Cataratas

Day 2:
We visited the smaller Brazilian side of the waterfalls (cataratas) which offered a great view. We took a bus to a drop off point where we walked a trail and caught glimpses of the falling water as we walked. By the time we reached the end of the path we were at the U-shaped juncture of several waterfalls. There was a platform you could go out on to be super close to what you've been photographing for at least an hour before and, of course, get soaked if you didn't have to bring or buy a poncho before you headed out there.

Since it only took a few hours to knock down this side of the waterfalls people kind of did their own thing afterwards. I visited the mall since its one of the things I like doing in new countries. Nothing really spectacular about it until I hit the third floor food court. There was a variety of food! I was so surprised and happy. I went to every single restaurant minus the Subway and looked at all the menus. You just don't get choices like this in Uruguay where you'll find a lot of the same dishes in different restaurants all over the country.

The language barrier did pop up on this visit though as realized that I seriously knew virtually no Portuguese except Obrigada, or thank you. I just had to point to what I had a question about and the guys behind the counter had to put their heads together to come up with a response in English or Spanish. It was a lot of effort to order a hamburger with pineapple. What? I didn't realize that rice and beans was traditional Brazilian food until after. Oops?

Day 3:
We visited the Argentinian side through a reservation with the hostel which meant we got a ride there and back, help with customs both ways (we handed the guy all our passports, he disappeared inside with them, came back, and voila), and a tour guide in the park. I took advantage of the tour guide and was really glad for it because he managed to show us the highlights of the park in just the few hours that we had to spend at the park. We walked a trail where we kept catching glimpses of waterfalls until we started heading for the boat tours where we got a great few of the falls. I was against the boat ride at first and was not even dressed for it (jeans), but it was hot and I didn't to pass up that photo op. Everyone started screaming when we met the blast of the falls, but it was more because it was freezing! Completely worth it though. We then kept hiking in our wet clothes except for the fortunate few who brought swimsuits or extra clothes and arrived to the top of the U-shaped falls. It was great looking down and remembering I was down there yesterday and now I'm up here and in a different country.

Then before crossing back over to Brazil to change clothes and head to the airport we made one more stop. The "Three Frontiers" is a point where you can stand and see the intersection of river where Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay come together. Each has a cone shaped thing (sorry, my English is failing me at the moment) painted in the colors of their flag that you can see from standing on the coast of whichever country at that point. Of course, I saw the lack of coast guard and security in general watching out for the borders and wondered if this was a great smuggling place at night when the tourists went back to their hotels, but that's just me.

We then almost uneventfully board our plane back to MVD and arrived home around two in the morning. Talk about a long day.

So, which day/ side was better? I think to get the complete picture you should visit both sides. BUT if I had to choose one... Argentina. You get to walk around in the forest AND see falls up close and personal. And, that side spoke Spanish. Big plus.