For a "cultural experience" try bussing through South America. Our destination was Iguazu Falls, which can be visited on its Brazilian or Argentinian side. We had decided to go through Argentina, since they don't require visas for US citizens (Brazil is rather expensive). Nevertheless, Argentine migracion was no joke. Having left Santa Cruz Saturday evening around 8PM, we arrived at the border town of Yacuiba, Bolivia before dawn on Sunday. It took probably an hour to get through Bolivian migracion, but another 3 hours for the Argentine side. Perhaps it was because of the weekend (although there were plenty of people waiting to be processed), but the system seemed incredibly inefficient. An officer would come out to the crowd (that was sort of lined up) and would take three or four passports inside the office. After what seemed at least half an hour, he would return and let those folks through. Meanwhile we are all standing around in the fast increasing Argentine sun. Naturally our passports looked unusual because of our various situations in Bolivia, so we had more hastling to do. Ray says that Argentina is actually more thorough, which is a good thing. Indeed, early on into the country our bus was stopped three more times to check luggage, and one fellow was taken aside and harrassed because he was carrying a "boom box" sort of CD player that looked to be a gift for someone.
After traveling again all day, we decided to get off at San Salvador de Jujuy, a lovely city, where we spent the night and had a great meal the next day. From there to Corrientes, and then on to Puerto Iquazu, the busses were increasingly nicer. Having lived and slept on busses most of the way, we treated ourselves to a nice hotel for five nights and enjoyed the falls on three visits: the 23rd-25th.
Not eager to retrace our journey (and pass through that same border crossing), we decided, on the advice of a local taxi driver, to return through Paraguay, a much shorter route. Paraguay does require a visa, but the driver told us that they don't bother with the checkpoint on the Argentine border, and we could purchase visas upon leaving at the Bolivian border. His advice turned out to be accurate, except that instead of charging us $60 per person for visas, the Paraguayan migracion only charged us $40 per person as a fine for not having a visa! Our Bolivian charges upon leaving and re-entering were also less than we had figured on. Quite the reverse of the usual stories of overcharging!
It only cost $45 per person, meals included, to bus from Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, to Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Of course you get what you pay for - "bus cama" seating meant that when the guy in front of you wanted to tilt his seat back, his head was in your lap. We didn't even try the toilet, but waited for the "do I dare?" facilities at the occasional stop. No AC on this bus - windows wide open and curtains flapping for 30+ hours. However, our drivers were competent and friendly.
Since we saw most of the scenery on our trip from a bumpy bus, our photos are mainly of the falls, which are so grand that one can't capture it all. Find our sampling at http://picasaweb.google.com/raemmans
After traveling again all day, we decided to get off at San Salvador de Jujuy, a lovely city, where we spent the night and had a great meal the next day. From there to Corrientes, and then on to Puerto Iquazu, the busses were increasingly nicer. Having lived and slept on busses most of the way, we treated ourselves to a nice hotel for five nights and enjoyed the falls on three visits: the 23rd-25th.
Not eager to retrace our journey (and pass through that same border crossing), we decided, on the advice of a local taxi driver, to return through Paraguay, a much shorter route. Paraguay does require a visa, but the driver told us that they don't bother with the checkpoint on the Argentine border, and we could purchase visas upon leaving at the Bolivian border. His advice turned out to be accurate, except that instead of charging us $60 per person for visas, the Paraguayan migracion only charged us $40 per person as a fine for not having a visa! Our Bolivian charges upon leaving and re-entering were also less than we had figured on. Quite the reverse of the usual stories of overcharging!
It only cost $45 per person, meals included, to bus from Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, to Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Of course you get what you pay for - "bus cama" seating meant that when the guy in front of you wanted to tilt his seat back, his head was in your lap. We didn't even try the toilet, but waited for the "do I dare?" facilities at the occasional stop. No AC on this bus - windows wide open and curtains flapping for 30+ hours. However, our drivers were competent and friendly.
Since we saw most of the scenery on our trip from a bumpy bus, our photos are mainly of the falls, which are so grand that one can't capture it all. Find our sampling at http://picasaweb.google.com/raemmans
