Wednesday, October 1, 2025

the BRAZIL SIDE OF THE falls and A rio WELCOME

This morning we checked out of the Grand Mercure Iguazu and headed by bus to the Brazil border control. But not before one last check-in on my little doves in their nest to make sure they were still ok after all of that rain!

Had to take a short video of the fish floor in the hotel’s dining room area where breakfast is served.

On the drive, we ultimately crossed a bridge over the Iguazu River, marketing the border between Argentina and Brazil. Flor pointed out the view to the left which is where you can see not only these two countries but also Paraguay in the back, all in one view.

On the other side of the river was the Brazil border control office. You have to get a visa in advance, and they are so strict about the photo! My first two got rejected because they couldn’t see my ears enough and then there was a slight shadow, but then third time was a charm, thankfully. The whole process was really fast and seamless, and then we were headed on our way.

After we were officially Brazil visitors, it was a very short drive to the welcome and ticketing center for the Brazil side of the falls, called Foz do Iguaçu in Portuguese. We took a little time looking at the souvenir shops (I think while Flor was grabbing our tickets) and then right outside it was a short walk to an immediately gorgeous view.

There’s really only one path on this side, but it walks along the length of the falls, looking at the Argentina side, until you reach the Devil’s Throat, where we started our tour the day before.

Along the walk we had a few local wildlife sightings – saw a cute little toucan hopping around in a tree, another one of those giant tiger lizards hanging out by the path, and finally a few coatis, which are the raccoon-like nuisances that we had been warned about with those gory signs. Sol was surprised that we never saw any yesterday, but they were definitely out and about today.