Small Falls

After visiting the falls in Brazil, we planned to visit the Argentine side the following morning.  We woke up early, had breakfast at the hotel, and hopped in the cab.  Our cab driver took us through Ciudad Del Este and down a few country roads to a ferry that would cross the river into Argentina.

It seemed surreal to go from Paraguay to Brazil to Paraguay to Argentina in two days.  The driver took us down a road towards the ferry.  We had our passports exit stamped and then went to watch the ferry cross the river until it was our turn.

Our driver returned with bad news.  We would not be able to cross because there was a New Years Eve parade and we would not be able to get back to Paraguay before the ferry closed.  We were all disappointed.  I think Mom was the most disappointed of all because she would miss the opportunity of visiting another Spanish speaking country and might not have the chance to visit Argentina again.  We also had been told the Argentine side was a completely different experience from the Brazilian side of the falls.  I was told, in Brazil you see the falls and in Argentina you experience the falls.

Though we were disappointed, our driver suggested we visit the Itapu Dam, so we went.  Itapu is the world's biggest, or second biggest dam depending on who you ask.  The Dam allows Paraguay to be the world's largest exporter of hydro electric power.  At Itaipu they had a nice movie explaining how it was built, a bus tour that took us along the dam, English and Spanish speaking tour guides.  While it was interesting, it was not what we were hoping for.

When we were debating where we would go next, I saw a pamphlet with a waterfall and picked it up.  Our driver said something in Spanish.  Mom said, "he says we could go there."  Salto Monday (pronounced mon-da-oo not like the weekday) is a 130foot waterfall in a city park a few kilometers outside of Ciudad Del Este.  I think it cost about 2,500G(about $0.50) a person to get in.  The park was quaint and there were few others there.

We did not see Iguazu from Argentina, instead we saw a smaller waterfall that was exactly what we hoped for.  We stayed for a little longer, and experienced the small falls.