Snuggled into the front seats with us on the bus, the boys both drifted off for a mid-day nap during the last half hour of our trip. This meant that they missed the transition from country-side to rain forest… the foliage definitely got denser, and there were signs everywhere indicating animal crossings.
(click to enlarge)
Once in the town of Iguazu, we stumbled off the bus, and were immediately accosted by the local tourism information guy, who spoke English and tried to sell us a 70 peso taxi ride to our room, which we knew from our host was supposed to cost a mere 40 pesos.
We thanked him politely, and headed over to the local pizza joint to get the boys something to eat.
Once fed, we found another taxi stand and negotiated a 50 peso ride.
Our arrival at our host’s home was a little disappointing; her cleaner was apparently having some pretty serious boyfriend troubles, and in her distraction, misplaced the key. This cost us 45 minutes of waiting in the yard, while they tried to figure out what to do with us.
Once we finally got into our room, it turned out there was virtually no internet access, and we had all been waiting desperately to get online (man, are we ever spoiled!) Furthermore, there was some sort of issue with the hot water, and in order to shower, one had to McGyver the hot water tap from some remote location near the floor under the sink on the other side of the bathroom!
Apart from the no key and crappy internet/sketchy hot water situation though, our host was actually quite lovely, recommending an afternoon outing for us, and negotiating lower rates with the local taxi company.
Once in the town of Iguazu, we stumbled off the bus, and were immediately accosted by the local tourism information guy, who spoke English and tried to sell us a 70 peso taxi ride to our room, which we knew from our host was supposed to cost a mere 40 pesos.
We thanked him politely, and headed over to the local pizza joint to get the boys something to eat.
Once fed, we found another taxi stand and negotiated a 50 peso ride.
Our arrival at our host’s home was a little disappointing; her cleaner was apparently having some pretty serious boyfriend troubles, and in her distraction, misplaced the key. This cost us 45 minutes of waiting in the yard, while they tried to figure out what to do with us.
Once we finally got into our room, it turned out there was virtually no internet access, and we had all been waiting desperately to get online (man, are we ever spoiled!) Furthermore, there was some sort of issue with the hot water, and in order to shower, one had to McGyver the hot water tap from some remote location near the floor under the sink on the other side of the bathroom!
Apart from the no key and crappy internet/sketchy hot water situation though, our host was actually quite lovely, recommending an afternoon outing for us, and negotiating lower rates with the local taxi company.
We decided to take one of her suggestions, and headed off to a nearby wildlife sanctuary. Unfortunately, we arrived just in time for the last tour of the day, which was NOT in English.
But the boys didn’t seem to mind; irrespective of language, they were mesmerized by the toucans and other incredible creatures we were able to see during our visit.
After the wildlife sanctuary, we drove back into town with Estephan, our driver, and had a $50 gourmet dinner for four, including drinks and dessert at a local restaurant. Best of all, they had Internet, and I was able to upload my first Iguazu blog post, so that the good people back home will know we arrived alive!
But the boys didn’t seem to mind; irrespective of language, they were mesmerized by the toucans and other incredible creatures we were able to see during our visit.
After the wildlife sanctuary, we drove back into town with Estephan, our driver, and had a $50 gourmet dinner for four, including drinks and dessert at a local restaurant. Best of all, they had Internet, and I was able to upload my first Iguazu blog post, so that the good people back home will know we arrived alive!
"OMG! So much meat!" The whole town, with its tourist traps and run-down buildings and duty-free shop is a little like Niagara Falls, only with more delicious and affordable restaurant options!
Once we’d all had our fill of food and screen sucking, we headed back to our host’s, and fell into bed. Tomorrow will be another exciting day, what with our planned visit to the actual Falls and National Park.
Once we’d all had our fill of food and screen sucking, we headed back to our host’s, and fell into bed. Tomorrow will be another exciting day, what with our planned visit to the actual Falls and National Park.
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