Pedal power up to Iguazu

Well we've done a fair few miles since the last blog entry, but it has all been worth it. Back in Posadas we booked a flight for tomorrow (21st) from Iguazu to Salta so when we left Posadas we now had a deadline to make! We adapted a 10min in the lead, 10 mins drafting strategy for the next few days which made time on the bikes go much faster. Pretty much the entire route from Posadaas to Puerto Iguazu has been up and down the whole way. In 10 mins there is about time to zoom down one long hill, cool off abit and then slowly slog it up the next hill. We tend to start with 2 hours cycling initially and then find a nice spot to stop for food and refill water bottles. Then 1-2hours more and lunch and so on. Usually at least one if not two ice-cream stops! Most of the way had a hard shoulder so less danger from the passing lorries and buses. On the parts of the road without then there was always a grass verge to dive onto if needed.


14th Nov Posadas to San Ignacio 39.55M
Our shortest day on this stint  as we wanted to stop at the Jesuit Missionary ruins and explore them. Biking was relatively quick and easy and we found a lovely hospedaje that allowed camping in their garden. Luckily the tent was up before the rain started. Unluckily the rain continued throughout our exploration of the Jesuit missionary ruins, which although well preserved don´t have roofs anymore. It was warm but we were soon pretty wet. The ruins were interesting but the rain did turn it into a rather speedy tour.

Our good intentions of cooking ourselves soon vanished and what started as a stop for a beer to 'see what the weather was going to do', soon turned into a full meal. Very very yummy however and the Argentinian beer 'Quilmes' goes down very well too.

15th -17th Nov San Ignacio to El Alcazar 68.25M to Wanda 62M and to Foz do Iguaçu (Brazil) 45.2M
3 days of up and down cycling. Some lovely campsites and satisfingly good days on the bikes with many miles covered.
Arriving initially on the 17th in Puerto Iguazu in Argentina at midday we decided to make the border crossing into Brazil that afternoon. Initially the idea of crossing to Brazil came about as we wanted to get another 90 days on our Argentinian tourist visa when we re-entered the country. However it proved to be well worth the border crossing as customs itself was simple and surprisingly quick and we then had time to make our way to see the Iguazu falls from the Brazilian side. Absolutely amazing. Waterfalls everywhere, thunderous noise and just awe-inspiring. We took loads of photos (along with everyone else around us) and although good just can't really do it justice.

A night camping at a hostel in Brazil, lovely and chilled out.

18th Nov Foz do Iguaçu (Brazil) to Puerto Iguazu (Argentina) 8.15M
Almost missed the huge hostel breakfast as we hadn't realised Brazil was 1 hour in front of Argentina (it was only on the otherside of a bridge, but that hour difference did explain the seemingly early closure of the park at the falls yesterday)! Breakfast of bread, cheese, fruit, sweet breads and lots of cake seems the norm in certainly this part of Argentina and Brazil. A short pedal back across the bridge to Argentina and Puerto Iguazu and a nice new 90 day tourist visa for Argentina issued. Settled ar a lovely hostel in Puerto Iguazu and started sorting out some cardboard and packing tape for transporting the bikes on the plane on Monday. Our spanish vocab is increasing but probably not with the ususal conventional words!

19th Nov Iguazu Falls Argentina

A day spent at the Argentinian side of the Iguazu falls. Absolutely amazing again. I'd certainly recommend to anyone if you've got the time to go to both sides. On the Brazilian side you get more of an idea of the vast scale of the falls, on the Argentinian side you can get up closer to more of the individual falls. On the Argentinian side there is also a larger area of park to explore and first thing before actually seeing the falls we went for a walk down the 'Macuco trail´, a 3km out and back jungle walk. It was completely worth it being a bit away from the crowds and ending at  a natural pool at the base of a waterfall, where on a hot day I very much welcomed a swim! Also on the trail we saw loads of wildlife including a toucan, vultures, crowned eagles, a tiny owl and cai monkeys. We felt very lucky to have seen all of this and Gareth especially getting very excited about the birds.
It was a full day out at the falls and Argentinian national park but worth every peso of the entry fee.

20th Nov Puerto Iguazu
Another blog entry by me as Gareth is busy packing the bikes away for the flight tomorrow to Salta. Feels a bit like the end of a travelling chapter. It has been worth every pedal stroke to get up here to Iguazu despite some times when we felt that it was too hard, too muddy or too flooded! We've both had thoughts at certain times of quitting the bikes and jumping on a bus, but so glad that we didn't and I can definitely feel those pedalling legs are developing now!