Rambling on: March 2012

I’d made it back after my adventure to Iguazu was absolutely beat. It was late enough that I really only wanted to sleep. But I couldn’t. I’d been put in the downstairs bedroom that had no air conditioning, no fan, and no airflow. In humid Montevideo, this was a problem. I tossed and turned for hours and began to itch. It was a miserable night and I’m pretty sure I had bedbugs.

Having not showered since before I left for Iguazu Falls, my first priority the next morning was a nice long hot shower. My second priority was doing my laundry. The third and most important thing I did was lie on the beach. I spent nearly two hours roasting in the sun, but couldn’t handle any more than that. I was sweating so profusely that everything I had was soaking wet when I left.

There’s very little to do in Montevideo in terms of tourism. The next day I went downtown with a couple of Canadians who were also biding their time before flying to Rio. After our little adventure we met up with two other Canadians, a brother and sister, who had just arrived in town. We all walked down to the beach, which was much more packed than the previous day, this despite the overcast weather. As we walked along the beach, I couldn’t help but notice everyone starting at the girl in our group. It wasn’t until a family walked by and the father started motioning to his daughters about this girls eyes, that I realized why everyone was staring. This girl had some of the most ice blue eyes I’d ever seen. Just like a husky.

We lasted maybe twenty minutes at the beach before it started pouring. The rain lasted will into the night, which found us hanging around the hostel with other fellow travellers. It’s also the first time I met another backpacker that I absolutely despised. Normally I get along with everyone just fine. But this guy had a snarky response to absolutely everything. Wherever you were going, he’d either been and didn’t like or wasn’t worth his time. He spent the entire night telling you how important his travels were and how meaningless yours were going to be.

Here began an epic journey of border hopping:

Four days

Four countries

Five border crossings

My stay in Buenos Aires had ended and I was off for Montevideo. The first half of my day was spent writing postcards and nursing my hangover. The second half of my day was spent on a ferry to Uruguay.

Day two was another travel day, however my flight wasn’t until 530pm. I packed my daypack with enough clothes and toiletries to last me two full days then locked my big backpack up at the hostel.

With nothing to do and a few hours to kill, I walked a half hour into town and went to their weekly open-air market. I swear, every South American city has this on Sundays. In my eyes, most of what was for sale was junk. However there were plenty of stands to buy fresh fruit or even … pets. After an hour of wasting time, I walked back to cool down before going to the airport. It was ridiculously humid in Montevideo and I was drenched in sweat.

Then came border number two; my flight from Montevideo to Foz do Iguassu (The Brazilian side of the falls). I got into the hostel and booked a day trip to the Argentinian side for the next day. The guy at the front desk was a huge pothead and one he found out I was from California, it was all over. He would not stop talking about weed. Clearly the Golden State has a fantastic reputation.

Throughout my travels, I had run into several people who had already been to Iguazu Falls. It was unanimous that the Argentinian side was better and deserved a full day.

Talk about an understatement.

I took a shuttle across the border (number three for those of you counting) with a group of guys from Tokyo. Once inside, we split apart and I explored on my own. Some 80 or 90 percent of the falls lie in Argentina and there are three sets of trails. I was told to work my up from the smaller sections and save Devil’s Throat for last, so that’s what I did.

The lower trails are an extensive series of paths that traverse the base of the south end of the falls. They’re also the way you get over to the island that splits the falls in half. The whole area was breathtaking. You’ll be walking through the jungle and all of a sudden step into a clearing where there’s a massive stream of water shooting off a cliff in front of you. Once I had wandered much of the lower trails I took a boat tour. I wasn’t exactly prepared for it either.

The tour started off fairly mild, but I should have known better. You’re told to put all your valuables in a big waterproof bag and then the guide says “you can take off your shoes if you like.” This should have been a giant red flag. The boat goes underneath a small waterfall that gets a few people wet but, for the most part, you only get sprayed with mist. Then the boat goes into another part of the falls. This one is much bigger. So much so that everyone gets absolutely drenched. The boat comes out of the falls … and just to make sure everyone gets properly wet, goes straight back in, .

When I got back on dry land, everything I had on was dripping wet. So I sat down on a set of rocks and took off my shirt, socks and shoes to let them dry out a little bit. After a few minutes though, I said “fuck it” and tied my shirt and socks to my backpack. I stuck my shoes back on and walked around like that the rest of the day.

It was then off to the middle trail. It’s much shorter than the lower trails and mainly covers the top of the waterfalls you’ve just seen from below. By now it was mid-afternoon and I went to the third and final trail. It’s so far out of the way that you have to take a small train to get up there. Then it’s another kilometer walk over water and you’re standing over top of the mouth, otherwise known as Devil’s Throat. Roughly 60 percent of the total water flow at Iguazu travels through here, and it’s massive. All that water causes a massive cloud that covers you in a film of mist. Still soaked from the day's activities, I went back to the main entrance and waited out the next hour for our shuttle. The ride back took us through the same border we crossed that morning (yup, number four).

The next day I spent hanging with three lads from Manchester I’d met the previous night. It took us an hour to get into town by bus and catch our transfer. From there it took another 45 minutes to actually get to the park. By now it was already 3pm and I needed to be at the airport by 630pm. We rushed through the park, which is fine because it pales in comparison to the Argentinian side. In fact, I could have only gone to the Argentinian side and been content.

It’s fortunate I only had a daypack, because by the time we finished with the falls we were closing in on 6pm. My intention was to come back to the hostel and check out. However both the park and the airport are way on the outskirts of town. They’re only a few stops from each other. By now it seemed idiotic to travel all the way into town just to come right back to the airport.

We boarded the bus and it took us towards town. However, unlike our bus to the park, it didn’t turn in to the airport. It just kept going. I had to jump off at the next stop and walk.

So, there I am in the middle of nowhere, walking down this desolate country road all by myself. It took me a good 30 minutes, but I made it. In retrospect it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

Oh, and I never actually paid that hostel bill…oops.

I flew back to Montevideo (number 5) and immediately made another mistake on a bus. The correct bus came to pick us up, but I failed to realize it was travelling the opposite direction from downtown. After ten minutes, we stopped and everyone got off. The driver motioned for me to get off too. Somehow I picked up on the notion this was the end of the line. He was turning around and I needed to get off and buy a new ticket to get to Montevideo.

Fortunately the bus driver realized I was a tourist, so he let me back on with no charge. Sometimes it helps not knowing the language?

And there you have it:

Four days

Four countries

Five border crossings

Why? There are three “giant” waterfalls in the world:

Niagara Falls (USA/Canada)

Iguazu Falls (Argentina/Brazil)

Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe/Zambia)

In terms of size, they all lay claim to some form of "biggest in the world." Niagara has the largest average water flow, Victoria is the tallest and widest, and Iguazu has the highest recorded water

flow at one time.

I’ve now seen two of them. And no, Niagara is not one of them.