Iguazu Falls, the most epic waterfalls I've been to

I'm kind of obsessed with waterfalls. Being near one makes me incredibly happy. In Bali I would visit one every weekend (Sekumpul was my favourite and I can't wait to go back soon). Every time I'm in a new place, I always search for waterfalls near me.

So when I found myself in the (relative) vicinity of one of the biggest waterfalls in the world - Iguazu falls - I booked a trip ASAP :)

Iguazu falls is a series of waterfalls similar to Niagara, but bigger! They sit at the border of 3 countries: Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay.

The Bus Adventure

I bought bus tickets from Floripa straight to Iguazu. Why bus? The flight was ridiculously expenseve, plus the timing was inconvenient for me. The bus suited me better as it was during the night. So I could leave Friday evening - arrive Saturday morning - spend the day at the falls - take the bus back that same night - back in Floripa Sudnay morning.

(Coming back on Monday wasn't an option since I start work 6:30 in the morning and there were no such early buses. The earliest I could make it was 10:00, so that was out of the question.)

That left me with only one day at the falls - or 10 hours, to be exact. Unfortunately I was not able to visit the Argentinian side, I only had time time for the Brazilian side. Oh well, I guess there's my reason to come back to this magical place :)

The bus journey was quite the adventure in itself!

On Friday, I finished work at 3pm as usual and headed to the station. Bus was leaving at 6pm. I was not able to get an Uber (story for another time) so I took the public transport to the central station.

I told myself that I had plenty of time and it was gonna be fine - however, when we entered the center we hit a huge traffic jam! We weren't moving and I had 30 minutes until my bus leaves. If I missed it, who knows how long I'd have to wait until I can see Iguazu again...

So I asked the driver to open the door and I RAN. This was inside a tunnel. Then I ran on the side of the main road. I even took off my flip flops and went barefoot to run faster! Guess what, I made it. At 5:58. Bus was leaving at 6:00.

Quite the adventure! Now I was finally relaxed on the bus. Oh did I mention it was gonna take FOURTEEN HOURS?! Well at least my seat was a semi-bed and there was wifi. I slept most of the time :)

^^ "Are we there yet?"

The Waterfalls

The next morning, we arrived. I had a coffee and pao de queijo (my new Brazilian addiction), then hopped on another bus that took me to the entrance of the Iguazu falls national park.

The line was huge - as you can see below! That place is touristic. We all got on a double decker bus and I snagged the driver's seat :) Finally, after 39054 hours fof travel, I was almost there.

And Iguazu did not dissapoint. All the running, busses, and waiting were worth it. Here's what I saw immediately after I got off the last bus.

An overcrowded trail led me to the main event, Garganta del Diablo. I could not see all of it because it's mostly on the Argentinian side, and because of all the steam. But the view was pretty good nonetheless :)

Yes, I went on that little walkway and got completely SOAKED. It felt like someone was throwing buckets of water at me, quite literally.

The waterfall was mind-blowing, is all I can say.

Afterwards I made some new friends and we went for lunch. We met a lot of these guys on the way - they are like the Balinese monkeys in Ubud, very determined to steal your food:

Then it was back to the waterfalls for a second round.

I left soaked and incredibly grateful I got to see this amazing place :)

The Bird Park

The next stop was a bird park nearby. Not a zoo, this place helps birds that have been rescued from animal trafficants. It had several walk-in aviaries, where you just hang out in the middle of a small jungle full of beautiful birds :)

The park closed at 5pm, and after that I had to hurry back and catch my bus to Floripa.

Iguazu was definitely one of the most epic things I've seen in my life :)