Iguacu Falls, Brazil, Day 124

While Argentina gives you an up close and personal view of Iguacu Falls, Brazil offers them in all their 3D, panoramic splendor. You have to see the falls from both sides to get the complete, breathtaking experience. Believe it or not, time is becoming a slight issue for us so rather than dilly dally on the Brazilian side of Iguacu Falls, Christi and I are taking the one day, 3-country tour. The advantage of trips such as these is that they cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time. The disadvantage is that they cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time. Christi and I are, by nature, more tortoise than hare, but needs must when the devil drives. Hold on tight because here we go.

For the third time (twice with Chile and now once with Brazil) we have to endure immigration formalities to escape Argentina and then of course to go through the same rigmarole again to enter Brazil at Foz do Iguacu (with more stamps in our tattered-looking passports). Our multi-national, multi-country tour spends an inordinate amount of time picking up passengers in various countries, before actually showing us anything remotely interesting. Christi and I only want to visit the Brazilian side of Iguacu Falls, but that is the tour finale. We begin, not in Argentina or Brazil, however, but neighboring Paraguay. It appears that entrance into Brazil gives you a free pass into its smaller neighbor – our passports are not checked and we don’t even stop!

The reason for visiting Paraguay is the Itaipu dam. This dam and hydroelectric project provides 80% of Paraguay’s electricity needs and 25% of Brazil’s. It’s the second largest dam in the world (after China’s Three Gorges project) producing 14,000 megawatts annually. The costs – both environmental and financial – were huge. Tens of billions of US$ were spent on construction, while Sete Quedas (arguably the most spectacular water fall in the world – even more impressive than Iguacu Falls) were destroyed. The visit to Itaipu passes in the blink of an eye and then we’re forced (like hard labor) to spend a long dull hour shopping in the Paraguayan border town of Cuidad del Este in abysmal heat. The only ineteresting apsect to this stop were the security guards that were stationed outside every flea-bitten store. They were carrying pump-action shotguns!

Back to Brazil for an all-you-can-eat buffet lunch which was, admitedly, excellent, but it was also the longest stop on the entire tour. Certainly the tour guide and driver were in no hurry to leave – bastards! By the time our tour party finally reaches the Brazil side of Iguacu Falls (and I’m pulling my hair out at this point) we have only 1 hour to enjoy the superb panorama of Devil’s throat and the other cataracts. It’s so frustrating to have so little time on this ‘all-day tour to Iguacu falls’. Get pleasantly drenched, which is very refreshing. Christi and I incur the wrath of the tour guide by being, by some time, the last people to return to the coach. Well bloody good!

As our backpacks are still at the Marco Polo hostel, we need to return to Puerto Iguazu in Argentina even though we have a flight from Foz do Iguacu (in Brazil) to Sao Paulo departing in about 8 hours. The Brazilian and Argentine immigration officials will be sick of the sight of us.

Thank you, Argentina, for a fantastic experience: from the dazzling colors and rock formations of the northwest desert, to the dramatic glaciers and rugged hiking of the far south, and the steamy jungle and mighty waterfalls of the northeast – not forgetting the parillas and the wine and the wildlife. What an amazing country!