When Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of the ex-president, visited the falls, she said "Poor Niagara". We haven't been to the Niagara falls (yet), but we can perfectly imagine what she was thinking. Words cannot describe this beauty of nature that is now in the running to become one of the new seven world wonders.
Iguazu Falls is a complex of around 300 falls, spread over 2.6 km. They form the natural border between Argentina and Brasil and both countries built a large park around them. Both sides offer a complete different view, so we reserved enough time to visit them both.
Argentina
On our first day we went to the Argentinan side, that contain most of the falls. We spent a whole day on the surrounding walking trails that pass by the falls. There are upper trails and lower trails, so you get the chance to see the falls from different perspectives.
We also did a truck trip through the jungle, followed by a spectacular boat trip at the bottom of the falls. The people of our hotel were kind enough to tell us upfront that you get wet on these boat trips. So as one of the only people on the boat, we took off our clothes (Joke in bikini and me in my boxers since I forgot my swimsuit). Man... were we glad that we did! We were not wet, we were completely soaked. The boat doesn't go directly under the falls, since that would kill us immediately, but still you get a full shower. Great experience though...
Apart from the falls, the surrounding nature is fantastic, so are the animals. There were Coatis running around, a relative of the racoon. Although they look adorable, there were signs all over the park that warn tourist not to feed them since they can attack when they smell food. Sadly enough (or luckily?) we didn't see pumas or jaguars that also populate the park.
Brasil
On our second day, we hired a taxi to drive us around to Brasil. Again, it didn't take us more than five minutes to get all formalities done and to cross the border while other tourists were standing in line in the burning sun.
We first visited the Itaipu dam, the biggest dam in the world. Very impressive construction, but of course our mail attractions for the day were the falls.
Where the Argentinan side provides close and detailed views, the Brazilian side gives nice panoramic views on the falls. The park is smaller than its Argentinan rival, but still worth a visit.
Crossing the border again took a little more time, because I told the Brazilian guard that I preferred the Argentinan side. Not very smart of me...
We had a great small hotel with a nice jungle garden and a swimming pool that felt like heaven after a long day at the falls. We enjoyed it so much that we decided to stay another day just to relax by the pool and to enjoy the steaming heath before we fly 4000km to the worlds southernmost city: Ushuaia.
maandag 19 april 2010
zaterdag 17 april 2010
Misiones (Argentina & Paraguay)
To avoid a 20h busride from Cordoba to Puerto Iguazu, we decided to make two stops on our way. We spent the night in Santa Fe, a small provincial city near Rosario. Nothing special to do here, so the next day we took a long overnight bus to Posadas, capital of the Misiones province.
Misiones is the narrow fingershaped province in the Northeast of Argentina, squeezed between Paraguay and Brasil. It is famous for its numerous Jesuit ruins, so we hired a private taxi to drive us around to the five mayor sites, including two ruins in Paraguay.
Although people in busses have to face long queues to fulfill the border formalities, taxi drivers seem to have a special treatment here. Our guy passed the whole queue and took care of the procedures for us. It took him less than ten minutes to cross the border. I wonder how much money is involved in this special 'relationship'.
Of course there is no big difference between Paraguay and Argentina, except for the money. The Paraguayan Guarani is worth nothing. It's cool though to see advertisements along the road for a haircut (12.500 PYG) or a steak (20.000 PYG). The ruins were nice to see, but we saw more impressive ones in Peru and Bolivia, so we weren't that impressed anymore.
One day was certainly enough in this expensive area and we were really looking forward to see the Iguazu Falls. So we took a bus (our last one) to Puerto Iguazu, our base for a couple of days to explore the falls and the surrounding national parks.
Misiones is the narrow fingershaped province in the Northeast of Argentina, squeezed between Paraguay and Brasil. It is famous for its numerous Jesuit ruins, so we hired a private taxi to drive us around to the five mayor sites, including two ruins in Paraguay.
