Travel Bugs

Leaving Paraguay for Argentina was something we were nervous about—the logistics, not the actual change of countries. It turned out to be quite easy from Encarnacion. We took a taxi from our hotel and our driver was able to drive us to the border and onward to the nearest bus station. There was a bit of confusion at the Argentinian side since it seemed too easy to cross, and we didn’t get our passports stamped. We are finding more and more that our passport pages remain blank. Gone are the days when we’d get colourful, intricately designed miniature trophies in our little books. I wonder if one day passports will be completely done away with and instead, we’ll have microchips imbedded in our arms. Anyway. We asked the necessary questions and were assured we didn’t need a stamp for Argentina.

We caught a bus to Puerto Iguazu and everything was quite simple, except for finding a reputable place to change our money—Callum had to haggle at random shops in the bus terminal to change our Paraguayan Guarani to Argentinian Pesos. Another currency to get used to.

We have been to Iguazu Falls before, in 2017 on the Brazilian side. We wanted to see it from another angle and compare our experiences. When we were there eight years ago, I was suffering from a stomach malady which made it a difficult visit to enjoy. This time, I felt great, but Callum was unwell. We have decided not to go back after this, lol.

The day started off hot and humid. We got into the site and immediately organised tickets to take the tram up to the Devil’s Throat. We sat in the waiting area for a long time with dozens of other people. Finally, when it seemed like it was time to line up, an announcement was made. A collective groan and sigh emanated from the crowds. I asked for some clarification in English. The tram was broken down and it would be another 30-minute wait. As we had already been waiting for an hour, this was annoying to us. We decided to walk the upper circuit instead of waiting for a tram with an increasingly disgruntled and growing number of people.

The walk was easy, and I am not sure why we didn’t elect to do it from the start. We skipped the Devil’s Throat, having seen it from the far superior side in 2017 and kept to the upper trail. We were happy to finally be moving our bodies and working towards a view. I was so excited and snap-happy, that I even face-timed my cousin while there, showing off my current location. It’s not every day you’re at an epic place like Iguazu Falls.

The platforms and trail were all really well laid out and maintained, and we were lucky to see the falls during the sunlight since the weather changed dramatically. We found ourselves hurriedly putting on raincoats, tucking the camera away, and bracing ourselves for the walk back to the amenities—all in a torrential downpour. The air was warm, though, and the rain was exhilarating. We felt sorry for all the people just arriving at the park.

We were now ravenous for lunch and paid an eye-watering amount of money for some pretty average burgers and fries. We were finding that Iguazu is not really a place for budget-friendly travellers. Callum kept commenting ‘What do the backpackers do?’ which was funny to me since we are backpackers. I think he meant young people who want to travel as cheaply as possible. I figured they don’t stay long in Iguazu, if at all. Maybe a day trip from somewhere cheaper?

We managed to catch a shuttle bus back to town fairly quickly and were suddenly aware of how wet we were. My weatherproof rain jacket wasn’t quite as impervious to the kind of rain we experienced, and I was very damp indeed. The bus ride was long and cold and when we finally got back to our hostel, the hot shower I had was one of the best I’ve had.

Callum was not feeling well, and was done after this excursion. I still had energy so visited a little hummingbird sanctuary that wasn’t far away. It turned out to be the backyard of a local who had set up his yard as a business, charging 11 pesos to walk around his tiny little garden. The plants and flowers were impressive, but the area was the size of a one-bedroom apartment and the mosquitos plentiful. I must admit that I enjoyed myself a lot despite these downfalls. First, I love birds and trying to capture them with my camera. Second, I was doing an activity on my own which I do enjoy. Third, I met a fellow Australian and her partner and had a nice chat with them all things travel, teaching (she was also a teacher), and our current experiences with Iguazu.

The next day we visited the Güirá Oga animal refuge for a chance to see toucans. We did see a few and that was very exciting. We ignored the tour guide since she didn’t know a word of English and she ignored us in return. We didn’t get much out of the speaking parts but enjoyed seeing all the animals being cared for. We joked about having to guess what it was we were looking at. For example, there was a strange cat-weasel creature that we had never seen before and had no clue what it could be. There were no placards explaining or educating us—not even in Spanish. Our research afterwards tells us that we were the lucky observers of a jaguarundi. We also saw a sleeping ocelot, a puma, an otter, monkeys, and many other birds and mammals besides the toucans.

We then caught a taxi to see the Tres Fronteras, which is where you can stand in Argentina and see Brazil and Paraguay from across the river. We then headed to the airport on our way to Buenos Aires. Iguazu is a special place, and I would recommend visiting the Brazilian side which is better in many ways. It’s cheaper, easier to access, has better food and more options, and the sight itself is closer to town. The biggest reason the Brazilian side is better is the falls look more impressive. Argentina has more infrastructure and many more paths with additional things to see if the weather is good. Overall, Brazil is better, but doing both sides is definitely worth it.