2012/2/20-22. To Iguazu.
Bus Via Bariloche from San Martin to Buenos Aires' Retiro terminal (on Tutto Letto, A$776/pp), 20 hours, ~1500km. Then, we changed to bus Crucero Del Norte to Iguazu (on Cama A$567/pp), 18 hours, ~1000km (it runs almost every hour). The long bus ride was comfortable. Scenary along the highway isn't interesting enough.
Arrived at Puerto Iguazu ~9am. Checked into Hostel Park Iguazu1. Taking Dr. Hou's advice, we took a local bus to the city of Foz do Iguaçu in Brazil. At the border, it's optional to get off the bus and go through the customs. We didn't, and no one bothered to come up to the bus to check the papers. In the bus terminal there, we boarded a Brazilian local bus to the falls. They take Argentina Pesos, but with a very bad rate.
2/22 Iguazu from Brazil.
Iguazu Falls is absolutely stunning! I like the Brazilian side better, even though it's smaller. This walkway in the photo (to the Devil's Throat) is an absolute must. Even with our ponchos, we still got drenched, so were the cameras. But the thunder of the water and its spray is fun. The feeling of water falling all around you is unforgetable. UNESCO listed. Entry 41.1 Real, including the park bus which has a few stops.
Along the walks in the park, I saw my first Coatis. They come to people and garbage cans for leftovers. Very cute. Quite common here. Also saw many butterflies. There're walks into the rain forest here. But my flippers were giving me trouble, so didn't walk much.
Once back to the Argentinian side, we walked to the 3 frontier monument (should have taken a taxi), in time for the sunset. Iguazu River and Parana River separate the 3 countris: Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina. Possible to see a little bit of Ciudad del Este of Paraguay in the distance.2/23 Iguazu from Argentina.
A$100. A separate list at UNESCO. A tourist train is provided (included in the admission ticket). However, it was so crowded and require hour long waits. We walked back to the park entrance, despite of my aching feet (I had to get a new pair of shoes). Saw a funny bird there on our way out.Argentinian side of Iguazu is much bigger. There are 3 trails going by endless falls, each involves hours of walk. The walk to Devil's Throat going across rivers where fishing birds and turtles hang out. Big carp too. You see the water tumbling down under your feet (see the moon-lit image to the right, copied from the park's official website), together with hundreds of others snapping photo in front of you, all squeezed in the narrow walkway. Too crowded here. Other walks are not as busy. There's a free boat ferries people to and from Isla San Martin, which we did. Long wait in both direction. At the same boat launch, you can also pay to get on speed boats into the falls for adrenalin and getting drenched. We didn't walk the higher circle. Already pretty tired.
I'd been feeling a bit sick even since our arrival, maybe due to dehydration. It was very hot and humid here. At least 30%deg;C every day.
2/24 St Ignacio de Mini
We took a morning bus (over 10 a day) to San Ignacio. It's a small bus, making ~10 stops in ~5 hours for the 240km. There're slower buses, and faster ones which skip San Ignacio altogether. But all onward bus to Buenos Aires leave in the evening, so we had to wait in the station for a long time.
The Jesuit ruin of San Ignacio Mission is not a far walk from the small bus station. However, it was very hot. Not nearly as crowded as in Iguazu. Audio panels in a few places describing life of 300 years ago in 4 different languages and pictures and drawings. A$50 entrance fee also entitles you to 2 other Jesuit ruins (Santa Ana ~1660 and Loreto ~1632), which we didn't go. There were ~30 organized Jesuit Guarani settlements as early as 1609 in the center of Cuenca del Plata: here in Misiones, and in the neighboring Paraguay and Brazil. Harassed by the Portuguese slave hunters, abandoned after the expulsion of Jesuit Spanish territories signed by King Carlos III in 1767, later destroyed by Paraguayan invasions between 1816 and 1819, only broken walls survived, evoking the former grandeur. Notes
