DAY 3 - Morning

An early start, we leave our hotel in Buenos Aires and head to the top of Argentina, right near the border of Brasil. We got to the airport with enough time to have a white chocolate cappuccino before waiting at our gate to board. The flight was nice and smooth and it was beautiful flying over the greenery and river. It took so long for us to cross the border from Argentina to Brasil. We waited in the bus for ages while our guide went and had our passports checked. In the meantime, we all hopped out of the bus to stretch our legs. The weather was so warm and it was about lunchtime, we were all getting a bit hungry. We walked over to the convience store on the Argentinian side and got told off by security because he thought we came from the Brasilian side. So we had to wait, all getting a bit hungry. It wasn’t until 2.30 we finally got to eat lunch.

DAY 3 - Afternoon

We got to Iguazu Falls and jumped straight in the que for the helicopter. It was my first helicopter ride and it was at Iguazu falls, the place I have been dying to go to the most. I was so excited waiting for the helicopter to land, for Kat and Steve to get out and for us to hop on, I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. I think the workers there knew how excited I was so they put me in the front seat! The helicopter ride was so smooth and we had such a nice pilot. We flew over the bottom of the river and seen all of the speed boats and river rafting boats. We went over and up to the falls. It just takes your breath away how big and beautiful it is. I was in awe. I have been waiting a year since we booked this holiday to see the Iguazu Falls and we were finally here, in helicopter, flying over it. The way the helicopter turned was so graceful. The floor at my feet was glass so I could see through to the bottom. I had tears in my eyes, what a beautiful part of the world and I got to experience that. I was so grateful. I was buzzing after the flight, on cloud 9, my dream come true.

After the rush of us going on the helicopter, we headed over to the falls to have lunch at the top Brasilian side of the falls. It was a buffet lunch, all you can eat. We only had 40 minutes so we had to stuff our face and get outta there (which we did because it was 2.30pm and we finally got to eat!). There was a salad bar, lots of meat, chips, square chips with cheese in them, steak and gravy, seafood, lamb and oz tail, spaghetti, so much food! We didn’t get table service until right near the end and our drinks came out with only 5 minutes to go. We had to skull them!

Full to the rim, we then went on a walk down the path on the Brasilian side. Fernandes warned us about these cute Quatis (little raccoon looking things). She said they look cute but be aware! They have sharp claws and are cheeky little menises. As soon as we made our way to the start of the walk, right next to us, a couple had their back to the falls and were taking selfies. He had food in his bag and it wasn’t long before a Quatis opened his zipper and tried to get in his bag. The guy finally realised it was tugging on his backpack and moved away from the fence, it stuck on his backpack and the guy tried shaking it off. These Quatis are no joke! It was such a nice path. We walked all the way down to the bottom and got splashed by the power of the falls. It was beautiful. The sun hitting the water made little rainbows around the falls and when you looked up there so many birds and vulchures circling around the falls and through the mist. We did about 12,500 steps.

We headed to our hotel where we stayed two nights in Brazil. Such a nice hotel on the corner of the street. It was really clean with a bar near the entrance and an outside area with chairs and tables. We put our bags down, had a shower and got ready for dinner. Fernandes wanted to take us to her favourite Brazilian restaurant. She got us all her favourite drink. I took a big swig and almost bloody choked because it tasted like tequila. After that drink, the live music started and everyone started getting in the mood to have a few more. Such a fun, chill vibe. The boys ordered a beer tower, the girls were trying all different cocktails. Shane and I shared a meal that had three steaks, cabbage and banana fritters that all came out on a cute little hot plate. Once the two older couples went back to the hotel, our dentist friend RJ in the group kept shouting everyone shots. Tequila, B52’s and Jäger bombs. We had an early morning the next morning to see the Argentinian side of the falls so we started to head back to the hotel around 2am. Kat was smashedddd she really got into the drinks. I helped walk her home and when we got back to our room, she laid on our bed and I fed her a bag of chips. Shane and his new mate, RJ kicked on, on our balcony and had some more beers.

DAY 4

An early start, breakfast at 6.30am to be ready for our tour at 7am.

Eduardo our tour guide took us on a walk around the Argentinian side of the falls. We caught a train closer to the walking paths. The walk was beautiful, it went out to the edge of the waterfalls just as they dropped off. It was a bit of a walk from the train out to the edge but it was so worth it. We all got drenched from the mist. After quite a bit of walking, we caught the train back and seen some more sides of the smaller waterfalls. We stopped off for some Empaladas for lunch, then got ready for our Boat ride under the falls. Kat almost wasn’t going to go on the boat ride because she was so hungover but changed her mind, luckily because it has got to be one of the best things we’ve ever done. To get to the boat, they take you on a 4WD through the Iguazu falls jungle. It’s a bit of a walk down quite a few stairs to make your way around to the beach, where you embark on the speed boat. We got life jackets and a waterproof bag on the way down to protect our things. I was getting a little nervous because I didn’t know what to expect. We were the first to board the boat so Shane picked the front seat! It was so much fun, so much more than I ever expected. It literally took our breath away. The power under the falls is incredible. It felt like we were being dunked under water. It was a little hard to breath. We went under the first fall which felt like a few minutes (I don’t think it actually was).. then we went under again. The first initial hit of the water was cold but as soon as we came around from the fall, the sun hit us and it was beautiful. We were blessed with the best weather! It was such a hot day, especially after walking all day.

After the falls, we visited a local community, how they live and how they use to live. The guy from the town showed us around to different contraptions they used to catch their food.

When we got back to the hotel, we got ready and the boys went out to get some kebabs. Fernandes wanted to take us to an all you can eat Italian restaurant so Shane and I shared a kebab before dinner because we were bloody starving. We sat outside in the seating area near the pool. I ordered a drink and forgot my room number to charge it to so I needed to show him my room card. Bloody 3 second memory, I just came down from my room.