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Saturday, 7 November, 2015:
The bus arrived at 10am Brazil time at the national park. The clock goes forward one hour so this means the bus and border crossing took just 50 minutes.
I had met a lad called Larry from Wexford at the bus stop in Puerto Iguazu who was going to the Brazil falls. He was on a different bus but we met at the park entrance and decided to hang out for the day.
The ATMs at the park entrance were not working which was a slight problem however it was possible to pay the park entry by POS. The park entry was 56 real (€14) and I also paid for a luggage locker at the ticket booth costing 30 real (€7.50).
We jumped on one of the many shuttle buses and got off at the second stop outside a big pink hotel. From here, there is a boardwalk with spectacular views of the waterfalls for a couple of kilometers. You finally reach the climax at the Devjl's Throat - a platform that goes very close the falls and where the mist drenches you. It's very fun though and the power of the waterfalls will have you in awe once again!
There is an elevator up to one last panorama. It was a sunny day again and so we got a beautiful rainbow over the falls adding to the vista.
At 12 we were done. Most people had said you only need 2 hours here and they were right! There are some other trails to check out and you can also do a boat ride from the Brazil side of the falls which obviously would extend your stay but most people don't seem to bother if they have spent a day at the Argentina side already.
We walked back down the road 15 minutes to the hotel to check it out and it was indeed very plush! A really nice pool and fancy restaurant and bar!
Also an ATM which came in very handy as we'd need cash for our way into Foz de Iguacu town.
It cost 3.75 (90c) for public bus no.120 back into the terminal in town. You have to pay a girl on the bus and go through a little turnstile which was quite awkward with my backpack which was now pretty massive and heavy after some of the shopping in Buneos Aires.
The bus took about 45 minutes and we were in town at 1pm and needing food. We hiked back a few blocks and found Buffalo Branco's. For 70 real (€17.50), we had all-we-could-eat beef, veg and dessert. It was very good quality and it was strange to see so much fruit and veg after days without it! It also introduced me to baked cinnamon pineapple - amazing! I'd have to try it at home! And fried banana!! Yum!
We then took a taxi to the Rodivario (main bus terminal) for 15 real (€4) or €2 each.
Here, there were two options for bus companies to Florianopolis - Catarinese and Nordeste. We ended up going with Nordeste as it was slightly cheaper at 177 real (€44) against 189 on Catarinese. The buses only seemed to have semi-cama left which wasn't ideal for a 15 hour bus journey but the lady said to just sneak in downstairs as soon as we got on and we'd be fine in the full cama or "leito" section.
It was only 4pm by the time we had the bus sorted and it departed at 18.45 so we had a couple of hours to kill. We went and dropped our bags at another luggage storage and had a few beers at a little restaurant. The neighborhood wasn't too inviting so we didn't wander too far!
The damn plugs had changed again and I had no suitable adaptor but I managed to pick one up for 6 real (€1.50) in the shop.
The buses in Brazil serve no food or drink so we were glad of the big meal behind us earlier! They laughed a lot when we asked if you get champagne - not Argentina buses here!! Ha
The bus arrived on time at 18.50 and we jumped downstairs into the nice full cama seats. Not a bother and they even checked our tickets! These seats cost at least an extra €30 when I priced online so not too bad!
15 hours wouldn't be so bad down here!
After a couple of hours, we were pulled over by customs and they chose me for inspection. I had to get my bag down and answer some questions about where I'm from, what I'm doing, where I got the bus from, if I'm carrying drugs, etc. The police man did a short search of my bag and barely rooted through it before letting me off!
I slept on-off and then we were woken up for a breakfast stop at around 7.30. We crowded into a cafe where we managed to get some coffee and a panini for free at a stand. It turned out this was reserved only for drivers and guides having seen a sign upon sitting down but we got away with it!
Eventually, at 11am, we reached the rodavaria in Floripa.
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