We finally went up north to Iguazu, and we have to admit that it really is a must-see on any travel agenda for Argentina and the region. And it clearly deserves to be on the recently determined list of the Seven New Wonders of Nature.
After my in-laws had gone there in December, we had enough recommendations to fall back on. So I booked a room at the Boutique Hotel de la Fonte which is located in a quiet garden on the outskirts of Puerto Iguazu. The rooms are very nice, but the strongest arguments in favor of the place are the courtyard and the restaurant that serves great food. We ate there the Friday night we arrived and again on Saturday night after sightseeing without bothering to check out the restaurant scene of Puerto Iguazu. Hopefully, we didn’t miss anything there – but we were actually pretty pleased with our “in-house” choice.
But now to the main attraction: Las Cataratas or The Waterfalls! They are simply amazing. You can visit them from both the Argentinean side and the Brazilian side, and I would strongly recommend to do both because they offer completely different aspects of the cascades. On our first day we went to the Argentinean side which spreads out more and means walking along numerous trails and wooden catwalks. The trails lead the visitors along some amazing views and vista points, sometimes bringing them pretty close to the spray, sometimes leading them to a more quiet corner of the terrain. But the various cascades are never far away, and the noise of the gushing water is everywhere around you. One of the highlights, of course, is the Garganta del Diablo, the Devil’s Throat, where the water plunges down with such force that the whole place seems to be smoking.
To get even closer to the action we took the boat ride on the river and into one of the cascades. Knowing what to expect we had brought dry clothes – but nothing can really prepare you for the extent of the experience. Boy, was that water cold! But luckily, the weather was very nice and sunny that day so I thawed fairly quickly afterwards.
On the Sunday we drove over to Brazil with a private driver to see the other side of the waterfalls. Here, the view is more panoramic but not less beautiful. You can also walk along wooden catwalks with various viewpoints but the area is way smaller and you don’t need that much time to see it all. From that side we could actually make out all the spots that we had visited the day before. And we could watch the boats go into the cascades as we had done – which looked pretty amazing and dangerous from that perspective. Unfortunately the day was a bit rainy and overcast but we still enjoyed the trip.
We made it back in time to organize some empanadas for lunch and head back to the airport for our return flight to Buenos Aires – but that tight schedule was only possible thanks to the private car.
The other day the topic of sightseeing and places we have been to came up. You should have seen my smug expression when I replied „Yes, of course we have been to Iguazu … “ with an honest, heartfelt „… and it was really amazing!“ But the best part was seeing the proud and delighted expression on my counterpart’s face.
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