Although people in busses have to face long queues to fulfill the border formalities, taxi drivers seem to have a special treatment here. Our guy passed the whole queue and took care of the procedures for us. It took him less than ten minutes to cross the border. I wonder how much money is involved in this special 'relationship'.
Of course there is no big difference between Paraguay and Argentina, except for the money. The Paraguayan Guarani is worth nothing. It's cool though to see advertisements along the road for a haircut (12.500 PYG) or a steak (20.000 PYG). The ruins were nice to see, but we saw more impressive ones in Peru and Bolivia, so we weren't that impressed anymore.
One day was certainly enough in this expensive area and we were really looking forward to see the Iguazu Falls. So we took a bus (our last one) to Puerto Iguazu, our base for a couple of days to explore the falls and the surrounding national parks.
vrijdag 9 april 2010
Cordoba (Argentina)
Cordoba, the second largest city in Argentina, can easily compete with its Spanish counterpart after which it is named. It's a cool city with plenty of things to see, a nice atmosphere, a big pedestrian area, too many shops, trendy bars and really good restaurants. In fact, the latter means it's actually better than the Spanish Cordoba (Sorry to my spanish friends, but your national cuisine sucks big time).
We were still overloaded with touristical excursions, museums and guided trips, so basically we continued doing what we started in Salta: wandering through the city and a lot of eating and drinking. The city is quite big, so it took us some days to see everything, but that didn't matter. We really enjoyed these relaxed days without any time pressure.
Joke invented a nice game when we were sitting on a terrace: counting the short-haired girls, which are really hard to find here. On four days, we saw two short-haired girls. Yeah, people do interesting things when they're getting drunk on a sunny terrace... :-)
We were still overloaded with touristical excursions, museums and guided trips, so basically we continued doing what we started in Salta: wandering through the city and a lot of eating and drinking. The city is quite big, so it took us some days to see everything, but that didn't matter. We really enjoyed these relaxed days without any time pressure.
Joke invented a nice game when we were sitting on a terrace: counting the short-haired girls, which are really hard to find here. On four days, we saw two short-haired girls. Yeah, people do interesting things when they're getting drunk on a sunny terrace... :-)
woensdag 7 april 2010
Salta (Argentina)
With one small backpack less to carry, we arrived at Salta in the middle of the night. I wanted to surprise Joke with a nice 4* hotel, because it was her birthday and because she was really upset after the theft. So we took a taxi to my hotel of choice. However, the night guard told us they were full and sent us to another hotel. They were full as well, so they sent us to a small nearby hostel. It looked so terrible that we decided to look a bit further. So, we started walking from hotel to hotel, but all of them were full. We don't know why, but probably it got something to do with Semana Santa. Tired of walking, we stepped into the first internet cafe we encountered and started looking for hotels on the internet. After plenty of telephone calls, we finally found a hotel that had a free room for 3 nights. What a start in Argentina...
Beside the bad start, Argentina seems pretty nice after the first few days. What a difference with Bolivia!! People look much more like Europeans, which means they are bigger than 1,5m. The cities look like any other modern European city. In fact, Salta looks more western than for example Granada (Spain). Nice promenades, nice bars with cosy terraces, fantastic restaurants and comfortable places to spend the night.
Because we are pretty tired of organised tours and excursions, we mainly spent our days walking, eating and drinking. It is a cliche that Argentina is famous for its meat, but it is sooo true! After a disappointing parilla (too much liver and kidneys for us), we had the best 600g steak ever for less than 10€. The meat literally melts in your mouth. We both lost several kilos in Peru and Bolivia, but with this food we will gain it all back...
Beside the bad start, Argentina seems pretty nice after the first few days. What a difference with Bolivia!! People look much more like Europeans, which means they are bigger than 1,5m. The cities look like any other modern European city. In fact, Salta looks more western than for example Granada (Spain). Nice promenades, nice bars with cosy terraces, fantastic restaurants and comfortable places to spend the night.
