E phatlaladitšwe: 20.12.2018
Yesterday we continued from the stuffy hot Asunción to Ciudad del Este at the Brazilian / Argentinian / Paraguayan tri-border area. On the way, the thermometer reached 42°C, luckily the bus had air conditioning, most of the city buses are still Mercedes from the 70s and 80s, so as a bus driver you know what you did in the evening.
Then with an expensive (almost 20€) motorbike taxi over to Foz de Iguaçu in Brazil where my hostel will be for the next 3 nights. I had to brake the driver twice at the customs otherwise he would have just rushed through, but I needed stamps in my passport, otherwise it will be a problem somewhere at the border. He probably didn't want to stop because me and my 2 backpacks weigh over 100kg, the moped had a tough time.😤 Good choice with the hostel, although it's relatively expensive at 20€ per night, it has a whirlpool in the room and a real pool outside. I need that now after the miserable bus ride.
Here I am visiting another highlight of the trip, the famous waterfalls of Iguazu or Iguaçu from both sides (Brazil and Argentina). The Brazilian side is a bit more manageable than the Argentinian side, I plan to spend a day on each side.
So today is the Brazilian side, somehow I'm not really into Brazil, if all cities are like this I'll quickly move on to the next country. While there were at least some pubs, kiosks, and mini- or supermarkets in Córdoba, here they all seem to be sick and have nothing to eat. I have seen at least 35 pharmacies or drugstores but hardly any beverage kiosk, only one supermarket with a poor selection except for fruit - it already smells world-class and looks good, I took a nice mango with me - on the other hand, there are clothing stores like KIK. A few snack bars, often oriental, pretty greasy food and Portuguese is not my language. ATMs don't always accept our cards, stores only open at 10 am, and it's pretty expensive. Argentina, I'm coming back to you. 🇦🇷😍
Well, this morning, after I could finally exchange money, I immediately got rid of the remaining Guarani and went to Cataractes do Iguaçu National Park. Paid 70 Reais (also more expensive here for non-Mercosur tourists) and then took the bus to the panoramic path. Well, it's already a gigantic thing, I've been to the Niagara Falls this May - it's like wanting and being able to. See for yourself. Unfortunately, you can't hear the sounds but it must have been madness for the explorers, you're driving through a forest where you can't see more than 10m in front of you due to the vegetation, swinging the machete all day long and hearing this noise and at some point you are in front of this wall of water - gigantic. I could only take pictures from the very front with my phone because it's waterproof and you stand in the spray there. Fortunately, I didn't leave too late, as it got cloudy after lunch and then started to rain. It's the rain forest after all, it sometimes rains. Then there was still bird watching, some beautiful colorful specimens, can be done.
Tomorrow I will try to view the falls from the Argentinian side.
Additionally, I might be able to visit the 2nd largest dam in the world. We'll see.