Iguazu Falls, Argentina

My friend Leanne had been to South America last year and had shown me pictures of the Iguazu Falls. She raved on about how amazing they were and that if I had the chance I should go there. So when I saw her a few weeks ago I found out where she had stayed and decided that was where I would go to.
I stayed at the Hostel Inns, which is a backpackers in an old Casino building. It was really nice with a big swimming pool in front and two pool tables and a ping pong table.
There was a lot of friendly people staying there and it was easy to meet people and chat about their adventures. I booked to go to the Iguazu Falls the next day and just hung out at the backpackers for teh rest of the afternoon.



I had to get up early to head off to the falls and was on teh 9am bus. I met another Australian girl on or shuttle the falls and I joined her and 5 other people from our Hostel to walk around the falls.



I had read a bit about the falls before going, but nothing could have prepared me for how amazing they were. there is three different trails you can do as well as a jet boat ride on river below the falls.



We all decided to do the upper trail first which took us across the top of the first series of water falls which there are quite a few of but they are all pretty amazing.



We all took each others cameras and were taking photo´s all over the place. Asyou walk along the trail it turns into bridges and you walk over the top of each stream about a meter back from the edge of the top of the falls. It was really cool seeing how much water was racing by before it went over the edge.



After doing the top trail we went to the lower trail.

This one takes you really close to the base of one of the medium sized falls and when you go out on this platform you get drenched by all the mist created by the waters hitting the rocks below you.




One man even went out there in his speedos! It was very funny to see.


After getting completely soaking wet we headed towards the boat dock. We were given a life jacket and a big green plastic bag to put our stuff in. We all got on the boat and off we went. They took us for a look at two different areas of the falls, taking us quite close. Then on the last section they took us right up to one and nosed the boat under the falls making us completely wet again. They then spun the boat around and backed it into the water fall, just to make sure no one missed out on getting drenched. The water was very cold but it was so exciting to be that close to the waterfalls.


We then had to climb a big set of stairs back to the top of the falls, dripping wet. At the top we had some lunch, which we had to protect from being snatched by a little animal called a Coati.


It looks like a possum with a wierd long nose like an ant eater and a tail with stripes of two colours.





They managed to get some food from the table next to us where two girls were sitting. The girls screamed but the Coati took off with a sandwich.


After lunch we headed off to the last walking trail to the Devil´s throat water fall.



It is the biggest and most impressive of all the falls.



We had to take a small train out to a section of the river and then we walked over many platforms before reaching the viewing platform.


The platform was directly opposite the main falls and it was unbelievable just how much water was going over the falls the whole time.



I could have staye and watched them for hours. As it was we were at this platform for about 45 minutes before we all decided that it was time to head off.

I am so glad that I got to come here asit is one of the most amazing thingsI have ever seen.

San Ignacio, Argentina

I headed off in the morning for San Ignacio.



I got there and found a place to stay before heading off to see the ruins. Again this mission was created at around the same period of time as the ones at Santa Ana.




The difference is there are a lot more well preserved sections of the Ruins and the are also being restored.



There was a small Museum showing the artifacts that have been discovered there, like old nails, pottery from plates and cups and even some carved statues.



The museum displays also discussed the lives of the traditional Guarani people that lived in South America for thousands of years. They even had listening booths where you could listen to some traditional music and singing.



I spent about two hours walking around the ruins taking more pictures.



The whole way round the ruins they have places to stop and listen to commentary of the different parts of the ruins, what the buildings would have been used for and why they were placed in certain areas.



The commentary was in 6 different languages and you pressed the button for your language and it was narrated to you in English.



It was a very well thought out historical site and museum.



I had been told that every night they put on a light and sound show at the ruins so I went back again at 8pm and joined a tour group and walked around the site at night time. We had individual headsets that had English commentary that was played through a radio chanel. At the first stop we were standing next to a tree and all of a sudden there was an image projected onto a wall of water that was being sprayed from the underside of the branch. The image was of a little girl who was skipping, singing and giggling. There was a long section of projection that told the story of how the Missions were set up and the we moved on to the next area. In different areas we watched images projected on to walls of the ruins and more of the water wall projections as well. It went for about 40 minutes in total. I was really impressed with how well it was done and happy I had made the extra stop on my way to Iguazu Falls.

