Chasing Summer –

February 16-18th

Getting There

After landing in Buenos Aries, I needed to get from the ship to the airport to catch a flight to Puerto Iguazu.

There are several flights every day from Buenos Aries to the falls, but 3 out of 4 flights that I or fellow residents were on were delayed at least 30 minutes. They cost anywhere from $150 to $300, round trip.

From the port terminal to the airport in town is a 15-minute Uber ride and costs about $10. There is another airport right outside the city but it is a little further and costs more to get to.

The flight is 1 hr 50 minutes.

Sadly for me, I also said goodbye to Michael, who was heading back to LA.

Brazil Side (117th country)

After arriving in Puerto Iguazu, Scott, JR, and I were picked up at 6:50 in the morning after a gas station breakfast, as that was all we could find open.

The tour took us to the Brazil side of the falls first. We quickly made it through immigration so we had time to spare at the park before it opened at 9 am.

It costs 117,000R or about $20 to enter the park. There are ticket machines that take credit cards at the entrance.

Beside the entrance is a room with pictures showing the park as it once was in the 1930s.

Once open, we took our bus 10km in to reach a 1.5 km trail that leads to viewing points. I saw a sign about not feeding the wildlife and got excited that we might see some animals.

The first sight of the falls was amazing, but I must admit I was more distracted by trying to sight animals on the walk.

Agentina Side- Devil’s Throat

Crossing over to the Argentinian side was fast. We did need to prepay for the Argentinian side either online or with local currency. It is more expensive at 480,000 pesos or $48. The tour guide did make a special stop to exchange money for people who were unable to purchase the pass online.

At this park, there are the usual hiking trails, but there is also a train that will take you through the park to the Devil’s Throat walkway. I’m not sure of the price as it was included in my tour, and I forgot to check.

Because I was planning on taking the boat ride under the falls I would have less time after our train and walk, so I did buy a sandwich for lunch at one of the overpriced shops in the park.

We caught the 1:00 train to the second and last station, Devil’s Throat. The train ride itself is not that exciting, but it does save some walking in the heat.

Once at the far station, our guide picked up a wheelchair for Scott and his strained ankle. JR was a good sport to push him down the 1km trail and back again.

Along the pathway, we encountered birds, catfish, and even a turtle. Apparently, a few days before, an alligator was on the path, and I’m glad we didn’t run into one. There isn’t anywhere to go.

The views of the water and surroundings were great and made the walk go by fast. The trail is also level the whole way, so it was easy to walk on.

The view of the falls from above was gorgeous and for many better than the view from the Brazilian side. I kinda preferred the other side better, myself.

By the time we made it back to the train station to go back to the middle station, I was hot and tired. Honestly, if someone had said we were done, then I would not have complained.

One of the surprising things was that the water at the park was all drinkable. There were water stations and showers set up in several spots along the way.

The Falls From Below

Of course, seeing the falls from both sides wasn’t enough for us. JR and I decided we needed to visit the falls from below as well for an additional $80.

We were taken on the back of a truck for a 15-minute drive where we needed to descend about 300m down to where the boats were.

On the stairs down, we picked up a wet bag for our belongings and a life jacket. Both are 100% needed since the boat would be going under two waterfalls, not just near them. This meant my hearing aides and phone needed to be put away once we got close.

The ride was about 20 minutes there, 10 minutes at the falls, and another 20 minutes back, but it was worth it. It was hilarious and exhilarating to go under the falls.

The Day in a Nutshell

Once we had returned to the pier and began to climb up all those stairs, the rain began. We were already wet, so it wasn’t too bad, but we had to give up our wet bags, and my bag with my money and passport began to get wet.

The short rain burst didn’t seem to know that it was supposed to be short and it kept going so they loaded us on the back of the truck anyway with no cover and we began the wet and slow drive back to the entrance. As luch would have it, a tree was down, blocking the road, and we had to wait for another group to arrive to move it before we could continue.

Needless to say, everything and everybody was drenched, including my passport.

I put it out to dry and hoped it was not irretrievably damaged. The next morning, I awoke to my flight being moved to that evening, which was too late, and I needed to quickly buy another flight to get back to Buenos Aires and the Odyssey.

Once back in BA, I visited the immigration desk to scan my passport to see if the rain had wrecked it. It scanned but I still worry that it might get turned down in another port so I have made arrangements that if the Brazilian authorities won’t accept it I can get a temporary one issued in Sao Paulo until a replacement can come.

This also means I would have to get off the boat for 10 days since the next boardable port is Rio De Janeiro. Chaos. The Odyssey’s document guy called ahead to the port authority and they will scan my passport first thing Monday morning, that way if it isn’t okay I have time to make it to my emergency appointment but we are hoping that it is just fine.

Fingers crossed that I am prepared for nothing. The good news is that the Brazilian authorities say it’s fine. I shall carry on as usual.