PUERTO IGUAZU - Impressive Waterfalls

Accommodation

We don't say anything about the accommodation at this point. Just this much: quite a lot went wrong (not our fault), and it ended with us being kicked out of the house. Well, we survived it.

SIM Card

We have never experienced such poor internet in a city before. Even in the swamps, the reception was better. For our day trip to Ciudad del Este in Paraguay, we got two SIM cards from Personal. These were linked again with our ID cards. We each paid 30,000 Guarani (3.80 Euros) for 6 GB for 15 days.

Sights

In Puerto Iguazú, we didn't actually look at much. The place probably only exists to accommodate waterfall tourists. "The Iguazu Falls, along with Niagara Falls in Canada and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, are the largest and most powerful waterfalls on earth," says our favorite blogger Daniel. They are also called "Cataratas" and are located directly on the border between the state of Paraná in Brazil and the province of Misiones in Argentina. Their name translates as "big water". Additionally, they have been one of the new seven wonders of the world since 2011 and have been recognized as "World Natural Heritage for today and future generations" since 2013. There are 20 large and 255 small waterfalls that are between 82 and 64 meters high. Really gigantic amounts of water come down. The largest of the waterfalls is called "Garganta del Diablo" or Devil's Throat. In a U-shaped bay, the water first flows into the Rio Iguazu and then into the Rio Paraná. The water probably used to be very clear (a so-called clearwater river), but today the water is partly brown and sediment-rich due to the deforestation of the Brazilian rain forest and the associated erosion. You can approach the Devil's Throat from both sides. On the Brazilian side, there is a footbridge that is "at the lower end" and approximately 600 m long. From the Argentine side, you can normally take a small narrow-gauge train called the "Tren Ecológico de la Selva" to a 1000 meter long footbridge and view the waterfall system "from above". However, because the train track and the footbridge are closed due to a record flood (October 2023), this section is unfortunately omitted. From the Brazilian side, you have a wonderful view, but everything is also crushed, and everyone wants to pose in front of the waterfall. A bit stressful. Besides, you also get pretty wet on the footbridge ;) On the Argentinean side, you are closer to the waterfall, but you don't have the impressive view like from Brazil. The paths are longer, more natural, and the crowds of visitors are thus a bit better distributed. The "Superior" and "Interior" paths are open. Due to time constraints, we could no longer visit the "Sendero Macuco". We had some difficulties with our credit card. Pascal thought the Argentine side was nicer, I thought the Brazilian side (despite the crowds). Maybe it's because I saw a monkey baby on the back of its mother in Brazil ;) To get to the Brazilian side, by the way, we only had to leave and re-enter Argentina. We didn't have to go through any migration for Brazil. On both sides, there were also fluffy South American coatis, which one should not approach. They also tend to bite sometimes. In addition, we saw a lot of beautiful butterflies. The Cataratas are surrounded by the two national parks, Iguazú and Iguaçu, representing one of the last remaining remnants of the evergreen subtropical part-biomes of the Atlantic Rainforest. This is a subtropical or tropical eco-region with a higher biodiversity than the Amazon basin. This is due to the fact that the "Mata Atlântica" extends over different altitudes. For this reason, the flora and fauna are very diverse. Unfortunately, today less than ten percent of the area of the Atlantic Rainforest is still intact. We also went to Ciudad del Este in Paraguay. Here again, we had to go through migration in Argentina. But somehow not in Brazil and Paraguay, apparently we are only in transit and within the 15-km border. Well, just don't catch us! In Ciudad del Este, we found a light linen-cotton shirt for Pascal in the very first shop (100,000 Guarani = 12.70 Euros). We also bought new headphones for me (45,000 Guarani = 5.70 Euros), as the old ones from Valparaíso unfortunately gave up the ghost. Yes, we know. If you buy cheap, you buy twice... Then there was a sunscreen (yuck) for Pascal for a whopping 80,000 Guarani (= 10.20 Euros). And lastly, we bought

• a lime for my bites for 1,000 Guarani (= 0.13 Euros)
• four gigantic avocados for 10,000 Guarani (= 1.30 Euros)
• Shawarma for Pascal for 22,000 Guarani (= 2.80 Euros) Normally, this would go into the "Expenses" category, but you usually only go to Ciudad del Este to shop. There's not much else there. We unfortunately didn't look at the Itaipú Dam and Salto Cristal due to the long travel time. The trip to Ciudad del Este with Cruzero del Norte cost 2,500 pesos per person, the return trip with Rio Uruguay 3,000 pesos per person.

Transportation

Within Puerto Iguazú, we took the village bus that runs once an hour (Price: 450 Pesos per person). Additionally, our landlords also acted as drivers twice. Finally, on the last day, we took a taxi for 5000 Pesos, allowing us to catch an earlier bus to Asunción. Once, a kind inhabitant of Puerto Iguazú, Maxi, also helped us. We were looking for a Western Union, and the first one did not disburse money on certain days. He drove us to a total of five different WU branches, and we somehow thought that he wanted to rob us afterwards or something ;D We thought wrong, he bought us water and gummy bears, and in the end, he even wanted to give us 20000 Pesos. Well, there we wrongly judged someone. The quintessence was that we had to withdraw money with my VR card at Santander. Pascal had AGAIN left the credit card at home. For 30000 Pesos, we paid a fee of 8750 Pesos. Not to mention the crappy exchange rate.

