Best Western Casablanca Iguazu Falls Ciudad Del Este

Since I had a little bit of time to spare before getting my bus to Buenos Aires, I decided to jump across to Paraguay for a little spot of shopping. In order to do that you have two options:

1) Get a bus to Foz in Brazil and go through all the necessary custom procedures. Then get a bus to Ciudad Del Este, again going through the customs. Repeat for the way back

2) Get a special, direct bus to Ciudad Del Este. You will get a stamp out and back in on the ...

... Argentines, is the best side. From Brazil you can get an overview, but in Argentina you are 'in the falls'. The first thing that became obvious is that Iguazu Falls is not a waterfall - it's literally hundreds of waterfalls - 275 to be precise, which run 2.7 kilometres along the Iguazu River. And they are indeed spectacular. Some of the falls are up to 82 metres in height, and the most impressive of all these is the Devils Throat (Garganta del Diablo), which is a u-shaped 82 metre high ...

... t supply many funds... Allegedly.

The tour was interesting although I missed out on bits as it was all in rapid Spanish. Still, I enjoyed it. As part of the deal to build this massive project the government also had to set aside land to preserve some nature and provide a nice place for people to visit at the weekend. Unfortunately it was a bit of a trek to get there so I settled on the museum and zoo which was just down the road ...

... late, choices were limited and I found myself staying in a rather salubrious hotel. Still, it was clean enough and only for one night.

The next morning I woke up determined to get the hell out of the country! My new tactic was to go to Brazil first and from there catch another bus to Argentina. A good plan... except I got off the bus at the wrong stop in Brazil and had to faff around for another couple of hours before I eventually, and gratefully, boarded a bus to Pto ...

... 4 people in it. We needn’t have worried, though, as apparently that’s how they do steak here, not a bunch of pretention, just a lot of strong lighting and plenty of elbow room to get down to it. It turned out the steaks were fantastic, “expensive” meant around $6 and at about 9 pm the place started filling up faster than KFC on Mother’s Day.

We expected warmer weather here, now that we are finally back down to an altitude more suitable ...

... br>Three buses and 18 hours we arrived in Puerto Iguazu and recieved conformation that our friends from Salta were at the Hostel Inn. Pulling in we thought we were at the wrong place. It´s like a small club med! There´s a pool, cabana, pool tables, a row of computers, restaurant, etc. Feli and Riki ran with open arms to welcome us, then took us outside quickly saying that we should not check in and just stay in their 6 bed room for free tonight ...

... you´re able to stand over it with 260 degrees of the giant waterfall thundering down around you. It was the highlight of the whole Iguacu experience, and we can see why Lady Eleanor Roosevelt reportedly exclaimed "Poor Niagara!" upon seeing the monster. We haven`t seen Niagara, but it definitely gets our vote for one of the 7 natural wonders!

Next stop Northern Argentina, with another 22 hour bus ride - the last for a while! Hope you`re all well.

Love Renee and Eugene

... a ´farmers daughter´ I´m a massive fan of the bovine, and have had more than my fair share of great steak in my time. However, I was not prepared for the beauty that is... an Argentinian Steak. Oh. My. God!!! Worth the trip alone! (sorry to all my vegie friends!!!).

The hostel that we were staying in put on a BBQ, all the meat and wine you can eat and drink. Obviously Kaz, Loz and I were up for that, and got right in to the mix ...

... are offere memory sticks, Michael Jackson DVDs, and various other items by thr street vendors.

It is the first place someone has ever flicked a knife in my face and I haven't died of shock and started screaming - for somehow I knew he only wanted to sell it to me and not slay me down.

I find Sebastien sitting in all his camp glory with huge female sunglasses. He had already been offered a gun ...

... centre at the Itapui dam. We needed to go there to get permission to camp here at the biological reserve Tati Yupi (S25.22.07.6 W54.34.50.43). A animal reserve created when the dam was built, unfortunatly we arrived as it closed at 12 and had to wait until 2 for it to re open. They then sent us to the museum and zoo to get permission for camping. Whilst there we went around both the zoo and museum. Which we both enjoyed as we were the only people there ...