We enjoyed breakfast and packed everything up and onto our bikes – it was very warm and humid by 10:00am already. Before leaving, we ate sprouts and cherry tomatoes and apples we know we could not take across the border. We rode to the outskirts of town through construction sites trying to get a gas cartridge at a camping store that Apple Maps said was there and open, but it was yet another wild goose chase with nothing at the address but some small grocery shops in very poor residential areas. We headed to the border and unlike at other border crossings where one has to park the vehicle and go inside a building to get everything done, here it was a drive through border crossing where you pulled up to a booth handed over your paperwork and it was all done at the booths which of course does not work for motorcycles as we have our passports and paperwork locked up in the top box which meant stopping the bike, getting off and fetching all the paperwork – the female officer was very understanding and processed both of us – then we had to drive to the customs check and they got us to pull over and then we walked with the guy and our paperwork to another booths were he typed all the info in and printed our new TIPs (temporary import permits) for the motorcycles – he never asked or wanted to see any food or inspect our luggage and with that we were back in Argentina.

We arrived at a very fancy hotel that I had booked for a very good price and were greeted at the entrance – for some reason my phone Apple wallet pay did not work on their machine which was frustrating but Andrew’s card worked. We then got a tour of the extensive premises of the hotel which was built in the style of a mission with red bricks and lavish gardens. There was a restaurant with an infinity pool overlooking the river and another larger pool. They had their own museum and a restaurant on site. We parked the bikes in the hotel car park under shade cloth and after unpacking we cooled down in the air conditioned room and then headed to the restaurant and infinity pool for a late lunch. I then went back to the room and changed into my swimmers and took a dip in the infinity pool and then relaxed on the deck chairs sipping a caipirinha watching the sunset over the river and getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. We retired to our room and washed some clothes before going for dinner at their fancy restaurant.

The next morning we had a very early start and quickly ate breakfast at 6:45am and were then picked up at 7:15am by the tour bus for a 8 hour tour of the falls on the Argentinian side including a jet boat ride were they promised you would get up and close to the falls and would get wet. It was another sunny and hot day and we had a set of spare clothes with us. Our tour guide Nicholas welcomed us and handed us a lanyard with his name and contact details that we had to wear. We were the first to be picked up of a total of 38 guests in the group. It was a big Mercedes tourist coach with manual gear shifting and we spent about 30 minutes driving around picking up the other guests. Just before the last pick-up a loud warning buzzer came on at the traffic lights and we made the last pick-up and then pulled over and were told that we had to wait for a replacement bus. While we were waiting, Nicholas explained the history of the oldest National Park in Argentina and its enormous size of which only a small fraction is accessible for the public. The new bus arrived very quickly and was nicer than the first one which had seats that smelled of wet musty clothes.

We continued our drive through the National Park to the entrance where we had to go through presenting our individual entry tickets we had to pre-purchase on-line which was not included in the tour. We met on the other side and had time to buy water and refreshments and they still accepted Brazilian currency which meant we could spend our remaining Reas. Nicholas meanwhile organised the train tickets for the entire group and told us that we were in group 3 boarding the train at 9:30am and we would go to the end station. There he told us about the 1.1km walk to the most famous part of the falls on the Argentinian side called Devil’s Throat. We were told to walk to the end of the walkway and to the viewing platform quickly and then take time on the way back in order to avoid having the crowds from the next train catching up. The walkway is made from metal grate and you can see through and the walk meanders over the river at the top of the falls with areas to sit down in the shade and plenty of opportunity to see wildlife. The water level was quite low when we were there but the last big flooding event was in 2023 and it took out large sections of the walkway which took more than 6 months to be re-built.

We saw a large snake swimming in the river and then climbing up on the concrete pylon of the walkway. (I have not yet been able to identify what snake it is). We then were very fortunate to see the large black Iguazu Catfish (Steindachneridion melanodermatum) endemic to the Iguazu river basin and listed as a threatened species. We made our way to the end viewing platform and took pictures of the impressive waterfall at Devil’s Throat – it was very wet from the spray and you could not see the bottom of the falls due to all the spray and in the white foggy mist were lots of large birds soaring. We then walked back on the boardwalk and met up with the group and Nicholas. We then took the train one stop back and had time to do the upper walk way of 1.7km at our own pace. There were several lookouts and platforms and we saw many different butterflies – some landed on us. We also saw a number of American Black Vultures (Coragyps atratus) both sitting on rocks or trees and soaring high above the falls.

After we returned from the upper walk we saw a lighthouse structure which Andrew went to take pictures of while I waited near the path and saw an entire family of Capuchin monkeys crossing over the path jumping from tree to tree and being very noisy. We then had an hour to get lunch – it was very hot and humid and Andrew had a milkshake and I had an ice cream and we then got changed into clothes that could get wet. Nicholas then gave us our tickets for the jet boat ride and we lined up to get on the 4 wheel drive safari bus which drove us about 20 minutes through the jungle close to the boat ramp. The last 300m we had to descend down many stairs, pick up a large waterproof bag and were fitted with a life jacket. We entered the boat and chose to sit on the upper level in the last row of seats. Once on the boat we were instructed to take our shoes off and put them in the waterproof bag along with all other belongings that we wanted to keep dry. I kept my white waterproof camera out and Andrew had the GoPro camera in its waterproof housing. We went upstream over rapids and then saw a jaguar on the shore walking along a sandy beach – what a treat and rare sight – one of the tour guides told us that in 20 years working there she had only seen a Jaguar twice – how lucky were we 🥹🥰 🐆. We then went to one of the smaller waterfalls and the captain manoeuvred the boat so that the passengers on one side got drenched and then turned around so that the other side of the boat got a good shower. After that we drove to larger falls where the boat drove right under the falls so that everyone was completely drenched – it was complete whiteout while in and under the waterfall and I turned my camera off while Andrew filmed and recorded my delighted squeals when we went under the falls (viewer advice: turn the volume down before watching the videos 😂😉). After 3 complete submersions under the falls we returned to the boat ramp, walked up the 300m of stairs and got changed into our dry clothes before boarding the safari bus which drove us back up to the main centre. This time we had a very enthusiastic female guide on the bus who told us lots of information about the park and the animals and we were lucky to see more Capuchin monkeys and their acrobatic jumps from one palm tree to another (not flying pigs but flying monkeys in this part of the world 😂). We then also saw a toucan in the wild – what a wonderful day of wildlife experience in the jungle and although there were lots of people, the area is much larger and it felt much less crowded and seeing all the wildlife in their natural habitat was so special🥰🤗🐆🐒. We then boarded the bus and were dropped back at our hotel – we were the last to be dropped off at 5:45pm – we booked a 8 hour tour that lasted more than 10 hours and was definitely worth the money. So which side was better – the Brazilian or the Argentinian side? The experiences and views of the falls are very different and definitely worth seeing both. We probably enjoyed the Argentinian side more as it felt less crowded and we were lucky to see so much wildlife 🥰😍🤗.

When we arrived back at the hotel they had cleaned our room but turned the air conditioning off and all our clothes had not dried and were still very wet 😳. We went to the pool and had a drink while watching the sunset and Andrew talked to his son as it was his birthday. We had another fancy dinner with a free tango show. After 3 dances, they encouraged members of the audience to dance with them – Andrew went and danced the tango with the lady performer – the guy asked me to dance with him but I politely declined – I am sure he still needs his feet and toes and they would have suffered severely if I attempted to dance with him 💃 😂. We had a great time at this fancy hotel and enjoyed our last night there.