Posadas, Argentina

I arrived early in the morning into Posadas and headed straight to my accommodation. It was a lovely converted traditional house that was bright yellow. It had a beautiful swimming pool in the middle of the house with rooms leading off a central U shaped patio.





The house was on the side of a hill and had some views of the Rio Paraña which seperates Argentina from Paraguay.






During the day I walked around the city and then had a nice cold beer at a cafe. They had a very ingenious way of keeping the beer cold. They had an esky in the shape of the bottle.... very clever indeed.



This town mostly serves as a point to transit when going to Iguazu Water Falls. It is not really a tourist place but there are some Jesuit Mission Ruins about 50 minutes out side the town.



I decided to visit the ruins but I didn´t realise that it was a public holiday and most buses and other services don´t operate as often if at all. Luckily for me the ruins were open, but there was almost no one there.



It was a originally built in the early 1600 but was abandoned by the mid 1700´s. The site was called Santa Ana. Up to 4000 people lived there. All the buildings were knocked down during some wars after the original inhabitants had left and thats how they became ruins.Most of the remaining walls are covered or surrounded by jungle plants and trees.



Some of the walls are still standing and you can see where the outlines of the builings would have once stood.



They are currently working to restore the walls of the main church building, but from the speed of the workers I saw it could take them a very long time.







I spent around an hour having a look and taking photo´s before I headed back into town.



Again I only stayed two days and some other travellers told me that I should go to the sight of another mission at San Ignacio which is also on the road towards the Iguazu Falls.

Salto, Uruguay

After a 5 and a half hour bus ride from Punta del Diablo to Montevideo I spent the afternoon in Montevideo to go back to some shops to pick up a few things I didn´t get the first time I was there.







I then took the last bus from Montevideo to Salto which is on the western side of Uruguay. Again my bus ride was almost 6 hours, but in the space of 1 day I had gone from one side of the country to the other. I thought that was pretty amazing, considering I didn´t fly.







Salto is a pretty little town on the Rio (river) Uruguay. There isn´t very much here for tourists to see so I didn´t take lot´s of pictures.






My first day here was spent wandering the streets, as I do.







Then before leaving on my last day I spent the whole day at the thermal springs. They have different swimming pools around a lovely garden and each one is warm and at different temperatures. The were very relaxing but one of the smaller ones I went to get in was so hot that it was like putting your feet into a boiling pot of water. I eventually managed to get in it all the way but it took some adjusting to get used to it.




So after a very relaxing day it was off to the bus once again and my trip to Posadas, Argentina.

Punta Del Diablo

Next stop on my excellent adventure was Punta Del Diablo. This is a small beach town or village on the north eastern coast of Uruguay. I had been told by many people that it was definitely worth seeing and they were right. As I was there during March it was very quiet. Most of the places there are only open for the two high months of the year which are January and February.
















I stayed in a nice backpackers hostel and arrived on Saint Patricks day and was met from my bus by an Irish guy!!! what a coincedence..... So a few beers were had that night to celebrate. I got there at 8pm and it was already dark so it was good that I had an escort to the accommodation. But I still had no idea what the place looked like as there were not many street lights, the roads were all dirt roads and all I could here was the noise of the ocean.






The next morning I woke to find that the beach was one block from the hostel. There were two beaches side by side seperated by some rocks and they were long white sandy beaches, absolutely beautiful.







I spent the day wandering around the village taking some pictures of the funny little houses.... or Cabañas as they are called.






















I ran into a girl named Mariana who I had met in Punta Del Este and we caught up for a while before she had to catch a bus to her next place.




I only spent two nights here and then caught a bus all the way back to Montevideo.