Jan. 29 Iguazu Falls

The disembarkation from the ship was the most efficient we have seen. We were the purple 1 group, with an estimated time slot of 8:00 to 8:15. We were waiting in a lounge on deck 2 midship in order to be close to the gangway. At 7:50 we were called. We took the stairs to deck 1, dinged off the ship and were on the shuttle to the terminal within 5 minutes. We found our luggage fairly easily and had negotiated and paid for our taxi to the airport and arrived there within twenty minutes.

The luggage restrictions were 15 kg per checked bag and we knew we were going to be over that and were prepared to pay the extra fee. One bag was 17.5 kg and the other was 19.5 kg, but they tagged them and did not charge us. 

We had to take a shuttle out to the tarmac to get on our bus. Because of the heat, the AC was on full blast and it was like an icebox. Before we took off, there was water dripping from the ceiling on seats 4D, 5D and 6D. Lawrie was in 6D. When the plane took off, you could hear ice rolling around overhead and all 3 seats got a good shower. The stewardess had handed out some paper towels so Lawrie jammed them up into the opening and he was dry for the rest of the flight. 

Our guide, Flavio, was waiting for us when we landed.
We flew into the Argentinian airport at Iguazu which is located in a jungle beside the National Park. We drove for several kms before we came to an Argentinian immigration control. A couple of kms past that, we came to the Brazilian immigration. It is on the honour system. You park and then go into the office. Tourism is very important to Iguazu and foreign tourists are fast tracked through. 

Shortly after we arrived at the hotel, the skies opened up and it poured rain for about 20 minutes. It might have cooled the air, but the humidity increased. We walked to a neighbourhood Churrascaria where they served a typical Brazilian barbecue. There was an extensive salad and hot vegetable bar. The servers came to the table with long skewers with all kinds of meat - sausage, sirloin, roast beef, pork, chicken, etc. There was a list of almost 20 choices and they were constantly coming to the table offering more. We certainly did not leave hungry. 

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