Iguazu Falls

The night bus from Curitiba to Foz do Iguacu (on the Brazilian side of the falls) was a nightmare! It was a semi cama bus which is basically cattle class - really not what you want on a 9 hour bus ride. When I got on the bus I noted a distinct lack of legroom, this was confirmed when the guy in front immediately reclined his seat all the way so his head was practically in my lap. I could barely move my feet. Anyway, enough moaning, we arrived in Foz safely at 7am but having had no sleep whatsoever.

I checked into a hostel which fortuantely had a room I could move into straight away, meaning I cuold get a shower and a chamge of clothes but heading to the falls. It was recommended to me that, for the full experience, one should see the falls from both ther Brazilian side and the Argentine side and having done just that, I couldn`t agree more. There`s not a lot I can say really, they are phenomenal. The Brazilian side gives a great overview of all the falls and there are some good trails you can take through the national park to get the view from different perspectives. The Argentine side gives you the opportunity to get more up close and personal with the falls - you can get really close to a number of them and there is generally just more to do on that side.

After coming back from the falls (and having a quick powernap) I met up with my mate Paul (who was on a group tour which just happened to cross paths with mine) for a couple of beers. Having initially rebuffed the invitation to join his group`s jungle themed party that evening my position weakened about one sip into beer number 2 and I came along. Unfortunately, I had no time to acquire jungle attire so I went as the straight man - I felt like someone`s dad! The party was at the house of a mate of their tour guide`s and it was 50 Reais (about 20 quid) for all the BBQ food you could eat and all the booze you could sup (uh oh). Anyway, a couple of caiperinhas and a couple more beers in and I was well into the swing of things. Rather too much so actually as I ended up slightly the worse for wear. Anyway, a good night had by all.

Got up the next day and went to see Itaipu Dam which is on the border of Brazil and Paraguay and is owned 50/50 by the two nations. It`s not technically the biggest dam in the world (it`s second to one in China), but they go to great pains to stress that it produces more electricity than any dam in the world. In fact, I think it produces something like 90% of Paraguays electricity. It`s an impressive sight anyway, but I wasn`t feeling too clever so perhaps wasn`t able to appreciate it as I might.

After that I collected my back back and crossed the border to Puerto Iguazu in Argentina where I checked into a private room in a hostel, watched some telly and then went to start Argentina like I meant to carry on, with a big steak and some Quilmes. I spent the next day at the Argentine side of the falls oohing and aahing as appropriate, it really is magnificent. Then I got back to the hostel, went out for some more grilled meat, all you can eat asado (BBQ) this time and turned ni for an early night.

In the morning I began the next leg of my trip, down through Argentina to Buenos Aires, taking a few days and a few towns in along the way.