Food and Drink

We went to a restaurant once and to a cafe twice. At "Color Parilla & Pizza" we would have even got a 20% discount, but we were somehow too bemused to ask. We had Mate cocido, spaghetti with tomato sauce, and for me (I ordered this by accident, I thought I was going to drop dead) beef small intestine. Well, I couldn't return it anymore. Then I just ate it (with Pascal's help), I had no other choice. It was interesting that there were no sides or sauces. Just a half grilled tomato with a bit of parmesan on top. Then we escaped the bad internet twice and did some work in the cafe. At "El Pan de la Abuela" we ordered

• a combo called "Saltos San Martin" for just under 4000 Pesos
  • Latte de Vainilla con Miel
  • Jugo de Naranja
  • Two Medialunas con Jamón y Queso
• a hot chocolate
• a Dulce-de-Leche chocolate cake for just under 2000 Pesos
• a very tasty juice consisting of Frutos Rojos y Naranja for just under 2000 Pesos (I even ordered this twice)
• a burger with fries for about 6500 Pesos. Everything was quite tasty, we rate it four out of five stars. In Ciudad del Este, we went to "Shawarma El Sultán - Comida Arabe". They served a modified version of Shawarma with an interesting filling. Even french fries were included. But really delicious!

Cafes and Restaurants

• Color Parilla & Pizza
• El Pan de la Abuela
• Shawarma El Sultán - Comida Arabe (Ciudad del Este)

Plants and Animals

We saw cute Capuchin monkeys (including a monkey baby!!!) at the Iguazú Waterfalls as well as many, many butterflies, including "Mariposa de los naranjos" or Papilio thoas and "Erato" or Hiliconius erato. We also saw the Williams South American Sideneck Turtle "Tortuga herradura" or Phrynops williamsi. This turtle belongs to the Toad Head Turtle family. And of course we must not forget the South American coatis.

Number of Germans in the City

3 (Moritz from San Miguel, who we saw again at the Cataratas) and two older ladies

Contact with Locals

Only with our hosts and Maxi

People Met

Our hosts

Expenses

We paid quite a lot for our two tours. Brazil:

• Transportation: 3000 Pesos per person per trip
• Admission: 100 R$ or 19 Euros per person (easily payable by credit card) Argentina:
• Transportation: 2500 Pesos per person per trip
• Admission: 20000 Pesos per person This brings us to a total of about 100 Euros for the two days. The whole thing was relatively straightforward. We had no bus binding with Rio Uruguay and could pay on site with cash or credit card. The buses to the Argentine Cataratas leave every 15 minutes, but the ones to the Brazilian side only every 60 minutes. On the Brazilian side, everything went super fast at the cash registers, on the Argentinean side, we had to wait in line forever, as only one of the six cash registers was open.

Standard Stand Offer

Wooden figures, fans, waterproof cell phone bags, and Mate mugs

Laundry

We washed our ultra-dirty laundry in an Express Laundromat right at the terminal. We paid 10000 Pesos for this, which was the second most expensive price of the entire trip.

Currency

Argentine Pesos

Bus to Asunción

We originally planned to take the local bus, but when a taxi passed by the bus stop, we quickly changed our minds. For 5000 Pesos, we didn't go to the terminal as planned, but to another stop, where not one but five different bus companies pass by. We chose the most shabby one from "Nuestra Señora de la Asunción". It cost 3000 Pesos per person, so the same as Rio Uruguay and even more than Cruzero del Norte. An impertinence. Although we were told beforehand by our taxi driver that it would be the cheapest but also "el más feo". He waited for us at the migration in Argentina, but at the entry to Paraguay we had to take another one. Rio Uruguay took us with the words "¡No te preocupes!" to the terminal for free. There, we were immediately intercepted by employees of the bus company "San Luis S. A.". For 110000 Guarani or 14 Euros per person, we took the absolutely foul overland bus to the capital in seven hours. It stopped at so many towns, was constantly overtaken by other buses and everything was really disgusting. Both the toilet and the rest. To compare: We theoretically could have taken a different bus company and arrived in 4 hours. Well, it was certainly an experience and at the terminal we were even picked up. Madlena, Hannes' sister, lived with a host family in Asunción some time ago. Her host mum Eli and her boyfriend César invited us to grandma Tita's for homemade Asado with salad. There was Yucca, tomato, peas, cabbage, cucumber and homemade potato salad with cooked carrot. Everything was very tasty, I wish there was more space in my little belly;) 😋 Afterwards, they drove us to our accommodation. A really great end to this day!

Conclusion

The waterfalls are very impressive. In our opinion, two days are enough to visit the waterfall. If everything is repaired and you want to spend more money on boat trips, then one more day is worth it. From the schedule, we would recommend two days in Puerto Iguazu (stay near the terminal) to visit the waterfalls. Then another two to three days in Ciudad del Este to shop, visit the dam and Saltos del Monday.

Postscript

Many pictures mainly of the waterfalls can be found at the following link https://hoenisch.eu/photo/mo/sharing/WtV7hC07E.