Because we are pretty tired of organised tours and excursions, we mainly spent our days walking, eating and drinking. It is a cliche that Argentina is famous for its meat, but it is sooo true! After a disappointing parilla (too much liver and kidneys for us), we had the best 600g steak ever for less than 10€. The meat literally melts in your mouth. We both lost several kilos in Peru and Bolivia, but with this food we will gain it all back...
zaterdag 3 april 2010
Bye bye Bolivia
After our last basic week in Bolivia, it's time to move to regain some energy in Argentina. Both of us were very tired of the Uyuni tour and we were really looking forward to this. However, it didn't go as smooth as I hoped...
From Tupiza to Salta is around 10 hours, but there's no direct bus. So first we had to take a 3 hour busride from Tupiza to the border town Villazon. Man, this was the worst bus we ever saw. It must have had over one million kilometers, nothing was working anymore and it smelled like hell in there. This bus wouldn't even get a chance in Belgium, but in Bolivia it is all they have. Of course, there wasn't a paved road, so we were constantly asking ourselfs when the weels would fell off or when the windows would break. Surprisingly, we made it to Villazon without any problem.
Next stage was to walk over the border en get all formalities done. The formalities at the Bolivian side were easy, but in La Quiaca on the Argentinan side, we had to stand in line for a luggage control. Every bag had to be opened. It took ages before we actually crossed the border... While we were waiting we met an Israelean girl that shared a taxi with us to the bus station of La Quiaca.
We immediately got a comfortable bus to Jujuy. It was so nice to ride on paved roads again and to sit in a bus where you don't have to bear the stench all the time.
In Jujuy we had real bad luck. still not recovered from Uyuni, we were really tired of sitting in busses all day. And we had to wait two hours until our last bus to Salta. Right before we left, Joke and I went to the bathroom while the Israelean girl was watching our backpacks. when we came back, Joke´s backpack was missing. Luckily enough not the big one, but a smaller backpack with an iPod, our travel guides, books, a notebook, sunglasses, some usb sticks with pictures and other small stuff... After the hard days in Bolivia, this was too much for Joke and she crashed. Nice detail: this all happened 45 minutes before her birthday...
The Israelean girl really felt bad and she told us that an old lady came to ask her a question. This is quite a common approach in South-America: an old lady asks something and while you´re distracted for a few seconds, someone else takes away your stuff. She even offered us to pay for the loss, but of course it wasn´t her fault... We learnt a valuable lesson: never leave your stuff alone, even if there is someone to watch it.
So our first idea of Argentina wasn´t really nice. But we still had our passports, money, credit cards and our camera... so time to forget all this and to enjoy the last weeks of our trip.
From Tupiza to Salta is around 10 hours, but there's no direct bus. So first we had to take a 3 hour busride from Tupiza to the border town Villazon. Man, this was the worst bus we ever saw. It must have had over one million kilometers, nothing was working anymore and it smelled like hell in there. This bus wouldn't even get a chance in Belgium, but in Bolivia it is all they have. Of course, there wasn't a paved road, so we were constantly asking ourselfs when the weels would fell off or when the windows would break. Surprisingly, we made it to Villazon without any problem.
Next stage was to walk over the border en get all formalities done. The formalities at the Bolivian side were easy, but in La Quiaca on the Argentinan side, we had to stand in line for a luggage control. Every bag had to be opened. It took ages before we actually crossed the border... While we were waiting we met an Israelean girl that shared a taxi with us to the bus station of La Quiaca.
We immediately got a comfortable bus to Jujuy. It was so nice to ride on paved roads again and to sit in a bus where you don't have to bear the stench all the time.
In Jujuy we had real bad luck. still not recovered from Uyuni, we were really tired of sitting in busses all day. And we had to wait two hours until our last bus to Salta. Right before we left, Joke and I went to the bathroom while the Israelean girl was watching our backpacks. when we came back, Joke´s backpack was missing. Luckily enough not the big one, but a smaller backpack with an iPod, our travel guides, books, a notebook, sunglasses, some usb sticks with pictures and other small stuff... After the hard days in Bolivia, this was too much for Joke and she crashed. Nice detail: this all happened 45 minutes before her birthday...
