Exceptional Experience: Now THAT'S How to Celebrate a Birthday!

We rarely repeat exceptional experiences because we’ve found the second go-round seldom matches the original memory. So why are we back in Buenos Aires after a fabulous visit eight years ago?

Well, for several reasons. North American winters don’t suit us, and the summer weather here in the southern hemisphere is glorious.

Second, Argentina is presently a perfect destination for budget travelers like us since the exchange rate of U.S. dollars for pesos is so strong. How strong? The country is basically having a 50 percent off sale. We’ve had wonderful steak dinners with wine for $20 or less total. It’s incredible.

Speaking of money, on our previous stay we didn’t get to explore places outside of the city because we’d arrived at the end of a month-long journey around the tip of South America and had maxed out our budget.

So this time, there was one particular excursion some of our friends did on that trip that topped our to-do list.

Iguazú Falls.

Straddling the borders of both Argentina and Brazil, it’s the world’s largest waterfall system and one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. To make this adventure extra special, we booked our trip to coincide with Edd’s birthday in January.

Check out those smiles on our faces when we arrived in Puerto Iguazú. Were we excited or what?!?

Our accommodations were at a tiny 4-room boutique B&B called Secret Garden. That’s our door at the end of the walkway. We loved it!

The room was lovely and spacious.

Look at the vegetation. Can you believe how cool this place is?

The celebration weekend kicked off with dinner at Aqva, the top restaurant in town. What do you order in Argentina? If you’re Edd, a humongous steak! 😋 After all, this was a bucket list “go big or go home” kind of trip.

Having read that the falls are a different experience on each side, our plan was to view them in Brazil the first day and from Argentina on the second.

We didn’t want to hassle with taxis (no meters) or riding a bus back and forth, so a private driver was arranged by our host. Epi was always on time, his rates were fair, and we highly recommend using him if you go. His WhatsApp number is +54 9 3757-437362.

Arriving at the park in Brazil late the next morning, we bought our tickets to enter, hopped on a bus, and got off at the first stop where the viewing trail begins.

Right across the street is the Hotel das Cataratas, a 5-star Belmond property where we had made reservations for lunch. Nightly rates of $550+ are way above our pay grade, but splurging on a meal in luxurious surroundings for this special occasion—why not?

Wandering around the hotel we made an “insider tip” discovery. There was a sign outside a doorway that said “Tower.” Curious, we went up, up, up several flights of stairs and emerged in a small open-air room with an unexpectedly fantastic first view of Iguazú Falls.

Holy cow! And this was only a “small” section. We knew we were in for a fabulous day.

After a gourmet lunch our adventure officially began. As we followed the walking trail new jaw-dropping panoramas continually revealed themselves.

In the distance we saw the end of the trail at epic Devil’s Throat, the most majestic waterfall in the entire park. Getting closer the decibel level dramatically increased and we noticed that the guests leaving the area were soaking wet.

Reaching the end we understood why. The roar of the falls was deafening and the volume of spray felt like being in a rainstorm. What an experience!

The next day was tame in comparison. Whereas Brazil has only one trail, the Iguazú National Park in Argentina has both an upper and lower circuit. Sadly, several sections were closed for repairs, including the view of Devil’s Throat. So glad we had already seen it from the other country.

Also, while the falls are pretty much always in sight on the Brazil side, we did a lot of walking through the subtropical rainforest between viewpoints in Argentina.

Still, we had a great day and enjoyed seeing the falls from the opposite perspective.

On our last day before flying back to BA, we visited an interesting site in Puerto Iguazú called Tres Fronteras where you can view three countries at once—Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. Actually, you can do it from any of them but…😉

Then we returned home to a double rainbow and beautiful sunset. A perfect ending to an unforgettable birthday celebration.

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