Three Countries, One Waterfall

I’m a big fan of waterfalls so of course I have to visit Iguazu Falls, one of the largest waterfalls in the world (the largest depending on how you count). Similarly to Victoria Falls it’s on the border between two countries, and in the same way you can see the falls from both sides with slightly different experiences. I opted for both.

The Brazilian side doesn’t contain that much of the falls. Instead you end up mostly below the falls where you get an amazing panoramic view. Perfect for photos.

On the Argentinian side you get a lot closer to the top of the falls, including more amazing views and frequent mist showers. This side is not as good for photos though as the falls are so big and you get so close. But the feeling of being just at the top of a waterfall makes it possibly even better than the Brazilian side. I think the conclusion is that you have to visit them both.

Unfortunately it started raining halfway through the day, but I ended up doing a walk anyway. Apparently my jacket is pretty good at handling the rain. My shorts not so much. Phone is waterproof so it survived, passport was safe in a plastic bag, but I had a bunch of Brazilian money that needed a few hours to dry before they could be used again.

I also got to see a bit if the local wildlife, monkeys and coatis (related to raccoons). No jaguar though but they can supposedly be seen in the area too.

Not too far from the falls there’s another border-crossing tourist attraction, the Itaipu Dam, on the border between Brazil and Paraguay. The dam is one of the largest hydroelectric dams in the world, almost as high as the Hoover Dam and several times wider. A pretty impressive feat of engineering.

So if I went from Brazil to both the Argentinian and the Paraguayan border in roughly the same place the borders have to meet somewhere, right? I went there, or rather to the monument of three countries on the Brazilian side. The actual point is in the middle of a river. A bit overpriced, but still worth a visit. It’s not every day you can get three countries in the same photo.

Another must-do in Brazil is to visit a churrascaria for a Brazilian barbecue. Brazilians love their meat and you can get loads of it cheaply. The best one I tried cost about €8 and starts with a buffet table of everything except the meat. Then they come out to the table with giant skewers from the grill with various kinds of meat (and occasional cheese or pineapple) and you just say yes or no to each kind. And they’ll keep coming until you ask them to stop. Perfect set-up for eating way too much.

I’m done with everything I wanted to do around the falls so it’s time for a long bus journey to Bonito and Pantanal!