The Israelean girl really felt bad and she told us that an old lady came to ask her a question. This is quite a common approach in South-America: an old lady asks something and while you´re distracted for a few seconds, someone else takes away your stuff. She even offered us to pay for the loss, but of course it wasn´t her fault... We learnt a valuable lesson: never leave your stuff alone, even if there is someone to watch it.
So our first idea of Argentina wasn´t really nice. But we still had our passports, money, credit cards and our camera... so time to forget all this and to enjoy the last weeks of our trip.
Salar de Uyuni (Bolivia)
The promising highlight of our trip through Bolivia was going to be a 4-day trip to the Uyuni salt flats and the countless lagoons and volcanos in the deserted area of Southwest Bolivia. It is so remote that you can only go there by driving hours and hours in a 4X4. And believe me... you really need a 4X4, since there are no roads.
The success of this tour depends heavily on the agency. Before we came to Tupiza we heard good stories about Tupiza tours and especially about their English speaking guide Archie. And for once, we were very lucky: we got Archie as our guide/cook and Martin as our driver, Ttwo great Bolivians that did everything to nake these four days as pleasant as possible.
We shared the 4X4 with two Australian girls that appeared to be very nice. This is not to be underestimated, since you don't only share the car, but also bedroom, toilets, food, etc... Basically it's four days without any privacy. But we had good fun with them, so that wasn't really a problem.
Going on this tour is quite an adventure. The facilities in this part of Bolivia are really poor, so there are no hotels, no restaurants, nothing... The two first places where we spent the night were basic, very very basic! A room with four beds and 2 smelly and dusty blankets on each bed, that was it! No closet, no sheets, no showers, no heating, nothing... The whole tour takes place between 3500m and 5000m altitude, which means the nights are freezing. We slept three nights with all our clothes on, including our hats and gloves. Not that easy I must say... The last night we spent in a 'hotel' conpletely made out of salt and - best of all - they had hot showers! You cannot believe how this feels after three days and two nights in your clothes. The downside was that there was only electricity from 7 pm to 10 pm, which was a bit weird. Especially because we had to leave at 5 am, when it's still completely dark.
The nature during these four days is hardly to be described: colored lagoons full of flamingos, hot deserts, inpressive semi-active volcanos, boiling geishers, snall villages without electric power or running water, etc... But the most impressive was the salt flat on the last day. The Salar de Uyuni is the worlds largest salt flat and it's one of the largest lakes in South-America. We drove one hour to the middle of the lake very early in the morning. Then, during a magnificent sunrise, the white lake slowely became visible. We never saw something like this before and we'll probably never see it again. Truly a unique view in the world.
We visited the Incahuasi island with its huge cactuses, we spent more than one hour taking funny pictures (during which Joke stepped through the salt layer with one leg).
Although it was so basic (really a milestone for Joke), we had a great time. Stunning nature, fantastic guide, very skilled driver, delicious food (unbelievable how Archie made this food in these harsh circumstances), good Australian company and an experience we'll never forget!
The success of this tour depends heavily on the agency. Before we came to Tupiza we heard good stories about Tupiza tours and especially about their English speaking guide Archie. And for once, we were very lucky: we got Archie as our guide/cook and Martin as our driver, Ttwo great Bolivians that did everything to nake these four days as pleasant as possible.
We shared the 4X4 with two Australian girls that appeared to be very nice. This is not to be underestimated, since you don't only share the car, but also bedroom, toilets, food, etc... Basically it's four days without any privacy. But we had good fun with them, so that wasn't really a problem.
Going on this tour is quite an adventure. The facilities in this part of Bolivia are really poor, so there are no hotels, no restaurants, nothing... The two first places where we spent the night were basic, very very basic! A room with four beds and 2 smelly and dusty blankets on each bed, that was it! No closet, no sheets, no showers, no heating, nothing... The whole tour takes place between 3500m and 5000m altitude, which means the nights are freezing. We slept three nights with all our clothes on, including our hats and gloves. Not that easy I must say... The last night we spent in a 'hotel' conpletely made out of salt and - best of all - they had hot showers! You cannot believe how this feels after three days and two nights in your clothes. The downside was that there was only electricity from 7 pm to 10 pm, which was a bit weird. Especially because we had to leave at 5 am, when it's still completely dark.
