We visited the Brazilian side of the falls as the setting sun was tinting the water.

Although we arrived in late afternoon on July 21 at Foz do Iguaçu, we found a terrific guide, Fabio Wandscheer, who drove us to the Brazilian side of the falls.  It was about 3:00 PM when we got there.  We strolled the paths along the cliffs, listening to the parrots and monkeys chattering from the trees.  The falls themselves shook us with their thunderous water and soaked us with their spray.  Bridget said that she had never expected anything so awe-inspiring.

Bridget’s hair was wet from the spray.

Weather had delayed our arrival at the falls.  Storms near São Paolo cancelled our flight.  We spent the night of July 20 at a Howard Johnson’s in Curitiba, and didn’t get a flight the next day until 1:00 PM.  Our irritation melted away, however, when Fabio took us to the cataratas.  “Argentina got the falls,” he said, “but Brazil got the view.”  Afterwards he drove us over the border (to Puerto Iguazú), where we spent the night at La Sorgente.

From Brazil, the Argentinian falls cascade one upon the other.

At the border, however, we had a little drama.  Paul had overstayed his visa by a couple of days, and even though he had tried to rectify the problem in Rio, the authorities were adamant.  They said he could not come back to Brazil without first paying a $75 fine.  That was no way to say goodbye to someone who had spent a year.  We crossed the border and on July 21 we viewed the Argentinian side of the falls before flying to Buenos Aires.