Iquazú Falls and Puerto Iguazú, Argentina - May 6-13

Brazil is on the left and Argentina on the right, with Argentina having more of the falls in their territory.  We didn't do the helicopter tour.     I owe this picture to:  http://worldalldetails.com/Pictureview/1111-Iguazu_Falls_Brazil_Aerial_view.html                                                                         

 This is the area where Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay come together.  When you see it, it is no wonder that Iguazú Falls would easily rank as one of the greatest natural wonders.  It isn't just one water fall or a series of falls -- there are various levels, heights, widths, volumes.  And there is enough water in the air to make for rainbows at every turn.  Brazil and Argentina both have a side of the falls to visit and you will hear various reports as to which is better.  They are a different, but you really can't go wrong.

From the Brazilian side:

From the Brazil side - La Garganta del Diablo (The Throat of the Devil).  Gotta love that name!

A little movie:

Now then, well,... there is the detail of needing a visa to enter into Brazil if you are a US citizen.  Calling it reciprocity, Brazil requires a laundry list of documents plus about $180 to enter.  We had read ahead of time that getting the visa at a border town was easier than, say, in Buenos Aires.  We had also heard that there was a way to go across just for the day without having to go through the hassle and expense.  As it turned out, the Brazilian border consulate was no easier on details than the letter of the law.  So, we went with what we learned from a taxi driver and a guy from eastern europe who has a girlfriend on the Brazil side so he crosses over from Argentina to Brazil on a regular basis without a visa.  It is actually surprising -- there are urban buses which go back and forth between the 3 country's border towns.  Apparently, citizens of the 3 countries go back and forth freely.  Only at the Argentina border do you have to get out and get your passport stamped.  So we were instructed to simply get stamped out of Argentina, avoid getting stamped into or out of Brazil and then get stamped back into Argentina on our way back from seeing the falls.  And that is exactly how it worked.

In Brazil protugeuse is the language...  Look close for the funny translation!

Back on the Argentinian side:

This is part of the longest series of falls.

A very beautiful and curious bird.

On the boardwalk out to the "Garganta del Diablo"

The "Garganta" is right behind me.  On the Argentinian side you can look right down at it.  But there is so much mist that you can't really take a picture.

 
In Puerto Iguazú, we camped at a place that was out of the center about 20 minutes by bus.  It was quite a nice campground - on the banks of the river separating Parguay & Argentina, a kitchen area and wi-fi.  It felt very tropical - especially with the resident parrots, monkey and mccaw.

Their chatter was rather fun to listen to.

This poor monkey was cute, but bored out of his mind!

 So things at the campground went well.... until I wanted to stay another day.  That last night we were graced with some neighbors who decided to throw a party -- starting their music at about 10 pm and not shutting off until maybe 5 am.  In south america it seems that a party isn't a party unless anyone within a 3 mile radius can hear the music.  We were only two houses away from them.   Duane went and asked them to kindly turn it down.  That didn't work.  The couple who ran the camping called the police.  That didn't work.  We both took our sleeping bags and went to the farthest end of the campground.  That only partially worked since it was too hot to really be in a sleeping bag and there were mosquitos... and, of course, we could still hear the music. 

Ah, traveling!