Hello, friends!
We somehow made it through all four of those flights I mentioned last week and ended up at Iguazu Falls, Brazil – the largest system of waterfalls in the world. (Did you know that? Please thank us when you get this Jeopardy question right.)
Perry’s Travel Diary
Iguazu Falls
The area around Iguazu Falls, lush with wildlife, has been inhabited by humans for over 10,000 years, including indigenous people from the Eldoradense and later the Guarani cultures. The first Spanish conquistador arrived in 1541, and additional Spanish and Portugues conquistadors and missionaries soon followed.
Today, Iguazu Falls sits along the border of Brazil and Argentina. You can visit from either country – both have their own national parks around the falls. It’s said that the Argentine side has the hikes while the Brazilian side has the views.
Can confirm: the Brazilian views are stunning.
Our first view of the falls came right after we disembarked from the park bus. I was overwhelmed with emotion and wanted to cry for no other reason than the falls are so unbelievably huge.
I have no idea how to adequately capture the size. There are 275 unique waterfalls spanning an area of 3 kilometers. Downstream, the falls power Itaipu Dam, a hydroelectric power plant built jointly by Paraguay and Brazil in 1991.
We walked the entire Falls Trail and found new majestic views every few feet.
After two miles, the Falls Trail ends with a boardwalk that takes you out over the water and into La Garganta del Diablo (the Devil’s Mouth), a U-shaped cliff with the most impressive falls. The Devil’s Mouth marks the border between Brazil and Argentina; you’ll see the Argentine flag waving across the river.
The Maid of the Mist has nothing on how wet you’ll get from enjoying this view. (For comparison, Niagra Falls has just three waterfalls.) Iguazu’s mist rises up to 500 feet in the air, so we started to get wet before we even descended to the water.
It’s worth it.
Bolsonaro’s Revenge of the Vuvuzelas
The day after our trip to Iguazu Falls, we awoke to a change in the sounds of the street running below our 12th-floor hotel room. There was shouting, honking, and the unmistakable, constant sound of vuvuzelas – those distinct plastic horns that are popular at soccer (sorry, futbol) games.
We peered out the window and saw a larger number of pedestrians walking by, but there was no visible gathering or other signs of a disturbance. It looked like a normal if noisy day. We decided to walk to lunch as usual.
We noticed groups of people wearing yellow and green Brazil soccer jerseys, walking while carrying lawn chairs and those vuvuzelas we’d heard earlier. When cars passed these groups they honked, and the groups cheered (or vuvuzela-ed) back in return.
They must be headed to a soccer game, Pete and I agreed.
But a bit further up the road, we realized that the groups were congregating in the main town square, not a soccer field. And every car that was honking had a large “Bolsonaro” bumper sticker plastered across the back.
Jair Bolsonaro was the ousted Brazilian president who had narrowly lost reelection just 3 days prior and, at the time, was questioning the validity of the election results. He won the popular vote in the state of Paraná, which includes Foz do Iguaçu, and other surrounding states. That day, Wednesday, November 2nd, was the Brazilian All Souls Day holiday, which meant most people were off work and had time on their hands.
So yes – we were headed straight to a political protest.
Pete and I quickly regained our wits and diverted several blocks around the protest. We did not need to be involved. We made it to our original restaurant for lunch, ate, and returned to our hotel without any issues.
This was the second protest we skirted in South America, and in the wise words of author Paulo Coehlo, “Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time.”
You’ve already heard about the third time – it was Peru.
(Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who won the election against Bolsonaro, was sworn in as the president of Brazil on January 1st, 2023. At the time of this writing, Bolsonaro is in Florida and has requested a six-month United States visa extension to avoid investigations and allegations against him in Brazil.)
Generica, Brazil
Having seen colorful and vibrant depictions of Brazilian culture for years, I was excited to get a taste of the country along with our visit to the Falls.
I’m disappointed to report, however, that we found none of that culture in Foz do Iguaçu (with the notable exception of almost walking into that political protest).
