A Welcomed Change of Scenery...

Iguazu Falls, Argentina

April 10, 2007
S 25°41.250
W 054°26.700

The plane touched down at Iguazu International Airport right around noon. As we were landing we looked out the window and all we could see was rainforest for miles—we were out of the city! As we stepped off the plane we could see thousands of butterflies fluttering outside on the tarmac; their colors so vividly fluorescent. The airport was surrounded by lush trees; the terminal itself constructed of red bricks, perfectly blending with the red-clay soil and the beautiful surroundings.

We made tracks straight through the terminal, bypassing the luggage carousel since we didn’t check anything, and waited for the bus to town. The weather outside was a little humid and in the high 80’s, warmer than BA, but a welcome change from the low 70’s over the last few days. As we waited for the bus we got a much closer look at the different butterflies; the colors were even more brilliant close-up, fluorescent blue, green, yellow and red. We took a deep breath of fresh, steamy, air, pleased to be out of Buenos Aires for a few days and closer to nature.

The bus finally arrived (really a minivan) and we were the only two passengers. The route from the airport was a paved road lined on both sides with green, luscious trees. We saw more butterflies as we made the trip; unfortunately several of them saw their ultimate demise as they crashed into the windshield of the van. After several kilometers we turned off of the paved road onto a cobblestone street in the town of Iguazu. The van made a few more turns before dropping us off right in front of Hotel Lilian.

We quickly headed out into the streets of our new town; ready to explore something new. We simply wandered for awhile, trying to get our bearings before finding a little road that twisted down to Rio Iguazu and the port. Iguazu Falls is located in the North-East corner of Argentina and borders Paraguay and Brazil. There are different attractions associated with the falls in each country, but the serious debates occur between those who visit the Argentina side versus the Brazil side. We will only visit the Argentina side since the Brazilian government makes US citizens pay $100 USD for a Visa—not really worth it for a day.

We relaxed at a little Hamburguesería overlooking the river, simply enjoying the scenery of the Rio Iguazu. An occasional motor boat would zip by heading back from Paraguay. The customs office was a stones throw from where we were sitting, monitoring the boats going in and out of the port, ensuring no laws were being broken. The forest surrounded us as we shared a hamburger and enjoyed a couple 750ml bottles of ice-cold, of all things, Budweiser.

As we talked at our table, over looking the river, we agreed this was a perfect way to end our time in South America. The natural beauty and the numerous parks are the main attractions down here—the great cities such as BA and Bariloche are just an added bonus!