There was a very good reason it turns out to see both sides of Iguazu Falls - the Brazil side and the Argentina side. In fact there are many good reasons. Most are around just how different an experience it is - Argentina's side is more vast, with more trails (or at least more that everyone should do) with the main conceit being it takes you super close to the falls, a far more eye-level view of the beauty. Their devil's throat is also quite different. The only disappointment is one of the reasons is not to get Argentina stamps on your passport, because apparently those aren't done in Argentina anymore...
But I digress - the day started after meeting the driver that I coordinated through my AirBNB host to lock down for the day - basically to take me to the park entrance on the Argentina side and back. The border crossing there was quite painful, though luckily that was not repeated by the crossing on the way back which was quite painfree. The first step was to leave Brazil, which involved going into a building and getting an exit stamp (Brazil very much about stamps), and then to enter Argentina is a more traditional road crossing where you get stuck in lines for longer than you want and constantly think all the other lines are going slower.
We finally crossed without incident, though it was harrowing to see what seemed to be a 2-3 hour line of people seemingly leaving Argentina into Brazil, though my driver convinced me (turns out rightfully so) that by the time we go abck in the evening it wouldn't be so bad. The drive to the park entrance takes about 20 minutes from the border, where the roads and general conditions do seem worse than the infrastructure on teh Brazilian side. Which is ironic, since the park itself is more built up.
You enter and then walk past a series of buildings until you reach the first "trail", which is a short 1km walk to the "Cataratas Station" where most of the trails all go out from. The two main trails are the Superior and Inferior - not qualitative judgements, as the names should be read more as upper v lower. The third main trail is their devils throat, but requires a 20 minute train (like a Disney World ride train) to get to.
I started with the Superior, which is about 2km long, mostly at ground level with some ups and downs. It's all well marked on cantilevered walkways that are 1-way only - basically if you go you are supposed to go through the whole circuit. Much like on the Brazil side, there were ample areas to walk out and observe the falls, take photos, etc. You're basically in this one at eye level of the river bacnk above the falls, so you get some great shots of the top of the waterfalls, whether it be frighteningly close to the actual drop point, or seeing the cascade down about 50 feet away. The whole route takes about an hour with pictures.
By this point I was hungry, so back at the cataratas station there's a nice little cood mart - nothing crazy but decently good (and nicely wamed) empanadas, ice cold coke, water and other stuff (candy, chips, etc.). They have a ton of these in the park, which is super nice given the amount of walking - basically at the starting point and finish point of every trail theres one of these, if not more than one. I will say they are not cheap - a coke is about $4, and the empanadas were $6 each, where you would need at least three to call it a meal. Ironically, the park entrance is cheaper on this side than the Brazil one.
The inferior trail was sadly a bit inferior in the more qualitative sense, but mostly because a good 1/3rd of it was closed due to some maintenenace that was needed on the walkways. Of course, this happened to be where some of the most beautiful views are on that trail, but alas the remaining bit (which due to closure can be done quickly) was still quite nice. The trail does strart with a straight down path of about 200m elevation drop that takes you to the lower level. Now this is not generally at the base of the waterfalls, but about halfway or so down. The trail has a series of steps up that makes up about half of that drop over the course of it. There were some truly special small areas - definitely the most intimate of the trails, if the least grand in terms of the "wow" factor.
For "Wow" factor, that's best saved for the Devils Throat trail. The train journey is a bit uninspired, mostly since there are no real views on the way. Same then with the first like 80% of the trail, as you have to walk from land over the river at the top level over to the fails. Because of this, that first 80% is serene as you walk over the water, but fairly staid save for the random catfish or pretty bird that comes along. But that last bit is a great deal of suspense as the falls get closer, the sight of the blowback cloud of mist gets bigger, and then you reach it.
You are basically on the top of the main part of the falls - the "upper view" of yesterday's Devil's Throat "lower view". It isn't as misty as I expected, but the white cloud did give us a beautiful rainbow streaking in the middle of it. There is a fairly long large pathway platform there to take it in at every conceivable angle. It is mesmerizing, and a great way to end the time at Iguazu Falls.
