We finished off our time in Argentina with a trip to Iguazú Falls on the Argentine, Brazilian border. However, before I start on that I have a couple of final thoughts on Buenos Aires. For me, the best steaks we had in Argentina were in Mendoza, however the meat in Buenos Aires was awesome.
Whether in nice restaurants (don’t be fooled by the exterior of shops in South America, it is what lays inside that counts).Or makeshift grilling on the streets, Argentinians know their beef. We didn’t try the shopping cart beef, adventure only goes so far.
The other thing we noted in Buenos Aires is that by no means have they forgotten about the Falkland Islands War.
This monument by the Presidential Palace was one of dozens of plaques, signs, and buildings bearing witness to the belief that the islands should belong to Argentina. Certainly not a topic to be brought up in a bar.
But onto Iguazú Falls, the largest waterfalls system in the world. Not that we have spent much time visiting large waterfall systems in our travels, but I will say, they a quite spectacular. You do have to make an effort to get to the falls as they are rather out of the way. For us it was a 2 hour flight from Buenos Aires to get there. They are located on the Argentine, Brazilian border, just a 20 minute drive from Paraguay. I am aware that description won’t help much, suffice to say it is a fair distance from anywhere.
We spent 2 nights on the Argentina side and one night on the Brazilian side so we won’t feel at all rushed. People do do everything in one day but that simply is not our way.Our first stop was at Devil’s Throat. This portion is ~85 metres wide and ~75 metres deep. As you walk along the walkway to the falls you see a vast river that abruptly is swallowed by the Debvil’s Throat.The amount of water pounding down is thrilling to watch.The canyon of falls simply continues on with over 160 individual falls lining the canyon.
The National Parks on both sides of the border have done an excellent job developing infrastructure that allows visitors to observe and experience this incredible system with very little difficulty.
As we were leaving the Devil’s Throat and walking to another section we encountered this coati. They were numerous and only were interested in looking for food.As you walk along the path on the Argentina side you are treated to glimpses of the water falls as you approach them. It is simply beautiful.Suddenly you come out of the trees and there you are at the very lip of a section of falls.Exhilarating.Plenty of viewpoints so everyone can get their perfect selfie.If it is your taste you can even take a boat right into the spray.After a full day of walking and listening to the thunder of natures beauty we headed back to our hotel.
The falls were a great way of saying adios to Argentina. We loved our time in this great country and definitely look forward to returning. And as it was a great way of saying good-bye, it was also a wonderful way of saying hello to Brazil.
We spoiled ourselves by hiring a private driver to pick us up at our Argentine hotel, navigate the border crossing (absolutely flawless), drop our luggage at our new hotel, then delivering us to the front entrance of the National Park.
We were proud to see Banff, Canada made the cut on the distance sign in the park.The Iguazu Falls are seen from a slightly greater distance on the Brazil side and this made for some great views.The area it covers and the number of falls are breathtaking.You do get close enough to get quite wet from the spray. This is looking back up toward Devil’s Throat from the Brazil side.You can see the walkway out to the viewing platform in the bottom right of the photo. Great place for a shower. That is where the previous photo was taken from. The rainbows were everywhere.As we were heading to the exit on the bus Karen had a visitor by her window. She managed to safely escort it off the bus.As our hotel was only about a kilometre from the park entrance we decided we could just walk back after we were done. What looks simple on Google maps doesn’t always translate to reality. But we managed to get back in one piece. The adventures never end.
Iguazu Falls are well worth the effort and expense to get to. Such beautiful sights and well managed by the National Parks on both sides of the border. Though we loved both sides, I would have to say the Brazil side was just a bit more impressive for us. A very worthwhile trip.
