Iguazu Falls

Finally we arrived at the Argentinian boarder.

However it took us a little more time to actually get into Argentina. We were 2 hours waiting to go through the boarder control as they checked all the South Americans paperwork thoroughly and searched everyone's bags. We decided to stop off in Salta for a couple of nights, it felt great to be in Argentina, after traveling through Bolivia and all its basicness the green fields and great restaurants were more then welcome. What we were not prepared for was the the hike in prices! In Bolivia we were lucky if we spent more than £10 on a full meal for the 2 of us (including drinks!). In Argentina we were lucky if we spend less than £40!

While we were in Salta 'The Beats' were playing in the local theatre, apparently 'the best Beatles cover band in the world'. Listening to 'John Lennon' speaking Spanish in a scouse accent was well worth the money.

We had some well deserved R&R. Here Kenny tucks into his first Argentinian steak while catching up, yet again, on FaceBook! (I'd like to mention Sarah's new found like for Twitter here! - Kenny)

The night bus took us onto Puerto Iguazu for the famous falls!

Half being in Brazil we decided to see them from the Brazilian side first, hence spent 5 hours in Brazil!

I am not sure what I expected but the falls way exceeded all expectations! The falls consist of 275 falls over 2.7 km, the highest being 82 meters.

Every corner we turned, yet another beautiful fall awaited.

Couple this with the wonderful weather.

The most famous of the falls is the 'Gargantua del Diablo' or 'Devil's Throat'. A huge volume of water cascades over these magnificent drops. Platforms have been built in and around the falls for you to get a much closer look.

So close that you can be drenched with the spay within minutes.

Kenny's comedy shot by the side of the Devil's Throat (we are pretending to have a shower).

There are also lots of furry friends around the falls, these little chaps called 'Coati's' are very cheeky and will not hesitate to grab your lunch.

Nothing on our table I'm afraid!

On the way out of Brazil there is a fabulous bird sanctuary where all types of bird are rescued from various situations. They are then very well kept, usually in large cages which visitors can walk around in. Here are some of my favorites, the bright red Ibis.

Not sure what this is but was so cute and followed us around!


The Toucan

Parrots.

Crossing back into Argentina, the river is the natural boarder.

The second day we went back to the falls from the Argentinian side, they were supposed to be even more spectacular from here. First stop, a boat trip up the river, we had been warned by Mum to expect to get very wet.

It was incredible to see the waterfalls in this way.

They are so grand and powerful.

The thing that strikes you the most is that there are so many. Around every corner is another beautiful cascade. They make High Force look like a dribble! (For the International Blog Followers, High Force is one of the UK's best know waterfalls)
It was at this point the camera had to be packed away as the boat took us up into the plunge pool of one of the big waterfalls.

Mum said we would be drenched! Soaked to the skin!

This photo demonstrates another boat taking the same route we had minutes earlier.

To dry out there are many, many pathways built in and around the falls to explore. Some go beneath, some beside and some above. All go very near to the water!

Again, round every corner was another amazing sight.

A perfect place for our picnic.

At this point my camera started to form condensation in the lens (due to all the spray!) so from now on all the photos have a hazy center, however there was tonnes of spray everywhere anyway so things were pretty hazy to start with.
The pathways lead up to the top of the Devil's Throat.

Where we were able to look right down the waterfall, the power of it was immense.

A permanent rainbow in the middle.

The bottom totally out of view.

One of the smaller falls, Adam I think.

All in all the falls were mesmerising. I could have gone back a third day to see them. They were so vast, high and powerful, and due mainly to their width and the greenery around them so beautiful. Definitely one of our trip highlights.