Around 8pm on the 7th of May I returned to Argentina. Instead of a bus I had taken a taxi from Brazil. It was a nice way to cross the border, a personalised experience which took very little time though it was ten times the cost of a bus across ($2 vs $20). The taxi dropped me off at Marco Polo hostel, right beside the bus station in the small border town of Puerto Iguazu. The hostel was pretty quiet so I went into town - where a biker convention was just winding down - and grabbed some dinner.
The next day, after breakfast, I crossed the road and caught a bus to the Argentinean side of Iguazu Falls.
While Brazil gives you an overall view of the falls, Argentina gets in about the guts and has some spectacular views of its own. A small tourist train takes you between the main points but it was infuriatingly slow, infrequent and crowded. Unfortunately to get most of the walking circuits you had to catch the train at some point.
In contrast to the limited options in Brazil, there were many options of walks to do here so I had to put some planning in to get to as much as possible. First I walked the Superior Circuit which leads along the top of the semi-circular wall of waterfalls.
Next was a long wooden walkway which crossed the Rio Iguazu at the top of the falls, ending in a platform which looked down into the Devil’s Throat. On the train back from there a nice Argentinean couple shared their maté ( an argentinian obsession, hot herbal tea sucked through a straw and shared between friends) with me as we trundled along.
Next, I traversed the Inferior Circuit which gets its name from it being lower down than Superior Circuit rather than being ‘worse’’. I’d hoped to have time to take the shuttle across to Isla San Martin but that would be pushing it a bit time wise. This circuit passed close to a number of pretty falls and gave a perfect view of the main body of Iguazu.
My camera battery died just as I finished this Circuit which was not too bad since it was almost time to go. I walked back to the entrance rather than take the train and then caught a bus back into town.
A few hours later I boarded a bus for my first and last South American destination, Buenos Aires. Iguazu was a great final ‘sight’ for my trip and I’m happy that I got to see it from Brazil and Argentina. I can’t believe that there is a more impressive and beautiful collection of waterfalls anywhere in the world.