| Argentina and Itaipu Dam |
[Apr. 25th, 2008|11:44 pm] |
Hey all,
Yes, this is a late post. I have, in fact, been back in Hawaii for a week but better late than never.
I set off for Argentina the next morning with another Brit backpacker, after changing 50R$ into Argentinian pesos. We had shunned our hostel's organised tour with the vague notion that between the two of us we could handle the bus systems and border control stations in two countries where we were, effectively, illiterate and mute. Happily, the number of people, Brazilians and backpackers alike, crossing the border each day was so great that the bus drivers and immigration officials were spectacularly efficient. The bus we caught in Brazil puttered up to the Brazilian border post where those leaving Brazil for more than a day disembarked. The rest of us continued to the Argentinian side. There we got off the bus and shuffled up to a line of immigration officers waiting to inspect our passports. I'm not exactly sure what the officer asked me but the Spanish reply "One day, waterfalls" seemed to suffice. With yet another page of my passport occupied I exited the border station and boarded the bus that had driven 50m along the side of the immigration building. The whole process took less than 5 minutes for the 30 people on board the bus. I'd like to point out that it usually takes ~60 minutes for a ferrener like me to get through US immigration. We were deposited in Puerto Iguazu, Argentina, from here we caught a bus to the Iguazu Falls (note the change in spelling) park.
Luckily we had spoken to a Scottish couple at brekkie who warned us that Brazilian currency was not accepted at the park entrance, regardless of what all the tourist bumph was saying. So we made it into the park, past those hapless folks who had turned up with nothing but R$ in their pockets. The Argentinian side of the park was noticeably more organized with a train that ran throughout, a boat ride included in the entrance fee and handy maps available.
We spent most of the day hiking the trails that wind around the falls. The Argentinian side provided a closer view to the falls. We turned down multiple tour operators who were offering a boat trip to a section of the waterfall for 60R$. The people coming off the boat were VERY wet. Going back to Brazil sopping wet just didn't seem like fun to me. I will take a proper boat trip whenever I make it to Niagara Falls.
Martin hadn't yet seen monkeys in Brazil so we spent some time monkey-watching (a favourite hobby of mine) and were rewarded with the sight of 4 or 5 (insert species here) monkeys clambering through the rainforest that surrounds the falls.
We started to head back to Brazil once our leggies got tired, but not before buying a bunch of souvenirs at half the Brazilian price. Bargain. Upon arriving back in Foz do Iguacu we headed to a beer garden with a Brazilian traveller for, well, beer. Then Luiz took Martin and I to the most fantastic icecream place. Delicious.
I spent the next morning at Itaipu Dam - a massive hydroelectric power station that supplied 90% of Paraguay's power and 25% of Brazil's. I didn't have long to look around as I had to get back into town (and then out again to the airport) but it was a morning well spent. I had toyed with the idea of going to Paraguay but from other travellers' accounts the nearest town was simply a duty-free haven for Brazilians.
Next: a flight to Curitiba towards the coast, where I'll catch a train to Paranagua on the coast. Onwards and upwards.
Rach |
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