Leg Three - Colonia to Iguazu

Day  Fifteen - Colonia to Rosario Today was a big travelling day. Caught the ferry from Colonia to Buenos Aires around mid-morning. Once we got to BA, we headed straight to the bus station. Huge bus station - room for 75 buses and probably around 50 bus company offices. Got our tickets to Rosario and stocked up on snacks for the trip.

It was a five-hour trip. Went pretty quickly. Once we arrived we booked our tickets to Posadas for two days' time.

Our hostel is OK. Really friendly staff, but room isn't that great. Ate an apalling pizza for dinner at a restaurant nearby. Long day!

Observations...

• So many toll stations on the roads.
• Customs sometimes just doesn´t exist!
• Air conditioning is just wonderful.
• Today´s taxi driver was absolutely insane-o. Had his hand on the horn almost the whole way from the bus station to the hostel. We thought we were going to die several times, and he nearly caused multiple accidents.
• A thin sheet of paper is NOT a napkin.
• Was that chicken on our pizza or catfood?
• Why do insects keep landing in Ryan´s drink?
• Lots of people sell flowers here, and they´re pretty darn fresh.

Day Sixteen -  Rosario

Sightseeing day today. It was pouring with rain, which was a nice change from blazing sunshine.

First we went to visit the Monumento Nacional a la Bandera, which is a huge monument to the Argentine flag, which was designed in Rosario. It's a very impressive monument! Couldn't go up the tower because of the rain.

Walked along the river and got attacked by giant mosquitos. Saw the modern art musuem.

We were dying for vegetables after eating so much meat, so we asked a guy that worked at our hostel where we should go for dinner and he suggested a Chinese restaurant nearby. It was sooo good - just what we needed. And it was so cheap - about NZ$12 for two big meals plus drinks.

Observations...

• Don´t go near the river. The mosquitos will get you.
• McDonald´s staff here are dressed in full denim - hat, shirt, pants. Nice.
• No one will let us into their shops with our small backpack. Do we look like shoplifters?

Day Seventeen -  Rosario to Posadas

Checked out of our hostel, then headed off to see the Circulo Theatre. We missed the only tour of the day by half an hour! It's a huge majestic looking theatre. Pretty disappointed we didn't get to go in. Went down to the Comedia theatre, but that wasn't open either.

Had a nice lunch at a pub/restaurant. Went back to the monument for the flag, and since it was a fine day, we were able to go up the tower. Great view of the city from the top.

Headed to the bus station to catch our bus to Posadas. It was an overnight bus and took 15 hours. We were served a snack and dinner and watched a couple of movies. We had seats up the top (double-decker bus) at the very front. Before it got dark we had a great view. Really interesting to see all the villages. On the outskirts of the cities, there are hundreds of makeshift shacks. Lots of kids and dogs running around.

During the night on the bus, people were getting on and off at stops, and some really noisy guys got on and woke everyone up. After a while, Ryan said, "Chicos, shhh!" That told them!

Observations...

• Why does there need to be three men in the toilets to sell toilet paper?
• Novus would have a heart attack at the state of some windscreens here.
• Ryan was quite offended when someone told him he didn´t have a NZ accent.

Day Eighteen -  Posadas

The bus arrived at Posadas at 8am. We bought our tickets for the next day, then headed into town. Checked into our hotel. Yes, hotel. Couldn't find a decent hostel there, so decided to splash out. Quite nice.

We walked through the town, which was cometely dead. Decided it must be because it's Sunday. Walked along the waterfront, where a huge stage and tents were being set up for some kind of tourism event.

We went back there in the evening,and it was buzzing - people everywhere! We hung out down there for a few hours and checked out the tents and the bands playing. Watched a pretty impressive fireworks display.

Observations...

• Our clothes are smaller than when we took them to the laundromat.
• Sundays are really "everything is shut and no one goes out of their home" days.
• The supermarkets smell awful.

Day Nineteen  - Posadas to Puerto Iguazu

Caught our bus to Puerto Iguazu first thing. We sat in the very front up the top again, so had great views again.

Our hostel was very conveniently just across the road from the bus station. It's a really nice hostel - very bamboo safari. We did some trip rearranging here and decided to stay longer in Puerto Iguazu and go to Sāo Paulo from here, so we booked our tickets to Sāo Paulo. It will be another long trip, but it will be coche cama, which is basically a bus full of la-z-boy armchairs!

We also sorted out what we were going to do at the falls the next day.

After a light dinner near our hostel, we had an early night. Really really hot in Puerto Iguazu - very tropical.

Observations...

• The dirt here is very red.
• Siestas are for a reason. Everything shuts between 1pm and 5pm here.
• Food here is either very salty or very sweet.

Day Twenty  - Iguazu Falls

Headed off to the falls, known as Cataratas here, bright and early. It was already very very hot and the day had only just begun!

After paying our entry fee, we visited the largest falls first, called Garganta del Diablo, or Devil's Throat. It was so impressive. Amazing! Got a bit wet from the spray, but considering the temperature, we didn't mind at all!

Next we walked around the upper circuit, which takes you past lots of very impressive falls.

Next we walked the lower circuit. At one of the viewing platforms, you get completely soaked. Next was the boat trip. We went on a jetboat that takes you right under the falls. It goes very fast and you get absolutely saturated. It was awesome!

If you ever visit South America, you have got to visit Iguazu. Definitely a trip highlight.

Observations...

• We drank 3.5L of water today.
• 32 degrees here.
• Took 300 photos. Later culled to 200.

Day Twenty One - Iguazu Falls

We headed back to the falls again today. Another very hot day! Went back to Diablo, and we almost had the platform to ourselves - it had been packed the day before.

We wandered through the walks and saw some great wildlife - lizards, colourful birds, monster ants.

Bought a few souvenirs, then headed back to the hostel in the late afternoon. Nice to spend some time in an air-conditioned room!

We went to a restaurant down the road for dinner. There's a guy that stands outside and shouts the specials at potential customers. To be honest, I think he scares away more people than he attracts! We had very interesting rockmelon juice with our dinner.

Observations...

• It was 32 degrees and people still carry around their thermos.
• Guys, that was hand sanitiser, not insect repellant. Your body is now very clean.
• We have never had cold showers so regularly.

Day Twenty Two - Puerto Iguazu

We were a bit exhausted after all the sun and walking in the last couple of days, so it was a rest day for our last day in Iguazu. We wandered through the town, did some shopping, caught up on the travel blog, did some reading and sitting by the pool. Very relaxing!

Big bus trip tomorrow to Sāo Paulo.