Adventure Iguazu (part 2)

If you haven’t read part 1, please read it first.

We stayed one full day in Iguazu. Our hotel was located in the Brazilian side but we landed in the Argentinean airport. We took a taxi to the hotel and we paid a fixed amount of 90 pesos and the taxi driver took care of all the immigration procedures in both Argentinean and Brazilian borders.

We read that we could also take bus to cross the border but we were too tired with our cliffhanging adventure before so we opted for a more comfortable option. Also it was still very hot when we landed, about 37 degree Celsius so a nice air-conditioning taxi drive was more appreciated. We made a correct decision because our taxi driver then offered us a day tour to the Iguazu and he arranged all the transports for full day for 400 pesos. Much cheaper price than if you would have arranged it from Brazil (note: Brazilian real is more expensive than Argentinean pesos). We keep the contact info from the taxi driver for reference, you can contact me if you are interested.

One hint for you who plan the same journey, remember to ask your taxi/bus driver to stop by the border of Brazil if you intend to stay there for more than a day. There is an immigration check in Argentina so you won’t miss it, but in the Brazilian side, there is no immigration check unless you request to do so and if you plan to stay in Brazil more than a day, then you will have to fill out an arrival card which you have to surrender upon departure. Failure to do so will result into big penalty and may delay your departure.

I would strongly recommend you to stay a full day in Iguazu and make your visit to both sides. In Brazilian side you can take a very nice picture of Garganta del Diablo but in Argentinean side you can do a nice trekking in the area and enjoy the nature. Be prepare for the hot and sweats! When we were there, it was almost 40 degree and we actually had our first sunburn from the trip. Some girls opted for bikini but I forgot mine in the hotel!

In Argentinean side, based on the recommendation from our taxi driver, we took Gran Aventura from Iguazu Jungle Explorer. We had to trek 3 circuits of total about 10 km, then take a boat ride to the second biggest fall in Argentinean side (they cannot take us to Garganta del Diablo since it is located in Brazilian side) and finished with 8 km truck ride in the jungle. It was quite fun, especially for the boat ride but you will definitely get wet!

Iguazu is really a large area. The falls consist of almost 300 falls. I have been to Niagara Falls in US/Canada border and I have to say that it was nothing compared to Iguazu. I really love it and I cannot stop taking pictures. The nature in Argentinean side is also very nice. Living in crowded city like Shanghai will make you miss the sound of birds and the smell of fresh air. All in short, this is the best part in my whole journey!

Some pictures from the journey:

Adventure Iguazu (part 1)

The trip to Iguazu Falls was beyond expectation! It was fun and adventurous! I would really like to share it with you but I will have to break into 2 parts so it won’t bore you too much!

Everything went fantastic with the flight from Mexico City to Buenos Aires. We actually flew with free mileage from MilesandMore and were upgraded to Business Class flight since the Economy were fully booked. I fly with Business Class quite often for business travel, but I can tell you that the business class section of Mexicana Airlines is unbelievably spacious.

When we arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina, we were stuck for quite a long queue in the immigration. We also realized, when we were queuing, that we have to fly to Iguazu from a different airport. We landed from Mexico City in Ezeiza Ministro Pistarini Airport and we had to take the domestic flight from Jorge Newbery airport which is about 45 minutes away. We only had 2 hours to complete the immigration, get our luggage and transfer to the other airport!

We hailed a cab, hoping to catch the connection. Unfortunately the first cab we got was driven by a quite eccentric old driver with beard and long hair and although we have asked him to drive as quickly as possible, he drove as per speed limit! In Buenos Aires! We can actually see all cars passing us while our driver sat back, relax and busy talking to us about nonsense! We were so bored and upset so we ignored him until we noticed that he started to slow down after sometimes. Guess what!! He felt asleep driving! Beat that! We almost screamed to him to wake him up and he had to pour water to his face to stay awake!! Unbelievable!!!

Anyway, after 1 hour, we finally arrived in the other airport. We were so sure that we will miss our flight and had to stay over in Buenos Aires. Guess again! The flight from Aerolineas Argentina was delayed for about 3 hours so we were just in time to get into that flight! In fact, the ticketing lady saw our hopeless faces and decided to upgrade us again to Business Class! They rushed us into the plane and the flight attendance immediately handed each of us a glass of champagne. Pfffewwww!!!!

An hour and half later we landed in Iguazu and found out that the pilot decided to put more gasoline to anticipate for the bad weather condition rather than bring our luggage. Not sure how he got the idea from as the weather in Iguazu was quite nice and hot! The luggage arrived in our hotel at around midnight. By that time we were totally exhausted and just had one thing in mind, sleeping!

We stayed the next day in Iguazu and made a trip for both Brazilian and Argentinean sides. The day after we were scheduled to fly to Rio with a 10 am flight with TAM Brazil and our flight was AGAIN cancelled and we had to be rerouted via Sao Paolo. Later we found out that flight delays and cancellations are two common things in South America. One hint for you, make sure you have enough connection time to allow for delays! Especially if you have to make international connections!

To be continued with the day trip in Iguazu.