Iguazu Falls

We made it to Iguazu Falls after 16 hours on a bus. The private buses down here are really nice, so the trip was not bad at all. We are staying at Hostel Inn and there are many international people here.

Our 2 days here have been completely different from one another. Yesterday we decided to go to the Brazilian side of the falls, joined a tour that included biking, kayaking, and boat rides. We ended up walking in the jungle in a downpour that lasted the whole day. I mean, it was like taking a shower in our clothes. Our tour guide started talking about poisonous spiders that are so small that you can´t feel them bite and then 12 hours later your organs start to rot, and about how you should stay still if you see a jaguar but that if it starts to attack you, you should pray, because basically you´re dead. GREAT. It was then, that I started to walk a little faster, and in the middle of the group.

Covered in mud, we were finally picked up by a jeep, but it was uncovered, so the harsh rain hit our faces and felt as though someone was pelting us. Trying to document this funny, yet miserable event, i took some pictures and then my camera died. I guess it´s not so smart to take pics with a digital in the middle of the jungle in a tropical storm.

We made it to the boat, a covered boat, and started to get really cold. Mike, Az, and I felt it was necessary to group together in a penguin huddle in order to stay warm. Good thing there were three of us, cuz penguins only huddle in groups of three or more. We had to ride the boat up the river, to our kayaks, and had the option to kayak in the rain and lightening and thunder. We said ¨no thanks.¨ Some people did, so we watched them from the boat, in the middle of the river, picked them up down stream, then made it back to land.

A jeep waited for us and took up to a bus station. Our tour guide was leaving, and we had no idea what was going on, so we had to ask them, and they sort of acted like we should have known that we were going to cross the street, catch a bus to the trails to look at the waterfall, then take the bus back and take a boat ride into the waterfalls. DUH. It´s so easy. If there´s anything I learned about this tour, it´s that the Brazilians aren´t very well organized, drive boats and cars in full force, and time doesn´t really mean anything to them.

We hiked the trails a bit saw the Brazilian side of the fall, but couldn´t take any pictures because all of our cameras had died in the downpour. Darn. Then we made it back to take a raft into the falls. This was the best part of the whole day. They were driving the raft through really big rapids, tried to scare us by driving close to the rocks, however, most of the time it was difficult to see what was going on because it was raining, and we had our eyes closed. They took us under the falls, through the falls, and around the falls. It was great. We left the boat soaking wet, but it really didn´t matter since we were already wet.

Day 2 was pretty uneventful. I mean, we went to the Argentina side of the falls, the weather was sunny, and the falls were beautiful. We went swimming next to the falls, got sunburnt, and are back at the hostel.

I´m really happy with my experience here. Sometimes the worst of things can be the best.

Pictures coming soon......