Poor Niagara!!
When Eleanor Roosevelt, former First Lady of the White House, first laid eyes upon the Iguazú Falls, she was reputed to have said, "Poor Niagara!" and frankly, I think she probably summed things up accurately. So yes, this entry is going to delve into my time visiting what was recently voted by Internet users worldwide as one of the "New 7 Natural Wonders of the World". But before I dive into the specifics of my visit to this incredible feat of Mother Nature, I have to get something off my chest. Feel free to skip the next paragraph if you wish to avoid the rantings of a dissatisfied Argentinian long-distance bus traveler...
I had previously sworn backwards and forwards to myself that I would refrain from using this blog any further to slag off Argentinian buses, but I just can't help myself! You see I finally broke down and splurged on a "cami" ticket (rather than a semi-cami) for my bus journey from Salta to Puerto Igauzú (24 horas approximente). Truthfully, I was rather looking forward to the opportunity to feel poshed and pampered and actually have a seat which fully reclines so that I might.just.get.the.chance to, you know, SLEEP! But nooooooooooo! As (bad) luck would have it, the seat I was given was broken and it took me hours to realize it unfortunately. You see once I decided to get some shut eye at about 11 PM, I fully reclined my seat and began to drift off but an hour later I jolted awake feeling decidedly stiff and uncomfortable but unsure as to why. I once again adjusted my seat and tried to fall asleep only to have the same thing happen again. The light bulb in my head finally went on at about 2 AM when I realized the problem was that my seat was slowly but surely inching its way back up into a slightly inclined position. The problem was that it moved sooo very very slowly that I was completely unaware of the movement, but would eventually wake up sitting upward. In my groggy state I just couldn't figure out what was causing my state of discomfort. Once I realized the chair was busted though (Doh!!), I moved to an empty seat nearby which was functional and managed to get a decent couple of hours of snoozing. Oh and in addition to my faulty seat, it turned out that the headphone jack was busted for my seat so I was unable to listen to the movie they showed. So much for luxury riding in Argentina! Once again I have GOT to give major props to Peru who have pretty much nailed high class vehicular transport!
So where was I before I began my bus whinging...ahhh yes...headed towards Puerto Igauzú, home to the famous falls of the same name. I arrived in town at the bus terminal at about 4 PM and made my way on foot to my accommodation at Garden Stone Hostel (2 enthusiastic thumbs UP!) where I met up with Sonia, a Romanian gal I'd met at Las Rejas Hostel in Salta, who had arrived that morning and was just returning from the Brazilian side of the falls. We were booked into the same female dorm room fortunately.
I was incredibly starving after my lengthy bus ride and felt as close as I could ever come to succumbing to carniverous cravings but thankfully, Lonely Planet recommended an Asian restaurant in town, TERRA, which had vegetarian options on its menu so we headed there lickedy split before I did something I would live to regret (such as chowing down on the legs of one of Puerto Iguazú's homeless dogs). "Terra" turned out to be an unexpected gastronomic gem and my palate was purtily pleased to digest a bowl of stir-fried vegetables with noodles. Hell, my dish even came with fresh, grated ginger! Sonia and I enjoyed our meals there so much that we returned there on our final evening in town for a second helping!
What can I possibly say about the Iguazú Falls to fully capture my childlike delight with the place?!!? Nothing. I mean it truly is a natural wonder of the world which simply MUST be seen to be believed. I took oodles upon noodles of photos of the falls from all sorts of vantage points & (asexual) positions, but none of them truly captured the splendor of its spectactular spray. Oh well. But at least I can provide you with a few digestable tidbits of information...
There are plentiful microbuses which can transport budget-minded travelers to/from the falls. These buses run every 20 minutes during the summer and only cost 20 pesos round trip. Unfortunately, it is a tad more prohibitively costly to actually enter Iguazú National Park. Locals pay a mere 50 pesos whereas we, the almighty RICH tourist hordes, are required to pay double that (100 pesos), but if you get your entry ticket stamped, you can enter the park the next day at half-price (only 50 pesos)! Your ticket price includes transport on the "Chugga chugga choo choo!" train which lies within the park boundaries as well as a ferry across the Iguazú Rio to the Isle of Saint Martin.
There are numerous walking trails you can follow that take you to lookout points of different waterfalls within the park and, although I didn't do all of them, I felt that I got a thorough tasting of everything the Argentinian side has to offer its visitors. By the end of my day at the park, I was satisfied with my sampling of the falls even though I did not cross the border to the Brazilian side. For any Americans reading out there who may be wondering how much they might miss by foregoing the costly trip to Brazil ($140 reciprocity fee required for all Americans entering Brazil), I think this quote found on Wikipedia by those who know the falls best should put your mind at ease: "From the Brazilian side you see the falls, (but) from the Argentian side...you LIVE them."
One final recommendation for any who may vist the Iguazú Falls-DO take a ride on one of the boats which take visitors way UPCLOSE and practically under the falls- although it is a pricey and absolutely drenching ride, it is utterly worth it!
On my second day in Puerto Iguazú, Sonia and I opted to walk 10 kilometers round trip along Route 12 to the Güira Oga Animal Refugio (40 pesos entrance fee). This refuge was established in 1996 and does great work saving animals which have been injured and/or mistreated by either releasing them back into the wild, euthanizing those beyond saving or providing the rest with a safe domain to live out the remainder of their days. There are loads of birds to be seen there, including toucans, parrots, owls and falcons, but they also have other animals residing there such as monkeys, cayman, and coatís (raccoon-like critters which are also hilariously known as crackoons or snookums-I kid you not!) I snapped tons of pictures of the animals there, but was most taken by my personal encounters with a toucan and monkey (both of which I videotaped!). This is a wonderful place to visit if you have a little extra time after visiting the majestic falls. Plus, the money spent on the ticket supports a worthy cause!
As for my final sweaty evening in the town of Puerto Iguazú? Sonia and I went out to dinner with 2 fellow travelers from our hostel: Ashley, an Oregonian educator of age 48 who looked unapologetically much younger than yours truly (Bitch! Ha ha!), and Jon, a British fellow who can apparently tell you anything you need to know about the "Origin of the Species" but is a tad touchy if you dare to misquote Darwin. We all shared a delightful evening at the aforementioned TERRA Restaurant and then purchased 3 bottles of red wine at a local market which we promptly consumed back at our hostel. The evening was delightfully capped off when a Japanese fellow (who shall remain nameless due to my faulty memory) staying at our hostel joined us and whipped out a traditional Bolivian musical instrument, a charango, whereupon he and I started whaling in excruciating disharmony numerous tunes such as, but not exclusively, Guns & Roses' "Sweet Child of Mine" and the Beatles' "Let It Be." Quite a spectactular finish to an impeccably fantabulous time in the jungle-ish region of Misiones, Argentina.
Sonia and I wrapped up our visit with a brief stop at the Tres Fronteras, a touristic landmark which marks the point where three countries (Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay) come together for one glorious photo op. After that, we boarded a bus headed towards...
San Ignacio Miní!!
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