The Day of the Pickpocket and Our first day Iguacu Falls!

I better get busy before I forget the details. There is a lot to catch up on. Before I go into our trip to Iguacu Falls on the border of Brazil and Argentina, I should fill you in on our grand adventure last Sunday, March 8. We went to mass at the Cathedral on the Plaza Mayo (See picture above - Was it a preview of things to come?). We walked around the square. The Casa Rosada – Argentina’s White House – is on the Plaza. We stopped at an ATM for some cash. From here we decided to walk to Puerto Madero to meet our friends Paul and Marilyn Whisenand for lunch. We decided to stroll around the back of the Casa Rosada to take pictures.

Suddenly, I felt and smelled that a bird had landed a “present” on me. I then broke all my rules. I let a “helpful” woman give me tissues and she started to help me clean off the mess. Next thing I knew Elisabeth had been “hit” by a bird too and the woman’s “friend” started helping Elisabeth clean up. Suddenly it HIT me. This was a scam. By the time we woke up, the two left and jumped in a taxi. You have it – pick pockets. They got some lose bills in my pocket but they unzipped Elisabeth’s purse she had around her neck and only took the large bills. Of course, we had just been to the ATM. The good side is that they took no credit cards and we do NOT carry our passports with us – only copies.

Back of Casa Rosada - Scene of the Crime!

I have foiled pick pockets in Paris by having a wallet that attaches to my belt and is carried inside my pants. We have warded off gypsy scam artists in Rome and Florence, etc. Why we went brain dead is what upsets us. After traveling together for 37 years, we know better. Never let anyone touch you for any reason! Carry large amounts of money after going to an ATM in a concealed wallet that attaches to you. It was a tough lesson – but one that will make us safer. If I had been thinking, I would have known that the bird had to be a Giant Condor considering the mess that was left! What is interesting is how the brain takes over and all you want to do is clean up and you forget to really THINK!

Our friend Marilyn Whisenand told us she never even carries a purse – she sees it as a target. She just carries a lipstick and a small amount of cash in a pocket. Not a bad idea. We later learned that the same bird scam was used on the previous renter of our apartment. However, he lost an entire wallet with credit cards, money, and passport. He spent a lot of his time in BA getting a new passport and dealing with credit card companies. NEVER carry your passport – unless it is a travel day. Just take a copy. We also have sent a PDF file of our passports to our son who has stored these on his computer so he can email them to us if necessary.

Now for the fun stuff – our trip to Iguacu Falls!!

One of our first view of Iguacu Falls - one of the 275 Falls in 2.5 kilometers!!!

We flew from the domestic airport in Buenos Aires to the airport on the Argentina side of the falls on LAN airlines. As an aside, LAN is a wonderful airline. It is part of the One World Alliance with American – so you can earn miles with them. Since I just hit the million mile club with American, I get bonus miles on all my travels.

Our “on time” domestic flights were an hour fifty minutes each way. No baggage fees, free food and drinks – even beer – wider seats, and more legroom than US airlines. American, United, Delta - are you listening? The service was excellent and the plane was spotless. While waiting for the return flight on Thursday, I noticed two full cleaning crews get on the plane after it landed and before we boarded. When was the last time you saw REAL cleaning crews get on a plane in the States?

When we landed our guide was waiting with a sign for us. Ricardo was born in Santiago but has lived in Brazil most of his adult life. He is married to a Brazilian. His English was excellent. I strongly urge a private guide in Iguacu. The price was not that much and a guide can arrange things so you see a lot more than if you did this on your own. We wanted to see as much as possible with only two nights – one full day and two half days of sightseeing. We packed a lot into the time.

Iguacu is fabulous! Both countries have National Parks around the falls – Brazil for 70 years and Argentina for 74. As a result, it is not commercialized. There is one hotel in each Park and a few concessions. It is nothing like the Disneyland atmosphere of Niagara. We have also been to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and we rate Iguacu higher. There is not as much water at Iguacu but the falls stretch over 2.5 kilometers. They say there are actually 275 falls – but Ricardo said that during a flood, there is only one! We also suggest that you go to both sides. Most of the falls are on the Argentina side so the viewing is best from Brazil. The main cataract is the Devil’s Throat and it is split between the two countries.

Our visit started with a walk through the semi-tropical jungle with views of butterflies, fish, birds, a caiman, and giant spiders. We took the upper circuit which takes you to several observation points – spectacular! We did not take the lower circuit on advice of the Whisenands and our guide. There are many slippery steps.

Next was a ride on a small tourist train (all covered in the admission to the Park) out to the starting point for a walk to the Devil's Throat (Above). What a sight!!! The platform is perched right over the major cataract of the Falls! Getting drenched is not an option – it just happens! It was an incredible experience. We ate lunch at a concession at the Park entrance – a fabulous buffet of all kinds of salads, entrees, and barbecued meat. We made this our main meal at about 3pm.

Next we crossed the border into Brazil on our way to our lodging. Our guide handled the formalities which was nice. To go into Brazil, you need a visa issued at one of their consulates. Fortunately, we had five year visas issued in 2006 for our trip up the Amazon.
Several South American countries have adopted so-called reciprocity fees for citizens from countries that charge their citizens for visas. In Brazil it is a visa and in Chile it is an entry fee paid at the airport. The price is the same their citizens pay for a US visa – right now about $130. The Chilean fee is good for the life of the passport. Argentina has adopted the same thing but it has not yet been implemented.

After crossing the border, we went to the town of Foz de Iguazu, Brazil – a town of about 300,000 that grew up with the building of the giant Itaipu Binacional Dam on the Parana River. We stayed at the Pousada El Shaddai – a sort of bed and breakfast. Our room was very basic – just two beds, one bench, but an air conditioner and TV. It was clean – if basic. The price was right - $56 for two with a great breakfast!

Our first day at Iguacu (or Iguazu in Portuguese) was over, we were tired, and we had lots of memories! We had seen the Falls from Argentina but now we were on the Brazil side. How would day 2 of the trip be? Stay tuned….