One of the many benefits of studying abroad through a CEA CAPA program is that they set up various excursions for you. Some are smaller, taking up an afternoon or evening in the city; some are day or weekend trips outside of the city. Some highlights during my time in Buenos Aires have been the tango show, a day in a historical gaucho (cowboy) town outside the city, a day visiting a small town in Uruguay via ferry, and, most memorable, our weekend trip to the Iguazu Falls. 

The Iguazu Falls are one of the Seven New Natural Wonders of the World. They're situated in the province of Misiones, on the border of Argentina and Brazil. It’s the world's largest waterfall system and is absolutely unreal to see in person. 

CEA CAPA lets you know well in advance when any excursions will be, so you can plan with any other trips you might have in mind. About a week and a half before this trip, we were provided flight information and a brief itinerary.  

The Trip 

The morning of the flight, we met at the airport, and not long after, we were off! Upon landing in the town of Puerto Iguazú, I noticed that the environment was super different from Buenos Aires. It was humid with dense green forest all over.  

A view from the sunset cruise we took the night we arrived. 

Besides the few giant falls, there are seemingly a million smaller ones like these. These are called “dos hermanas” or “two sisters.” 

We were allotted a ton of free time to explore the town, and we always elected to explore as a group, which was super nice. We often spent way too much time in the small souvenir shops and looking for places to grab a bite.  

Saturday was our big day, when we headed to the actual falls. We had an early wake-up call in hopes of beating some of the crowds, which was pretty successful. Immediately after entering the park, we saw a bunch of toucans! It was a humid and cloudy day, which apparently is when toucans show themselves, so we got super lucky there.  

We actually got super lucky with wildlife the whole day! We did a short walk to see some of the falls from a higher perspective. Along the path, we saw a bunch of coatis, which are cute animals in the raccoon family. Careful with your things, though. They are very familiar with the sounds of a crinkly chip bag and will hop on your backpack in hopes of getting a snack.  

This is a coati. They frequently gather in big groups called “gangs”. I think the name might stem from their thievish tendencies. 

After that walk, we took the little train to the main attraction, The Devil’s Throat. As you walk closer, you catch some stray mists here and there, but once you're on the platform, you get totally soaked (which feels awesome). I think this fall is named perfectly. It genuinely feels like you're staring down the throat of the earth, and the roar of the waterfall does sound like a sound the Devil might make. Sort of frightening in a way, but so, so beautiful.  

This is our little cohort in front of the falls. It’s always super fun to hang out with this group. 

After that, we took another walk to see the falls from a lower point of view, and we saw some monkeys. At this point, we had some free time, and two other girls and I chose to do the Gran Aventura, which takes you in a boat super close to the falls. And again, of course, you get completely soaked. No poncho can save you here.  

A glimpse of Gran Aventura. Obviously, based on the state of our hair, this is before going under the falls. 

The next day, despite it pouring all day long, we headed to an indigenous Guaraní community. It was super interesting to learn all about their way of life. After that, we went to the Wanda Amethyst Mines. We were shown around the caves, and our tour guide was an excellent photographer. He knew all the camera tricks in the book. While the red-staining soil of this region of Argentina may have cost me my tennis shoes and favorite T-shirt (totally on me for bringing it), the experience was well worth it.  

Getting to Take a Break From Planning

One of the nicest parts about this experience was not having to plan anything myself. It was incredibly relaxing to just show up and be told where to go. That's how all the CEA CAPA excursions are. They let you know when and where, and they take it from there! I’m super grateful for that, as it lets you soak it all up even more. Having all these excursions built-in is a huge bonus in my eyes!