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So after a hectic couple of weeks in the city, studying by day and partying by night (although not quite to the Argentine standards of 8am every Monday), we packed our bags, said goodbye to the Ostinato family and headed back to nature... spending 16 hours on the most comfortable bus either of us have ever been on!
Our destination was Puerto Iguazu, the jumping off point to visit the Iguazu Falls which are on the border of Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. We checked ourselves into what the Lonely Planet describes as the best hostel in the country and it didn't disappoint! Day one was spent chilling by the pool until about 4 pm when it was time for a huge tropical rainstorm. Unfortunately it then didn't stop raining and on Sunday morning we decided to brave the pouring rain and thunder and head to the park to visit the waterfalls, along with our new Aussie friends, Bec and Simo.
It was definitely a test for all our new wet weather gear and, to begin with, we managed to stay mostly dry. Even in the pouring rain the waterfalls are amazing to watch and they have a series of walkways through the jungle to view them from different angles.
The main viewpoint is at La Garganta del Diable (the devil's throat) where it looks as though you've reached the end of the world. By the time we got there in the afternoon, we were beginning to reach the point where none of our stuff was waterproof any more and starting to get pretty cold and miserable! Even with a couple of inches of water in our shoes it was a very impressive sight but we weren't quite brave enough to hang around much longer and so soon set off back to the hostel for probably the best shower ever and to try and set about drying everything (unsuccessfully). The only way to follow such a day? A night at the hostel with far too much cheap whiskey and vodka which we all felt the next day!!
Monday didn't look too promising to begin (particularly with a steaming hangover) with but, based on the fact that it was only cloudy and not actually raining, and some gentle encouragement from the Israelis, we decided to give the falls another go. Probably the best decision we've made so far as pretty much as soon as we arrived at the park the sun decided to come out and completely transformed the place. Sadly we packed for rain and left the sun cream at home so both got a lovely red tint.
Well worth a bit of sun burn though as all the wildlife that had been hiding from the rain suddenly appeared and we were surrounded by butterflies, birds and weird racoon-like creatures whose name we never quite established! We were also treated to plenty of rainbows around the falls which made it pretty spectacular, even though it didn't quite look real.
Three great days in Puerto Iguazu and we're now planning another 16hrs of full cama comfort on the bus back to BA!
xx
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