Waterfalls everywhere!

Iguazu Falls in Argentina
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Thurs evening, 31 May.  I was at Retiro bus terminal, one of the biggest bus terminals on the continent.  There are about 80 platforms in this terminal and it was quite overwhelming just trying to work out where my bus was departing from.  People were rushing about everywhere and eventually I caught hold of an english speaking tourist and he explained that I needed to go to the board with the platform on my ticket and the information would change to indicate the exact platform that my bus would be departing from.  Confusing huh?  As I walked towards platform 37 - 51 I saw Rodney, the Canadian I had met in Colonia, so at least I knew that I was in the right place.  We located that correct platform and identified the correct bus (based on the name of the bus company as there are hundreds of companies).  We weren´t on the same bus so we agreed to meet at Puerto Iguazu, the final destination.

Devil´s Throat, Iguazu
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There are 2 types of tickets you can get on long-distance bus journeys.  The cama is more expensive and the difference is the degree of recline in the seat.  I had purchased a cama seat on the way to Iguazu and was most impressed with the service.  The seat was wide and very comfortable and blankets and pillows were provided.  The very cute personnel flurried around offering wine, champagne, hot food and sweets.  They even showed some movies and you could plug your headphones into the jack above the seat.  I feel asleep after the hot meal and didn´t get up until the next morning.

I was drenched by the time I left the Devil´s Throat.

I didn´t see Rodney at the bus terminal as we´d arrived an hour later than stated on the ticket, I decided to proceed with my own plans.  I had only half a day to explore Iguazu as I was booked in to leave the next morning.  I quickly joined some other travellers to check in at the Hostel Inn.  The hostel is about 10mins by cab and its more like a university dormitory packed with travellers.  I had actually wanted something smaller but it had to do.  As check-in was not for a few hours, I dumped my stuff in the luggage store and made my way to the Iguazu National Park to see Iguazu Falls.

It was raining so there were not many people at the Falls.  On my bus were some travellers that I had seen from BA.  We chatted for a bit and I found out that they were doing an adventure ride in the river near the falls.  I wanted to head to the famous Devil´s Throat so I bade them farewell and made my way to the train to take me to the walkway.  The park is huge and there are 3 main trails that will take you to different vantage points to view the falls.  The most spectacular is the Devil´s Throat (Garganta del Diablo) where you can feel the massive body of water rush towards you and then down hundreds of metres below.  It was an awesome sight!  I was drenched by the time I left the Devil´s Throat.

It was then onto the lower circuit and upper circuit to see the falls from different angles.  There are hundreds of falls created by the confluence of Rio Iguazu and Rio Parana.  The Iguazu Falls are bordered by Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay and it is possible to get to these borders by bus.  I had heard that the view from the Brazilian side is more panoramic but I didn´t want to pay for the Brazilian visa for a half day trip.  On some of the walkways, it felt like I was the only person for miles around.  My only companions were the squirrel looking animals called the Coati.

Other than the San Martin Isle circuit, which was closed due to the rain, I had completed the 3 main circuits and it was time to head back to the hostel.  At the bus stop I met Henry, an asian traveller from Sydney.  He was working in Rio for a project but was currently residing in Helsinki.  He even knew someone from my school which again makes me think how small this world is!  We quickly swapped details and vowed to stay in touch, especially if I am in Finland.

Back at the hostel, I bumped into Rodney.  I was really happy to see him as I felt a bit guilty about not waiting at the bus terminal.  Hostel Inn is obviously the place to stay if you want to meet people...everywhere seems to end up here.  Even the people on my bus ended up sharing the dorm with me.  Rodney and I shared stories over a few bottles of Malbec.  He told me that his camera got stolen at Retiro and he´d only realised when he got on the bus to Iguazu.  When he got to Iguazu he asked the hostel staff where he could get a camera and was promptly escorted to a taxi to take him to a black market in Paraguay.  It was quite an experience for him as he had to pass through Brazilian borders illegally to get to Paraguay.  So it was probably a blessing that his camera got stolen as he would not have gotten the ´black-market´tour otherwise!