The town was so bland that I started referring to it as “Generica.” It could have been any town in any country built roughly between the years of 1960 and 1975.
We will have to return to Brazil in the future to find more of its culture.
Puerto Iguazú, Argentina, the town on the other side of the border, had more character (even if that character leaned towards “millennial hipster”) and better food. We stayed there one night before flying out, and I sampled my first bife de chorizo at a restaurant on the main street. Imagine my surprise when I learned that this sub-$10 USD dish contained no chorizo sausage – it was a large steak, cooked perfectly rare and served with a side of thick-cut fries. After the uninventive Brazilian food we ate the prior three days, Argentine food was heaven.
No matter which side of the border you stay on, the only real thing to see and do here is the Falls. There was no need to stay more than three nights, even as slow as we like to travel. Visit Iguazu Falls as part of a larger itinerary.
Pete’s Travel Diary
Because That’s How You Get Ants!
One of the biologists that I (and countless others) most respect is E. O. Wilson. I had the privilege of meeting him and seeing him speak at the University of Wyoming when I was a student. He was showing his age and had recently broken his wrist in a fall.
E.O. Wilson passed away December 26th, 2021 at the age of 92. He was considered the Father of Biodiversity and was a renowned myrmecologist (one who studies ants).
While the ants of the world often successfully compete with humanity, they are still fascinating and worth taking the time to admire. After all, they gave us a run for our money on multiple occasions in Asia and it required a concerted effort to reclaim our territory (that territory being Perry’s backpack). In Colombia, I was able to take a good deal of time to watch the habits of leaf-cutter ants and felt like E. O. Wilson exploring the ants of the jungle. In Puerto Iguazú, Argentina, we encountered what is called a “reproductive flight” – an absolutely harrowing swarm of flying ants in the bathroom of our private hostel room. They took ownership of the small bathroom and they weren’t about to give it back.
We laid in bed that night hoping they would not breach the towel stuffed under the bottom of the bathroom door – and that buggy-feeling saw to a troublesome night of sleep.
No adventure is complete without a little adversity… hundreds of little creepy-crawly adversities. It likely won’t be the last myrmecological encounter we will have on our journeys. (And don’t worry – this hostel isn’t in our itinerary recommendations below!)
Itinerary
Hotel
ibis Budget Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil ($40/night) – This ibis Budget was a bit more worn than the other ibises we stayed at, but it provided a perfectly comfortable, compact accommodation for the price. The bathroom was private. We added breakfast for 27 BRL ($5.35) per person per day. The spread was extensive and resembled a European breakfast with a few local Brazilian items, including local sausage and Brazilian cheese bread.
Food
Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil
- Panificadora Doce Pão Restaurante – Brazilian food and pastries.
- Shae Sushi Foz – Very reasonably priced sushi.
- Catartas JL Shopping Mall Food Court – Look, it’s what you would expect from a food court. We couldn’t decide what to eat and this gave us several options. We tried a Brazilian/Portuguese-style pizza.
- Domino’s Pizza – It’s not as good as in the States and is a bit more expensive than the local food, but it does exist if you need a delivery option. You can order online from their website.
- We don’t recommend Rappi for food delivery in Foz do Iguaçu. Despite having several restaurants listed, they’re all the same restaurant owned by the same company with different branding. It took over two hours to receive our (cold) food and there’s no way to contact them with concerns. We can’t recommend them if you want to eat your dinner the same day you ordered it.
Puerto Iguazú, Argentina
- Holy Iguazú – Brew pub with the most delightful steak and fries for ~$10 USD.
Transportation
Uber – We used Uber to get from the airport to our hotel and from our hotel to the national park. It works well.
Taxi – We used our hotel to arrange a reputable taxi company to take us across the Brazil-Argentina border, as you cannot book this trip through Uber. Booking through our hotel also helped us navigate the Portuguese language barrier. We paid just under $40 by credit card.
