admission at a lesser rate, than those of general admission. I explained my Brazilian resident status to the employee working the ticketing booth and after being transferred to a second ticketing window, I received the Brazilian price of admission! So after saving a few bucks, I began to explore what the park had to offer.




My first day there, Thursday, comprised of two scenic walks with many different views of the waterfalls. I walked the Paseo Inferior (lower trail) first, and the Paseo Superior (Higher Trail). Both trails offered wonderful views from a variety of angles. The weather was nice and sunny, so there were plenty of rainbows to be seen! :D

Paseo Inferior

The beauty of the waterfalls was the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

The park had boats that went over to the island periodically throughout
the day, but unfortunately the island was closed during my visit.

Paseo Superior

After spending a few hours on the trails, I decided to head back to the hostel to rest up for the night's planned activity. On the way out, I stopped by the Visitor's Center to see the park's exhibition about the nature and history of the park and region of the country. It was an interesting exhibit, with colorful pictures and descriptions, in both Spanish and English.

I had reserved a place in the Luna Llena event that was to take place that night. This was a private tour in the park that takes place the nights of a full moon. When I first discovered that the park offered this cool opportunity, I adjusted my trip schedule to make it there for the last full-moon of April, on the 17th. For $550 ARS (~$68.74 USD), I had paid to take part in the first group of the night, and to have dinner afterward. Unfortunately, we can't predict the weather, and rain rolled-in that evening. The event was canceled :/ After learning of the cancelation, I went back to the hostel and arrived just as the rain began. I went to bed earlier than usual, after one looong Thursday.

My room at the hostel. I was top bunk, to the left.