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We hired the cabbie that drove us back from the Falls in Brazil yesterday to take us to Argentina today.  $120 Reals for the three of us (return trip).  Going to Argentina in a cab to see the falls is apparently the thing to do from the Brazil side.  The border is all set up for it.  We pre-filled a form with name, date of birth, Nationality and Passport number.  Our cabbie pulled up to the border (no line ups), took the form and our passports to customs while we waited in the cab, got us stamped in and we were in Argentina as easy as that! Complete drive-thru service.

The Cataratas (or Waterfalls as I taught you yesterday) on the Argentina side were just as quick to get to as the Brazil side.  Our cabbie told us he'd pick us up at 5 pm at the front gates and we were off to explore for the day.

Straight away we bought tickets for a jet boat ride under the falls.  We followed poorly marked trail signs to find the open-air safari-style trail bus that would take us to the boat.  The signs were so poorly marked we missed our 10:45 am bus boarding time! They told us to take the 11:45 am instead.

As we were killing time having lunch, the rain came down - hard.  It didn't let up either.  By the time we boarded the safari bus (open-air if I failed to mention that key factor) it was all we could do to keep one eye open for viewing during the 8 km s-l-o-w trail ride to the boat.  Tyler and Tony were the only two not wearing rain ponchos and they were soaked to the bone and starting to shiver.

We made it the the jet boat, put on  our life vests and took a wild ride out on the river in, under and around the falls.  It was thrilling! The rain even stopped so we could enjoy the view.  Getting completely SOAKED under the waterfalls was not a problem - the rain had already done a bang up job there.  My $15 Peso rain poncho kept me fairly dry (despite the rips and tears thanks to the wind).

Seemed the rain officially stopped and the sun came out by the time we walked a trail to the top of the Cataratas after the boat ride.  It was another stunning view - with a totally different perspective from yesterday.

Again, these photos don't quite do the size of the falls justice, but I think you like them anyway.

Oh, and do I need to mention we hit the Bier Garten for Sangria at dusk back in Brazil (third night standing)? We must've gained Preferred Customer status as we were presented with a complimentary appetizer platter:  small hard boiled eggs, green olives and cubes of cheddar cheese.  When we asked the waiter what kind of bird the small eggs were from he replied "A small bird"! We will never know what type of bird (nor do we want to know), but yes, they sure made tasty snacks.

-tna

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