One of the Natural Wonders of the World

Iguazu Falls (or Foz do Iguaçu on the Brazil side)

I have been so excited about this trip. We planned it months ago and it’s finally here. Given the fact that we visited three different countries and I have lots of pictures, I am going to split this trip up into three posts; one for each country so it’s not too long.

It’s about a 14 hour drive from our house to the falls so we broke it up into two days of driving. I’m going to put all the driving details in the third post. It’ll make since why when you read it.

And there it is, the sign we’ve been waiting for; Foz do Iguaçu. After two days in the van, we were all ready to see the falls but that would have to wait until the next morning.

We are traveling with Robert and his family. They are super wonderful people. And we are picking up Stan and Lisa from the airport and excited to get to see them.

Since it was vacation, we stayed at a resort close to the falls. Roberto’s family had a normal 2 bed room. We had a room made for the Brady bunch. I mean look at this. One side had a king and a twin and the other side had four twin beds. If you have a large family they can accommodate you here. Stan and Lisa got upgraded to a sweet suite. We all payed the same price, not sure how the hotel decided to assign rooms. It was kind of bizarre.

The resort was nice and it felt like vacation.

We hired a driver for each day. This made border crossings a breeze and less stressful for everyone. Marcos was awesome, if you need a driver. Besides that, you can’t drive inside the National Park anyway. They have a bus system you have to use. The Park is home to 29 jaguars and some time back a driver hit and killed one, so they closed the park to unauthorized drivers.

There is a beautiful hotel in the park.

When you first arrive and get your first view of the falls you might think – oh, this is cool- but you have to keep walking. Trust me, it gets better. The path is one way and gradually works its way down to the bottom.

Quick summary, the Brazil side has a more panoramic view, whereas the other side has an up close from the top view. Both are amazing! I would say you need to see both sides to fully appreciate the falls.

The Iguaçu Falls has over 250 individual waterfalls, with the drops ranging from 197 to 269ft, over 1.5 miles in length, and all together it makes up the largest waterfall system in the world.

While more than 95% of the Iguazu River basin is in Brazil, only about 20% of the jumps of the falls are in Brazil.

The Devil’s Throat is split between two countries and about half of the river’s waters fall into this 260-300 foot wide and 230-260 ft deep canyon.

Trevor is a tall American and an even taller South American.

Never ask me to take a picture and never ever ask me to take a selfie. Just ask Mason, he will tell you I’m not lying. It’s almost painful to watch. This is me and him with the falls in the background…kind of.

Be prepared to see plenty of wildlife, especially coati. These groups of families, usually up to 25 per family, travel together like a gang and will take your snacks. And this is why you don’t find the wildlife. (Watch the video)

This walkway at the bottom is awesome. It’s crowded but don’t let that deter you. Go all the way to the end. You can feel the spray from the falls and hear the roar of the crashing water. So much fun. Just make sure you hold on to your phone/camera. It’s going to get wet.

There’s a trail or an elevator that takes you back to the top.

Not too bad of a lunch spot, looking out over the tranquil river over into Argentina before it becomes a raging waterfall system. You can bring in backpacks, no problem, and I didn’t see any signs that you couldn’t bring in your own food. We ate from the restaurant there though. They have sandwiches, burgers, and a buffet.

The park has helicopter and boat tours. Well, you know us, half the group hates heights and I’m the only one that hates water, but we all love an adventure so boat ride it was. We took the boat at Niagara Falls and LOVED it. So of course, we had to take the boat ride here. Although, this one was more of a motor powered raft.

It’s called a safari and boat ride because you have a short ride down to the water with a guide who tells you about some of the trees and the jaguars in the park and an optional short hike.

They, also, give you the option of a wet ride or a dry ride. There is absolutely no reason to take a dry ride. The wet ride is where the fun is at.

We had an absolute blast!

We got soaked. It doesn’t matter where you sit, you’re getting wet. Thankfully, we brought our swim clothes and changed into them before the ride. We also brought a couple towels, so we were prepared. (Short clip of the experience)

And just like that the fun was over and it was time to head back to the hotel and get cleaned up for dinner. A few notes, the falls and the boat ride can be completed in one day. If you want to take the helicopter ride as well and/or walk the several trails in the park, then you will need another day or two. Being here in the winter means it’s more of dry season in this area (although not as dry as we have been in Atibaia). That being said, the falls are not at their peak capacity. Sometimes bridges are impassible due to the extra water in the summer but the falls are raging. I’ll take a slightly lighter falls in exchange for fewer crowds.

Marcos dropped us off at Tres Fronteiras for dinner and a show. He recommended sitting down to eat at the restaurant and watching the show from there. Wonderful advice.

Tres Fronteiras means three boarders. It is called that because you are standing in Brazil, marked by the green and yellow obelisk, looking out at the water which serves as the boarder between Brazil and Argentina (as seen in distance with the blue and white flag, bottom left), and Paraguay (the blue and red monument, bottom right).

Pretty cool to be be looking at three countries all at once.

The performance showcases dances, history, and entertainment from all three countries. If you sit in the crowd, you might get selected to become part of the show.

The restaurant has a selection of meals from each country. Since I was with Brazilians and on the Brazilian side, I ordered the Brazilian steak, so as not to offend. Then I realized all the Brazilians had ordered the Argentine steak. They said when it comes to steak always go with Argentina. That would have been good information for them to share before I ordered. Oh well, my Brazilian steak was still delicious. Our dinner was good. The only downside is that it was loud with the show going on, so I wouldn’t recommend this place if you want to have a heart to heart conversion with someone.

The boys also tried Brazilian lemonade, which is made with limes and condensed milk. Tuck wasn’t sure about it but he tried. Neither kiddo was a fan.

They are building (it is almost complete) a bridge, the Integration Bridge, between Paraguay and Brazil that will reduce commercial traffic on the current Friendship Bridge, built in 1964, between the two countries. It looks so pretty all lit up with each countries colors.

What an amazing day! Tomorrow another day, another country.