BA Part 4: Hello Iguazu, Goodbye Camera

So of course throughout this whole loved-up experience in Buenos Aires. I was also desperately awaiting the arrival of my new passport. It was to be sent to the British Embassy in BA but I had no idea when it would arrive. I’d always planned to spend Christmas and New Year in BA, but before the passport issue arose I’d intended to leave on 2nd January to fly South to Patagonia. Of course, 2nd January came and went with no sign of the passport so I cancelled my flight and I waited and waited and waited. It’s lucky I was such a fan of BA, but by the time I got into my 4th week there I was starting to feel quite stressed, as I only had 3 weeks left in South America and a huge list of places I still wanted to visit!

One of those places was Iguazu Falls, which is roughly a 17-hour bus ride from BA. It sits on the border of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay and I’d been keen to visit the Falls from both the Argentinian and Brazilian sides, so I was trying to hold out for my passport before going there. However by 7th January I had accepted that Brazil just wasn't going to happen, and that I should just go and see the Argentinian side before I ran out of time!

Of course, it’s sod’s law that while on the way to the bus station I received an email from the British Embassy saying that my passport had arrived and I could collect it the following day. However by that point it was too late as I’d already booked the (expensive) bus and hostel, so I continued on to the bus station, with at least some weight off my shoulders!

I've praised the amazing buses in South America before, but honestly they just seem to get better and better! The one to Iguazu was the best of all: lie-flat seat, cosy blanket and pillow, champagne, wine, delicious 3-course hot dinner, brekkie AND a personal TV showing English movies! It definitely helped make the 17-hour bus journey bearable!

After chilling at my hostel in Puerto Iguazu on the first afternoon, I set off for the Falls bright and early the next morning. It's really hard to describe the immensity and awesomeness of these falls. Both taller and wider than Niagara, Iguazu has 275 separate cascades spread over almost 2 miles, and divided by various small islands. There are spectacular viewing points which offer panoramic views of many of the waterfalls together, with the tremendous and awe-inspiring "Garganta del Diablo" (Devil's Throat) being the highlight. You can hear the thundering of the water long before you can see them.

The Lower Trail (the shore in the background is Brazil!)

Amazing viewpoint

The falls are part of a tropical jungle so its incredibly hot and humid. The park is well laid out with a number of different trails you can do around the falls. It's a tropical climate so it was incredibly hot and humid so I started out on the shady "Lower Trail" which takes you around the base of a few smaller falls before building up to a series of amazing look-outs over the main part of the falls. At some of the last viewing points I got completely soaked to the skin just from the spray coming off of the falls.

Soaked through... and this is BEFORE the boat ride!

At the end of this trail you also have the option to take a 10-minute boat ride out into the river, and get really close to the falls. This is where things went wrong. I was obviously keen to take the boat ride, but I didn't quite realise just how close to the falls the boat goes: in fact it goes right underneath the Devil's Throat and you have sheets of water plummeting into the boat for about a minute. 

It was really good fun, however once back on dry land, with my clothes and hair dripping a trail of water behind me, I realised that my camera had stopped working. It had been in its case, with the waterproof cover on, but somehow water had got in and there was about an inch of water in the bottom of the case. All my attempts to resuscitate it were fruitless: it wouldn't come back to life. I felt like such a fool for not taking one of the sturdy waterproof sacks they had offered us before we got on the boat - presumably those had been well tried and tested!  

Feeling a bit dejected, I set off along the Upper Trail which allows you to see the Falls from the top. Again, the vistas were gorgeous, but I was in a bit of a sulk (with myself) and headed back to the hostel shortly afterwards, resolving to return the next day with my phone camera.

Back at the hostel I was cheered up by chatting to 3 lovely guys - Tomi and Viljo from Finland and Ezequiel from Sweden. We had a few beers and shared a few stories and were eventually joined by the managers of the hostel: David and Adriana. David was formally a Tango teacher, and Adriana is learning, so he whisked her around the floor for our viewing pleasure, and then attempted to show the rest of us how it’s done. It was fun but only confirmed that I have two left feet! Much later we all went out for dinner and drinks and it was a really nice evening. 

Viljo, Ezequiel, me and Tomi

Next day I was up bright and early and headed back to the falls with Ezequiel. It was a beautiful sunny day which compensated a bit for the fact that I only had my crappy phone camera to record the memories. We headed to the last of the main trails, which takes you out onto the top of the Devil’s Throat - amazing.

I had to catch another night-bus back to Buenos Aires that afternoon so after the first walk I left Ezequiel to brave the boat ride, and headed back to the station.

On the way back the bus stopped at a checkpoint and the police got on to check everyone’s ID. I had to use my best Spanish AND my best smile to try to explain why I wasn't carrying any, but that I honestly wasn't an illegal immigrant! They weren't too happy but luckily let me off without asking for any payment.

Back in BA the next morning I headed straight to the British Embassy and felt much happier once I had my shiny, new passport in my hands! I immediately went and booked a flight down to Patagonia for the next morning, and then headed out for one final afternoon in my beautiful city - met Rico for a last coffee at the oldest Café in Buenos Aires (Café Tortoni), and then had one final steak dinner before heading home for an early night!