We are staying on the Brazilian side of the falls in a lovely resort hotel about 10 minutes from the National Park entrance. The location is perfect and as you will have seen from yesterday's post, this side of the falls provides some incredible photographic opportunities and the chance to get extremely wet in the Devil's Throat!
It's slightly more complicated to get to the Argentinian side but in my opinion - that isn't giving anything away just yet - if visiting Iguazu, you must build in time to visit both sides because of the differing perspectives experienced.
Taxi booked for 10am and the first job was to visit a local Cambio (currency exchange) to acquire some Argentinian pesos. Cash only is accepted if you wish to visit over the border but we had to factor in coffees - what's new? - lunch and fridge magnets together with contingencies. Money safely acquired at a very advantageous rate to the Cambio, we headed for the border. We left everything to our taxi driver who dealt with all bureaucracy to get us into the country. By 1045, we were heading for the Devil's Throat on a miniature railway!
The Argentinian side covers a far greater area than we had seen in Brazil yesterday and requires a considerable amount of footwork and time. The train saves a bit of shoe leather but only delivers you to a point approximately one mile from the falls. The rest of the effort is yours and it can be frustrating as you are disgorged from the train at the same time as lots of elderly Japanese and other nationality tourists who move at snail's pace along the narrow walkways. It's unnatural for me to walk anywhere slowly and this type of experience is shear purgatory. That said, the end result is so worth it as you witness a maelstrom of epic proportions crash over a cliff to the valley below. It truly has to be seen in 3D and any amount of photographs simply cannot do justice to what you witness and experience at Iguazu. I would class it as mind blowingly epic.
The difference between Argentina and Brazil is that you are almost inside the falls and your senses are fiercely assaulted with both the power and the noise of the water. What did strike me most strongly was that if we were seeing it at its slowest flow rate as we were, then it must be bloody scary when the river is in flood!
The verdict. Impossible to decide due to the many variables at play. Indecisive moi? Yes, I know it's a cop out but if push came to shove and you only had one day available, then head for Brazil. Whatever the cost borne to visit Iguazu, all I can say is that it has been worth every pound, Brazilian Real and Peso.
Tomorrow, the stress levels start to accelerate again as we head for not one but two standby flights! The plan is that we are home on Sunday although looking at the six inches of snow that fell in Eldwick yesterday, perhaps we should hope that no seats are available on either flight!
Hopefully an update from Brazil as we await boarding our flight home from Rio.
Hard To Believe What You See
A Hamlet Moment!
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