1 Day, 3 Countries!

Here we are then at the 2 week point and an update on our movements...

We left you in Buenos Aires and a tango lesson before we rose early for our only internal flight to Iguazu Falls. We had looked at numerous pictures before we left, but it's fair to say only seeing it can give you any idea of the scale. Upon arrival we went for a brief walk after checking into our hostel to a point where you can see Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay all at once as the river converges. The hostel itself was basic, but clean and the staff were friendly and helpful. We slept knowing we would get to see one of the natural wonders of the world the next morning.

Another breakfast first - cake! The Argentinians have a well pronounced sweet tooth and this is not uncommon. Now for the world famous Cataratas, after a short bus ride from town we arrived at the Argentinean side of the falls. Once in the park we found the company reps for the boat trips as we knew this was something we definitely wanted to do. We bought tickets for a ride up to 2 parts of the falls and a 'contemplation' ride back from the Devil's Throat. Whilst doing this Tasha noticed a girl from the hostel, Haneka, so she came around with us. This turned out to be a happy chance meeting as we soon discovered she was great company and had also forgotten the battery for her camera. So a trade off between her company and some photographs occurred!

The first part of the day was a walk around the lower falls to the boat departure point - where we were to experience a "baptism from the falls". The smaller falls en route were very impressive and surrounded by some great flora and fauna. Once at the boat we strapped on our life jackets and nervously watched the previous group step off rather wet! We set off and skimmed the falls first before going round to another part and told we were about to get wet! This proved to be an understatement as we got right under the bottom of the 'devils throat' fall and were quickly drenched! We then went back to the first falls and were double dipped just to make sure no one escaped dry. The falls were huge and very powerful.

We then continued to the upper trails which takes you around the brim of numerous large falls and you could look over the edge of many. My (Matt!) fear of heights wasn't doing well, but they really did need to be seen. They are absolutely enormous and because of the power and volume of water you often can't see the bottom through the spray. After this trail you get the comical train to the largest fall, the Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat). Making our way across the top of the falls, Haneka made friends with a butterfly which wouldn't leave her finger for the whole 15 minute walk to the main event. The view was unbelievable and the sort of thing we both wanted to get from the trip. Very much something only to be seen here! The sheer scale is astonishing and if anyone reading is ever considering missing the falls when nearby then I would strongly advise against it. It was the most amazing sight we've seen.

Now for the next stop (and our 3 country journey)- Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay. Which had been recommended by a fellow English online football tipster who has now made Paraguay his home. He was incredibly helpful and gave us a thorough list of things to see and do which we are very grateful for. The bus from Iguazu went first to Ciudad del Este on the Paraguayan border after briefly going through Foz de Iguazu in Brazil, the aforementioned 3 countries in 1 day!

Our first border crossing didn't go as smoothly as planned - the bus didn't stop at the border for us to get our passports stamped (Argentines can go in and out of Ciudad freely in a day). So we had to walk back to the border and then get a cab to the bus station for our onward connection. This wasn't the most fun as the town is essentially a large market with people hawking cheap goods everywhere and we were prime targets! Luckily we were with a very friendly German guy (also fluent in Spanish) which made the experience bearable! He was also heading to Asuncion to visit family. Arrival into Asuncion after sleepy tropical Iguazu and cosmopolitan Buenos Aires was a bit of a shock to the system. A very hectic bus station followed by a sprawling busy city full of street stall vendors really made us realise that while being the capital this is still one of the most underdeveloped countries in the region.

After this inauspicious start we got to the very friendly hostel and checked in. We were very hungry so headed for burger and beers (as recommended)! This was a nice little spot and very cheap too! Something like 12 GBP for 2 massive burgers and 4 litres of beer. We left full and a little tipsy! The country was also in the middle of their general election (really important for a country that only had its first free elections in 1993), so the streets were paved with paraphernalia for the various candidates and every night locals were rallying in their cars, or marching with music and chants for their party which was really quite exciting to see! For our main full day in Asuncion we decided that a tour of the museums was the thing to do, following the advice of our local friend! Our favourite being the old railway station. An amazing collection of lots of old parts and paperwork from the British building of the short lived railway in Paraguay. There was also 2 carriages to look through.

Asuncion was a very interesting city in a relatively young country and I'd recommend it thoroughly. After a nervous start it proved a brilliant stop

Next up is our first long (18hrs) bus trip back to North West Argentina to Salta as we then begin to head south down the Western side of Argentina....the wine regions! Hiccup!