We´re going down Iguazuuuuu tomorrow, zu tomorrow, zu tomorrow
We´re going down Iguazuuuuu tomorrow, zu tomorrow, zu tomorrow
We can stay all day
We´re goin Iguazu-zu-zu
How about you-you-you
You can come too-too-too
We´re goin Iguazu-zu-zu...
C laughed as I sang my silly little song on the bus, and asked what other 37 year old woman would have come up with that song. (Answer: None, I´m unique).
Iguazu Falls are the local must-see in Northern Argentina, with the highest concentration of waterfalls in one area on the planet. They are, at 71 metres, 50% higher than Niagara falls, fact fans.
We checked into the Hostel Inn, late Friday evening after a 7 hour journey. I had been seriously considering the Sheraton Hotel, which apparently looks out onto the falls from every room, then I remembered that C and I don`t have jobs any more...
Hostel Inns are surprisingly good. Basic, clean, with a TV and air con, I likened it (with the orange bedspread) to what I imagined and EasyHotel might be like. I didn`t think I`d like it, but honestly, I would recommend them.
I was a bit tired and grumpy as I´d not eaten for 7 hours (C had chucked our provisions in the hold on the coach...doh!) and could not contemplate the all-you-can-eat buffet at 9.30 at night, plus I was sulking by now, so we tore open the food I`d bought and had an impromptu picnic in our room.
I`m like a Gremlin, feed me regularly and I`m a happy bunny. Without food, I turn into a whiney little girl, and then a stroppy one. Feed me and instantly I´m right as rain again.
We also opened a mini bottle of Moet we`d brought with us, a tiny taste of luxury our good friend (and regular reader - hi!) PK bought us before we left, as it was the only night we´ve had to ourselves since we got here.
She´d given us two bottles to take with us and perk us up when we had a low spot, but I said to C, I´d prefer to drink it with fonder memories. Besides, we`d have drunk them both in the first week if we`d stuck to the original plan.
5 weeks is definitely the longest I´ve gone without drinking champagne I already possess though!
Exhausted after the long journey, after we´d booked our day trip to the Falls and C had a beer, we stayed in and watched ´8 Mile` on the telly and fell asleep, preferring to conserve our energies for the long day ahead and K&A´s arrival.
Rock and roll.
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Saturday: next day, up early, a basic breakfast of hot chocolate and "dulce de leche" on bread, and onto our minibus to Iguazu.
The weather forecast had been for 25º and sunny...but it appears their forecasters are every bit as shite as the British ones. It was a dull, muggy day, which later turned torrential.
And after our boat ride (which did 4 doughnuts underneath the splash of two waterfalls - pretty cool, actually, and quite an experience getting that close to the force of it), I was absolutely drenched. We´d brought dry clothes to change into, but it was a bit public, so I kept my bikini bottoms on. This then meant I was wandering round for ages looking like I´d peed myself, so I had to find a loo and dry off properly under the handdryer.
There are cheaper ways to do the Falls. Don´t do the 120 peso trip. Ali & Oz Kirsten had pretty much the same day (less the boat trip) and paid about 100 pesos less than we did. And you still need to pay 40 pesos in! We were ripped off, but we consoled ourselves that it was only about 20 quid, less than a round of drinks in London, and we´d had a great day.
No point me describing the falls to you - it`s just a lot of water falling off some big rocks, so here are some pics:
Can you see the rainbow?
Big water
More big water
Oh yeah, forgot to mention we saw a TARANTULA when we were in a shop...it fell off the doorframe and a girl screamed as it nearly landed on her. It was about 4 inches across. You can click on any of the pics in this blog and they go big.That evening, we had a few drinks with Kirsten, Ali and Roshan - a guy we´d met on the boat trip who lives in Acton...(two tube stops from me back home!) and Sam, a lovely guy from North Carolina who was travelling on his own too. Roshan had asked us if we´d seen his mates Andy and Chris from Preston (we`d all shared banter on our boat trip earlier) but they were nowhere to be seen.
Andy & Chris were funny - they told us they were 3 weeks into a year-long trip and had already spent a quarter of the money. Ha!
Anyhoo, we spent a good night chilling, drinking, chatting to random other people and swapping stories, and C & the girls had a bit of a go on the pool and table tennis tables. (I was still smarting from bowling t´other night, so gave it a miss)
Fab table in the hostel where we had dinnerNext day, a little hungover, we four said goodbye to our new buddies, swapped facebook and email contacts and set off home. I`d been hoping to go to the Brazilian side of the falls this morning if the weather turned good (just our luck, it was glorious today...aaaagh!), but we´d heard there was a bus strike on so decided to head back asap, as we had to be back for Marcello´s birthday party that night in Posadas (Bank Holiday Monday...no school again!) and we´d no idea how long it might take.
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C`s just come back from watching the footy, it´s cold and we`re going home, so I`ll post again soon about Sunday´s shenanigans.
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