Will we ever make it to Iguassu Falls????

 Thursday, February 29

So alarm for 5:30 am, a quick breakfast, and then we headed back to the airport with all our luggage to try to catch our 9:30 am flight. It was rush hour but traffic was moving pretty quickly.  Especially the motorcyclists using the dotted line as their lane.

It's pretty weird when you recognize everyone in line at a foreign airport.  We ran into a couple we met last night, they were the first to get the voucher.  But after getting their voucher, they stopped for a bite to eat, and by the time they got to Intercity, the hotel was full.  They had to be taxied to another hotel, and didn't check in until 2 am.  Yikes!

The pilot did not look stressed as we boarded, maybe we would make it this time???

We made it!  Everyone on the plane cheered.

We booked a 2 day package so we were picked up at the airport. The company changed the order of our itinerary so that we ended up doing the Brazil side today instead of tomorrow.

Note: the English spelling is Iguassu, the Spanish (Argentinian) is Iguazú , and the Portugese (Brazilian) is Iguaçu.  

Some interesting facts about Iguassu Falls:

• They are taller than Niagara Falls and wider than Victoria Falls

• There are normally about 275 individual waterfalls, but it varies between 150-300 by season

• The name Iguazu comes from the native Guarani for ‘big water’ 

• The flow over the falls is strongest between November to March, increasing from 60,000 cubic feet per second to 450,000 cubic feet per second.

• The falls have been in movies such as Black Panther, Indiana Jones, and The Mission.

• They are a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Day one of our tour was a half-day tour to the Brazilian side of the waterfalls, which is the smaller side. The Argentinian side has 70-80% of the falls, making the view from the Brazilian side better.

Maurizio was a great guide today.  Just twice he didn't go with us, we suspect because both places got us wet LOL.  His excuse was that his ticket didn't allow him, but we didn't believe it for a second.

So here are a few pictures of the Falls from the one trail that is on the Brazilian side:

After lunch, we decided to take the boat tour.  It began with a "jungle cruise" (we saw a deer ha ha, although they did play up the local jaguars quite a bit).  Then a funicular took us down to a dock and onto a zodiac style boat.

The rain was so strong, it felt like sleet in our faces.  Then he stopped a nice safe distance from the Falls and lured us into a false sense of security. 

Before we knew it, he was zooming in and out of the different Falls.  The rain ponchos did NOT help.  But it was a blast. Here is a short video clip we took:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79iLjWxIqZs

Then the sun came out and there was a nice rainbow.  

To leave Brazil, we needed to park the car and go in to get our passports stamped.  Then the Argentinian side had a drive through checkpoint.  Maurizio dropped us off at our hotel.  Here we spread out all the damp clothes from our suitcases. Yesterday when we left the airport (for the first time), it was pouring rain, and that's when we figure some of our clothes got wet.

We took a short walk down to the obelisk, which signifies the spot where 3 countries meet:  Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.