The nature during these four days is hardly to be described: colored lagoons full of flamingos, hot deserts, inpressive semi-active volcanos, boiling geishers, snall villages without electric power or running water, etc... But the most impressive was the salt flat on the last day. The Salar de Uyuni is the worlds largest salt flat and it's one of the largest lakes in South-America. We drove one hour to the middle of the lake very early in the morning. Then, during a magnificent sunrise, the white lake slowely became visible. We never saw something like this before and we'll probably never see it again. Truly a unique view in the world.
We visited the Incahuasi island with its huge cactuses, we spent more than one hour taking funny pictures (during which Joke stepped through the salt layer with one leg).
Although it was so basic (really a milestone for Joke), we had a great time. Stunning nature, fantastic guide, very skilled driver, delicious food (unbelievable how Archie made this food in these harsh circumstances), good Australian company and an experience we'll never forget!
Tupiza (Bolivia)
After the terrible busride, we arrived in Tupiza at 4 AM. Not really the best time to arrive in a small Bolivian town. Luckily for us, a local girl called a taxi and our hotel was on her way, so we got a ride to our hostal. In this area, all hotels and hostals close at 10 PM, because there is no reason to be outside after this time. So the taxi dropped us in front of a closed hostal and drove away. We were so happy to see a sleepy concierge who opened the door for us. Finally a confortable bed... and we didn't even have to pay for that night, because it was so late! Very nice people, these Bolivians...
Tupiza is one of the biggest cities in Southwest Bolivia, but with only a handful of hostals, one decent 'restaurant' and no bars, this is rather relative. Tupiza's surroundings are like the Wild West, but more spectacular: deep canyons, red colored mountains, countless cactuses and fabulous views. It is here where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid spent their last months before being killed by local miners. If there's one place in South-America where you want to throw your legs over a horse, it's this place. So that's what we did. Although I never sat on a horse before, our horses went into canter and gallop from time to time. A bit scary on your first time, but unforgettable.
Our stay was a bit overshadowed by a small money problem. There are no ATMs in Tupiza, only 2 banks where you can get cash advance on your credit card. However, there was a connection issue with Mastercard, wo we spent half a day getting money, without success. There we were... in the middle of nowhere without enough money to pay for our hotel and activities. We didn't even have enough money for a bus ticket to another town. The nice people of our hotel / travel agency convinced us their was an ATM in Uyuni, where we would pass on our 4 day trip to the salt flats. So with a huge open bill, we booked our tour (which we were going to do anyway), hoping that the damn ATM in Uyuni would work.
Tupiza is one of the biggest cities in Southwest Bolivia, but with only a handful of hostals, one decent 'restaurant' and no bars, this is rather relative. Tupiza's surroundings are like the Wild West, but more spectacular: deep canyons, red colored mountains, countless cactuses and fabulous views. It is here where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid spent their last months before being killed by local miners. If there's one place in South-America where you want to throw your legs over a horse, it's this place. So that's what we did. Although I never sat on a horse before, our horses went into canter and gallop from time to time. A bit scary on your first time, but unforgettable.
Our stay was a bit overshadowed by a small money problem. There are no ATMs in Tupiza, only 2 banks where you can get cash advance on your credit card. However, there was a connection issue with Mastercard, wo we spent half a day getting money, without success. There we were... in the middle of nowhere without enough money to pay for our hotel and activities. We didn't even have enough money for a bus ticket to another town. The nice people of our hotel / travel agency convinced us their was an ATM in Uyuni, where we would pass on our 4 day trip to the salt flats. So with a huge open bill, we booked our tour (which we were going to do anyway), hoping that the damn ATM in Uyuni would work.
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