Iguazu Falls, Brazil/Argentina

Country: Brazil/Argentina

Attraction: Iguazu Falls

Duration: 2 days

Accommodation: Iguaccu Guest House, Foz de Iguacu (Hostel-private room)

Iguazu Falls are waterfalls on the Iguazu River on the border of Brazil and Argentina. It is spelt Iguacu in Brazil and Iguazu in Argentina! There are up to 300 waterfalls in this area when the water level is high. The main waterfall is called The Devil’s Throat where half the river’s water plunges down. The falls are one of the most impressive things I have ever seen in my life!

Day 1:

The waterfalls can be viewed from both the Brazilian and Argentinean side. We decided to see them from both! The Brazilian side is less impressive and does not take as long to visit. So on the Brazilian side, after a quick bus ride from our hostel, we reached the park. We walked about 1km in total along a walkway, seeing magnificent views of the waterfalls. We were blown away with how amazing it was. It was a bit drizzly but that seemed to add to the whole experience!

Day 2:

We got picked up early and were on our way to Puerto Iguazu and the Argentinean side to view the waterfalls. When we entered the park we got a train to the highest walkway which led us literally to the drop of the largest waterfall, The Devil’s Throat. We stood there for ages and just watched the huge volume of water tip over the edge.

We descended on the train to the middle walkway where we walked along and saw unreal waterfalls and rainbows! On the lower level Johnny and I took a boat trip to experience the waterfalls from the river. We even got dunked under one waterfall! Luckily we bought ponchos and didn't get too wet! It was so hard to keep our eyes open with the spray from the water!

The views from the Argentinean side were definitely far superior to the Brazilian side. However I’m glad we still saw it from both sides.

If I were to go back again, I would look into getting a helicopter ride over the waterfall. It was only after that I saw a postcard which had a picture on it of the waterfalls taken from the sky. It was a completely different perspective and it looked like the earth just collapsed and left a big hole! I would have loved to have seen it from the air!

All that was left to do that evening was to get a 17 hour bus to Buenos Aires! Only 1, 350km away!

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Country: Brazil

City: Rio de Janeiro

Duration: 3 days 

Accommodation: Harmonia Hostel, Ipanema

Rio de Janeiro was our first stop on our two month trip of South America. It is called 'The Marvelous City' and is well know for its white sand beaches, Rio Carnival, samba dancing and of course that giant statue of Christ the Redeemer looking down on the entire city. It was the perfect place to start our travels.

Day 1:

The first thing on our list was 'Corcovado' where we got to see the 38m high statue of Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer). The view from the foot of the statue was incredible with 360 degree views of the city, Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon, Guanabara Bay and the many mountains, including Pao de Acucar (Sugar Loaf Mountain) 

Next up was the world famous Copacabana beach. We walked half the length of the beach (it's 4 km long!) to 'Arpoador', a rocky headland between Copacabana beach and Ipanema beach. Here we watched surfers enjoying the waves and took in the beautiful scenery in front of us. We then strolled on Ipanema beach drinking fresh coconuts before heading home. (We were still a bit jet-lagged!)

Day 2:

Today we saw another side to Rio. We visited its slums, or favelas, where a fifth of Rio's population lives, high up in the hills. We took a tour of Rocinha (one of the largest favelas in Rio) which is now considered 'pacified'. This is when the police get involved and remove all drug traffickers and weapons. The houses in the favelas were on top of each other and the streets were narrow and unstructured. The whole place felt really cramped. The contrast to how the poor and the rich neighbourhoods live here, literally side by side, was hard hard believe.

After lunch we made our way to Pao de Acucar (Sugar Loaf Mountain) where we took a cable car up to two different peaks. The scenery from up there was incredible, an even better view than Corcovado. 

We headed into Centro and had a late dinner in Lapa. We needed to be a little bit more streetwise in the city centre and I did feel a little unsafe here at night. This was mainly due to the fact that we got lost and stumbled into a rough neighbourhood. Survival tip: Look like you know where you are going and walk with confidence! 

Day 3:

The last day in Rio de Janeiro was spent relaxing on Ipanema beach. We lay out, read, swam and walked on the beach. We also organised our accommodation and transportation to the next destination – Iguacu Falls! (It was only 24 hours away by bus!!)

A bit about me!

I'm Shónagh (silent gh!) from Ireland and I love to travel! I have thought about setting up a travel blog for some time now and I have finally taken that first step! 

Last year I took a career break from my job as a primary school teacher and decided to travel the world with my boyfriend Johnny! We spent three and a half months travelling South America, New Zealand and Fiji. We are now living in lovely Sydney, Australia where we are working and travelling. Our plan is to travel Asia for a few months next year. 

I am looking forward to this exciting project!!

Shonagh x