Stepping into a New Country

Travel from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Iguassu, Brazil
Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Today was another travel day....and I was so busy travelling I did not even take any pictures. Today I entered Brazil for the first time. My next couple days would be spent exploring the famous Iguassu Falls, that sit on the border of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.

It was a very, very early morning. My hotel last night was so nice and comfortable and I would have loved to have slept in but unfortunately I had a very early flight. It was a quick taxi ride to the airport and then a quick flight to Iguassu Argentina. I was met at the airport by a local driver who then drove me (about 30 minutes) to Iguassu Argentina. This is when I got my first experience with the Argentina/Brazil border. Basically, I sat in the car while the driver took my passport in to get stamped......super easy.

At about 0800 (yes, 8am....I told you it was an early flight), I arrived at my hotel. I met Eduardo, who will be my guide for the next couple of days. He gave me a couple ideas of things to check out, where to find food and money etc. Today I had nothing planned which was good for a couple reasons. First, I was really tired so upon my arrival I slept for a couple hours. The second was that it was really, really hot and humid....and I needed some clothes. So after sleeping for a few hours I went out to check a few things out. 

My first task was some Brazilian cash. That turned out to be a bit harder than expected. Finding a functioning bank machine took some walking and the exchange offices wouldn't take US dollars. Eventually I found one but I got a good look at the neighbourhood. Not the best location and in very close proximity to the Paraguay border and the favelas (shantytowns). Eduardo had warned me to stay on certain streets and not be out after dark. Apparently a lot of smuggling comes in from Paraguay (drugs, arms etc.) and since I have no need to find trouble, I followed his suggestions.

I did however need to find some clothes. Lucky for me I found a nice second hand shop down the road, with cheap shirts and shorts. Even lucked out finding someone who spoke English, so the girls helped me out finding a few things. I think I under estimated how humid it would be so was happy to find a cheap shop.

I discovered pretty quickly that there is also a large Muslim population in the area around my hotel. Meant I didn't have to walk very far to find some super good shawarma.

It ended up being a pretty early night for me but I did not mind at all. Had a full day planned tomorrow and would get my first glimpse of the famous falls.

Julie