Bus – The Moovit app has up-to-date bus routes and schedules for Foz do Iguaçu along with many other South American locations. Google Maps does not have the best public transit directions for Foz do Iguaçu.
To take the bus to the Iguazu Falls, take line 120 towards Parque Nacional (the end of the line). The bus runs every 30ish minutes and takes about an hour, and the nearest stop was a 20-minute walk from our hotel. Given the much lower price compared to a taxi, the bus worked well.
Once inside the park, your admission includes the national park bus that takes you to the trailheads. Disembark at the second stop, across from the hotel.
Airports – There are airports in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, and Puerto Iguazú, Argentina. It does not matter which one you fly into, as it is easy to cross the border by taxi. Check both and see which one works better for your flight path.
We found that Star Alliance carriers favored Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, due to their codeshares with airlines that connect in the larger Brazilian cities, while Puerto Iguazú, Argentina, had cheap connections to Buenos Aires, Argentina. We flew into the Brazilian airport and out of the Argentine airport.
Plan one hour to get from Foz Do Iguaçu, Brazil, to the Argentine Airport – it’s 30 minutes between Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, and Puerto Iguazú, Argentina, and then an additional 30 minutes from Puerto Iguazú to the Argentine airport.
Currency
Brazil uses the Brazilian Real, signified as R$.
For a 3-day trip to Brazil and Iguazu Falls, as we did, we recommend using your credit card for everything. While you may encounter a few places with an additional credit card fee, you will likely pay the same fee to exchange any leftover currency at the end of your trip. Some of the ATMs we encountered had a minimum withdrawal that was far greater than we needed for our brief stay.
Credit cards were accepted at our hotel, the national park, and most higher-end/chain restaurants. One smaller restaurant required either cash or debit cards. Our taxi across the Argentine border charged a credit card fee. Busses did require cash in exact change.
ATMs can be found at the airport, Foz do Iguaçu mall, or national park.
We’ll be writing a lengthier article about the currency in Argentina next week. For now, it’s important to pay for everything in Argentina in cash. US Dollars will get you a much better exchange rate (280+ pesos per dollar) than using a credit card (157 pesos per dollar). Get the local currency, Argentine Pesos, at Western Union for the best exchange rate. Do not use ATMs in Argentina.
Other: Iguazu Falls National Park Tickets and Hiking
You can purchase your Iguazu Falls park tickets at the park itself. At the time of our visit, it was not necessary to purchase tickets in advance. They cost R$114 per person.
When purchasing your ticket, you will select a time slot for your bus departure. We arrived around 12:30 PM and boarded the bus by 1:00 PM.
To hike the Falls Trail, disembark with everyone else at the second bus stop, across from the hotel.
The trail is not a difficult hike, but the concrete is sometimes uneven and may not be appropriate for those with mobility problems. Don’t worry – the park is still very accessible! Instead, enjoy the view with everyone else at the second bus stop and then re-board the bus to take you to the final stop. There you’ll find the scenic overlook, which includes a viewing deck and an elevator to the lower boardwalk over the falls. There’s also an overpriced snack bar, so you can sip a beer while waiting for the rest of your party to join you.
Make sure to apply bug spray. Even though we wore high-coverage clothes, some sort of biting fly got my hands.
Other: Language
Despite being a border and tourist town, Foz do Iguaçu decidedly speaks Portuguese. About 50% of the people we encountered did not speak any English. A decent portion do speak Spanish as a second language. Learn a few Portuguese phrases and keep Google Translate on hand.
Perry’s Travel Tip of the Week
Our Rain Gear
You’ll get wet when visiting Iguazu Falls. But incredible waterfalls aside, you need to be prepared for the chance of rain (or other weather) on just about any trip.
Pete gave me this raincoat from the North Face (men’s version), and it’s perfect for travel. It’s waterproof and uninsulated for compact packing. I can wear it alone in warm weather or layer it over my heavier coat in the cold.
We also carry lightweight ponchos (like this) if we need extra protection for our bags.
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All the best,
Pete and Perry