Iguazu Falls, Argentina 2009

After spending five nights in Buenos Aires and three in El Calafate we headed to Iguazu Falls for one night.  We were originally supposed to fly from El Calafate to Buenos Aires then catch the last flight from Buenos Aires to Iguazu and arrive there about 9pm, spend two nights and then head back to Buenos Aires.  About a month before we left, LAN changed the El Calafate –BA flight to a later time so we would miss the connection to Iguazu.  So we ended up spending the one night in BA then flying to Iguazu the next morning at 9am.  This meant we would only be spending one night in Iguazu.  I was a bit worried that would not be enough time, but it really turned out to be okay, and we found plenty of time to do what we had planned.

See my review of the Sheraton, where we stayed, here.

In Iguazu the obvious attraction is the falls.  They are in the famous opening scene of “The Mission” when the young missionary is tied to the cross and sent down the falls.  You can see the falls from the Argentina side or also the Brazilian side.  Many people actually do both;  you can book a guide from Argentina to take you to the Brazilian side.  We chose not to do that, since you need a visa to go to Brazil from there which costs $30-$40 as I recall, and with four of us just did not seem worth it.  We found them spectacular from our side.  One of the reasons we chose to stay at the Sheraton is because it is located right in the Iguazu National Park so very easy to get to the jeep and rafting tours.  We just walked out of the hotel and it was right there.

GRAN AVENTUERA

Our flight left Buenos Aries at 9:15am and arrived in Iguazu at 11am. We had plenty of time to sign up at the desk in the Sheraton for the Gran Aventura at 1:45pm and have a leisurely lunch. The Gran Aventura only took about 1 hour – 1hour 15 min. It would take more if you wanted to stop at St. Martin’s Island, but we headed back to the Sheraton (since we were drenched!!) and relaxed by the pool until time to get ready for dinner.  The Gran Aventura includes the jungle jeep ride and the boat ride to the falls.  The jungle ride was not that fascinating – if time and money are a real concern then I would skip it, but I did find the commentary of the jungle interesting.  Everything is said in Spanish and then repeated in English.

After the jeep ride we were dropped off and walked down quite a few steps to the bottom where we were picked up for the raft tour.  Now, why with all the reading I did on Fodors no one ever mentioned that it is best to just wear your bathing suit for this excursion, I do not know.  But, now I am telling you wear your bathing suit – you will not just get a little wet, you will not just get soaked, you will get DRENCHED!!!!  It was great fun, and the highlight of the trip for Michael – he wanted to go on it again immediately!!

The next day our flight was not scheduled to  leave until 4:30pm so we had plenty of time to do the train and catwalks out to Devil’s Throat. The only problem was we were hot and sweaty after that walk but had to check out of our rooms at 11am so were not able to freshen up.  The walk out to the catwalk was longer than I was expecting but the view was spectacular – please, please watch  the movie “The Mission” before coming here!!

EL QUINCHO RESTAURANT

For our one dinner we took a taxi into Puerto Iguazu for dinner at El Quincho where we had a fabulous steak and rib dinner.  It was a lively place with live music – I’m glad we took the time to go into town.  The taxi was 70 pesos there, 130 for both ways – the driver will wait for you.  Our taxi driver spoke a little English and was very excited to point out places of interest as he drove us.

So, despite our concerns of potentially not having enough time, in the end we felt it was more than adequate.

After Iguazu we headed back to BA for our two last nights.  Overall, this was a fabulous trip – Patagonia definitely being the highlight.  We hope to return someday and spend time in Tierra del Fuego and Bariloche as well as a few city days in Buenos Aires.

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2 responses to “Patagonia – El Calafate, Perito Moreno Glacier 2009”

  1. Clay Faries says:

    Excellent (informative) and interesting report. Thank you. For us, I am afraid the glacier experience may be too cold for my two teenage kids, now that we are deciding to go in June instead of March. In any case, as you indicate, I thought El Calafate might be a decent place to sleep and eat.

    By the way, we are planning a similar 2-week trip with B.A. as a base. All internal one-way flights (not too expensive):
    BA flight to IF (1 night, likely just visit the Argentina side),
    IF flight to El Calafate (2 nights), and
    El Calafate flight to BA.

    We may go via ferry to Colonia (1 night).

    Thanks again for a cool and great blog.

    • Judy Gambee says:

      Clay – glad you enjoyed the blog. Even if you don’t think you can do the ice hiking, be sure and do the boat tour – you can stay inside the warm cabin, but you do get to see quite a bit. Have an amazing trip!!

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