After checking out at hotel, we plan to spend the morning of
this
day exploring Iguazu's Brazilian side. In the afternoon, we'll probably
come back to the Argentinian side to visit what we couldn't do the
previous day. Most likely, superior circuit.
Our flight back to Buenos Aires is scheduled for 9:30 PM and will
arrive late, at around 11:30 PM. We plan to order a transfer from the
hotel in order to reach it as soon as possible
.
After
As we talked yesterday, our taxi driver is waiting
for us at 9 AM again. We reach the border soon and join the line of
cars and coaches waiting for their turn to cross it. It’s a while until
we leave Argentina with the simple task of give our passports to the
driver so he can show them.
The next is to go across a bridge over Iguazu River which has
a half painted with Argentinian colours and the other half with
Brazilian’s. Brazil were waiting for us across the river. Our driver
explains controls in Brazil are optional. Nobody is going to stop you
but, if you plan to spend a night in the country you should stop and
get the stamp for the entrance to the country to avoid issues later. We
stop for it even though we’re going to come back before lunch time.
Then, we’re left by the entrance of the National Park at 10:15 AM.
There are no lines for the tickets, so we pay 70 reais per
person for ours and follow the path that goes directly to the platform
to wait for the bus. These double-decker buses go through the main road
of the park with a few stops in their way. Most of the people go
directly to the final one, though.
We go to the final stop too, which is the one for the
waterfall platforms. We were already told, as a reference, they start
in front of a pink hotel: Belmond.
The only circuit here starts with a wide terrace to San
Martin Island and the waterfalls around it. These are spectacular
views, but a bit further than I expected. I presume this feeling is
coming from comparing with the views from yesterday.
This place is really crowded, and I fight for get space for
my pictures. When I finish, I realize I’m being part of a photo of a
Welsh group that is posing with their flag.
We follow the platform on the riverside with the
view to San Martin Island slightly changing in our way until we reach
the part that is touching the wall, where it’s clearer the two level of
waterfalls.
There are a couple of balconies on the way to allow having
some views of the Devil’s Throat. Soon we get a glimpse of the end of
the platforms, which is the part that goes into the waterfalls.
When we reach that point, I realize my calculations about
where you can get wet in Iguazu were wrong since it seems is here where
that happens, while we didn’t get wet yesterday. There is even a stand
here with raincoats for sale, but there are no more available. It might
be due to this sky pointing to rain too.
Once on the platform we can see we’re getting wet due to the
water drops that are bouncing from the waterfall and are generating a
cloud that goes through the platform.
The views here are amazing, and this is a funny experience
too. At the end, there is a balcony with the best view to the Devil’s
Throat from this side. This is a way of taking all the possible
advantage to the few waterfalls that are on this side.
There is another attraction still here. The platforms end in
a block of three floors with an elevator to reach the third one, where
there is a lookout.
We join the line for the elevator. The views from
these first two floors are fantastic already, though.
The ride up in the elevator is short and, once at
the top, we can enjoy the best and widest views of this area.
With this our visit is over and we just have to come back,
for which we follow the signs until join the long line for the bus.
We’re thinking this side well worth the visit. I could even advice that
is the place to go if you only have half of a day for Iguazu, since
this is where you can make a better use for your time.
When we leave the National Park is raining strong.
We take some time to find our taxi because they have a limited time to
be in front of the entrance and they’re making rotations on their waits
and he was waiting in the upper level nowo.
We stop in the border one more time for the Brazilian exit
stamp and ask to the driver to go to the Argentinian side of the
National Park because, on despite of the rain, we know these tropical
storms can disappear as quick as they appear.
Once in the ticket window of the National Park we show our
tickets from yesterday to pay half the price: 400$ per person. There
are some people there but it’s mainly to ask about their refund options
since they couldn’t make their visit because of the rain. They’re
leaving the place quite pissed off, so I presume there is no refund. A
woman gets shocked when I’m asking for tickets and points me that even
the train is not working.
We’re going to get our lunch by now, so walk
directly to the restaurant, since it’s nearly 2:30 PM and they close at
4 PM. I’ve forgotten the discount vouchers I got yesterday but, when I
mention it in there and a waiter remember us, we get the discount
anyway, so we’ll pay 550$ each one more time.
When we’re done with our meals, we make some time since the
rain is as strong as before. I don’t think this is unusual: that
amazing volume of water in the falls must come from somewhere. If it
stops soon, we’ll be able to go to the superior circuit, the only
missing one for us, even with no train. But that doesn’t happen so,
when they’re closing the restaurant, our driver tells us he is going to
go for the car and we should wait there since he will make the way
within the park.
As we have time, we ask our driver to go to “Hito
de las tres fronteras” (Three borders spot), a lookout to Parana River
in the spot where Iguazu River joins to it and where the three shores
there belong to three different countries: Argentina, Brazil and
Paraguay.
We’re nearly alone here, even after it stopped raining. This
is a short visit and we come back to the hotel from there. We
pay 900$
to our driver: 500$ for a return trip to Brazilian side and 400$ for
the same to the Argentinian side. He will coma back in a couple of
hours for our final ride to the airport. In the meantime, we chill out
in the lobby.
We arrive at the airport some minutes past 7 PM.
It’s early for a domestic flight but we had nothing to do in the hotel
anyway. Somehow, at JetSmart’s check-in counter there is only one guy
with bags and a woman from the airline staff talking where the line
should be. We ask her if check in is not opened yet and she looks at us
with quite shocked. It seems the time for this flight was changed two
hours earlier and the guy with bags there and us are the only ones that
didn’t know it. The flight hasn’t left yet but check in is closed and
she has no way of printing boarding passes for us who, as a difference
with the guy there, have no bags to check in.
Later a manager from the airline staff comes to
explain they were forced to advance the flights at this time due to a
change in the policy for the destination airport: El Palomar. Because
of complains from neighbours, flights are not allowed at that airport
past 10 PM. This happened more than a month ago and they’ve notified it
to everyone that has a book with them by email. Our problem here is we
didn’t make the booking since we used a third-party website for search
of flights and it’s them who were notified and, therefore, the ones
that should tell us.
So, we take a taxi back to the hotel while I’m checking there are
places available for a flight tomorrow to Buenos Aires. Our top
priority is to be sure we’ll be in Buenos Aires on time for taking our
flight back to home the day after tomorrow. The taxi driver stops by
the bus stop after mentioning there might be a chance of having a bus
to the capital city overnight but those have left already and there are
no more until tomorrow. I take this option as plan B.
Once at hotel, they’re not only offering room for tonight
by 50€, but they purchase tickets for Latam flight tomorrow at 2 PM by
60€ each.
With everything solved, we go to the town for a dinner on the
small restaurant La Mamma, where they make their own fresh pasta and
result on a delicious meal. It seems it’s harder than expected leaving
such a magical place like Iguazu.
We
pay 900$
to our driver: 500$ for a return trip to Brazilian side and 400$ for
the same to the Argentinian side. He will coma back in a couple of
hours for our final ride to the airport. In the meantime, we chill out
in the lobby.