In the end, before I talk about a surprisingly fantastic last night in Foz do Iguazu, I should do a quite pro's and con's between the falls experience on the Brazil side vs the Argentina side. Firstly, I should state if anyone were to come here they should absolutely do both sides. Both sides are well organized, with nice walkways, a ton of platforms for photos, etc. The Argentina side is more built up, there's a bit more to see, but also a bit commercial. The Brazil side definitely has the more stunning views (it's just more awe inspiring to see the full breadth and size of the falls) but less of them. I would lean slightly to the Brazil version of the Devil's Throat, even if you will get drencehd - but there's always fun in that. In the end, I probably say the Brazil side is slightly better, but again, definitely do both.
After a fairly easy drive back (again, the driver was completely right, the Argentina exit border was practically empty by 5pm or so when we were crossing), I took in a few last brews at 277 Craft Beer, which really impresses me in the quality of their beer. Their American IPA is fantastic, as was their chocolate stout, which is something I rarely find outside of the US. But as good as 277 Craft Beer was, it doesn't hold a candle to dinner.
The place is Emporio con Arte, which will immediately shoot pretty high up my list of best non tasting menu restaurants. It probably toes the line but falls slightly into the "fancy" category. The place is in some sense an art museum of decor inside (hence the name) with some incredible food made with such care and intention. When I sat, first the gregarious waiter took me through each item in their menu (about 8 apps and 15 mains) with such great detail. It took about 8 minutes, but was captivating. At that point I already wished I came here yesterday as definitely more than one night's worth of food seemed appealing.
In the end, I went for two bolinho's the classic Brazilian stuffed manioc ball, but these were stuffed with some gourmet shit - first dried beef, pineapple and guava (amazing, the two fruits making hte dried beef sing), and then one that was roasted banana (but really the skin) with hummus, which was such a weird combination but worked just fine as well. For the main, I got their supposed special, a confit duck leg with guava and cinnamon sauce, farofa and roasted beets and onions. Every bit of this dish was special, from some of the better roasted beets and onions (so tender and sweet), to of course that incredibly well confited duck. They had a ton of other dishes that sounded great but I went with the waiter's read on what was best, and enjoyed it.
Same with dessert, where i had the Brazilian version of a crepe (to be honest... it's just a crepe) stuffed with slightly roasted banana and a cainnamon sauce - which also was just amazing. It was like my favorite dessert / breakfast of a banana and nuttella crepe, but just ever so slightly different in a good way. Emporio Con Arte is a mesmerizingly good place, the type of place I want to exist in any town, be it a tourist stop or not - just people that clearly care so much about theri food and their product. Love it, can't say enough about it.
Honestly, I feel much the same way about Authentic Bar, where i went to end the night. Now, they aren't supreme mixologists cooking up their own stuff (at least outside of an assortment of Cachaca inspired drinks - things I've generally kept to being dinner drinks rather than post dinner), but they make the classics so well. And the oddest part is this is the type of place with teh decor, and frankly the vibe (music, the crowd) where they could easily half ass a negroni and it would be fine, but they don't. Their classic drinks were great, enough to make the fact the US lost ot Canada slightly more acceptable.
I'll write more about my overall thoughts on Brazil in tomorrow;s entry, as 75% of my day will be flying from Foz do Iguacu to Sao Paulo to Santiago, but this does end the Brazil portion of my trip. In a way, the best compliment I can give Brazil is that it has me questioning if I'd made the right decision to end my trip in Santiago. Now, I'm sure when I'm strolling Bellavista tomorrow I'll remember just why I did this, and candidly not really sure where I would've spent the extra three days (Salvador seems like a popular option), but Brazil was fascinating and lived up to the hype / expectations in every way, and continues to make one of my travel commandments hold up true - that South America may quietly be the best Continent for travel.
