IguazĂș Falls is one of the largest waterfalls in the world.  It’s composed of about 275 separate argentina0169waterfalls and straddles the border of Brazil and Argentina.  Our initial plan for today was a morning trip to the Brazil side of the falls and then an afternoon trip to the Argentina side.  Brazil requires US citizens to obtain a visa, but we were led to believe by multiple sources that visits of a few hours were a grey area.   While technically required, no visa was normally needed for such a short visit.  It turned out that the information was incorrect and we were denied entry into Brazil.  We walked back from the Brazil checkpoint to the Argentina checkpoint (about 1.5 miles in hot, humid weather), and re-entered the country we left a short while ago.  We had managed to leave a country, but not enter a new one (at least in the passport sense).

We walk into Puerto IguazĂș and catch the bus to the falls.  While getting bounced from Brazil was annoying, it really just cost us a couple hours time and a walk in the sun.  We arrived at the National argentina0325Park in Argentina, paid our entrance fee (at the usual “rich foreigner fee” that is much higher than for locals), and we’re on our way.

IguazĂș Falls can only be described as amazing.  It’s many big waterfalls and a few huge waterfalls.  We spend the rest of the day (right up until closing time of the park) exploring the upper and lower loops, San Martin Island, and the train to El Diablo del Gargantua (Devil’s Throat) which is the centerpiece of the huge waterfall.  We can see the viewpoints on the Brazil side, too.  To top it off, on one of the trails, we saw some toucans, baby coatis, and my personal favorite, the monkey.  By the time we get back to the hotel, we are beyond hot and sweaty.  A quick dip in the hotel pool is fantastic (and the temperature is around my pool optimum of 87 degrees) before we clean up and have dinner in the hotel.

Pictures from today’s adventure are here:

http://www.sanjoseabrams.com/photos/ArgentinaDec2011/Day%204,%20Iguazu%20Falls/index.html