Having spent a really enjoyable but perhaps not too relaxing few days in Rio de Janeiro, we began our journey to the other areas of Brazil we planned to visit. First, we took a 3-hour taxi ride to the beach town of Búzios. Búzios is a small town, perfectly placed on a protected peninsula protruding into the generally wild Brazilian Atlantic coast. This results in numerous bays and coves, which protect many of Búzios’ 23 beaches from the rough waters. As a result, all the beaches we visited featured crystal blue waters, sandy beaches and a calmness not seen elsewhere. 

This calmness, not just of the waters but also of the town in general, shocked me in the most positive way. The moment we stepped onto the terrace of our hotel (Vila d’este Hotel) for the first time, the blue waters and unmanned boats bobbing stared back at us. There was also almost a complete absence of people. This was a Thursday in Búzios’ low season, which partially explains this. By the weekend, the town became more busy and lively. Still, on this particular Thursday, this beachside town made famous by Brigitte Bardot and a favourite of the Rio de Janeiro high society was empty and silent. 

If the view during the day was not quite exceptional enough for you, which would be difficult, the sunset will surely be good enough. Unlike much of Brazil’s eastward facing coast, Búzios’ is northwest facing. Therefore the sun sets over the mountains and silhouettes the ships of the bay below. If this wasn’t good enough, being able to have a beer or glass of wine in the pool whilst the sun sets in front of you and turns the sky from blue to red to purple to black is one of the best holiday experiences possible.

This perfect contrast with Rio makes it clear why it is the getaway for the city’s elite. The combination of safety, beauty and, as normal in Brazil, lovely people make it a perfect place to switch off and relax. I believe this so strongly I actually started looking at Airbnbs in the area, thinking it would be the ideal place to write my master’s dissertation next year. I don’t know whether this will come to fruition, but it just is a place where in this crazy world currently, I can totally switch off. 

Nevertheless, after a lovely relaxing few days in Búzios, we left Brazil’s eastern coast for the jungle and Iguazu Falls on the border with Argentina and close to Paraguay. The falls, situated on the Iguazu River close to its confluence with the mighty near 5000km long Paraná River, are the largest waterfall system in the world. With a width of 2800m and drops of up to 82m, it is difficult to comprehend their size fully. In comparison with Niagra Falls, they are more than twice as wide and have more than a third higher drop. 

When we first arrived at the falls, we walked straight down to the surface of the river below the falls on the Brazilian side. The Brazilian side has a walkway above the river into the heart of the falls. It’s here where I first felt the full force of the water. The spray from the Devil’s Throat Fall was immense; my camera had roughly 5 seconds that it could take pictures until the lens was utterly overwhelmed with water each time I removed the lens cap. This, combined with the tropical shower at the time, just demonstrated the power of nature in some places that perhaps we don’t always notice.

Despite this power and danger of the water, the water also ensures an incredibly diverse wildlife ecosystem. From Jaguars to colourful birds to camouflaged lizards and beautiful butterflies, the Iguazu National Parks in both Argentina and Brazil are fascinating. 

On my second day at the falls, I took the long journey by road (given in reality it was about 300m away) to the Argentine side of the falls. The journey itself was fascinating. The border itself was slightly strange; I did not receive entry or exit stamps in my passport upon entering or exiting both Brazil and Argentina. My driver simply drove straight through the border, seemingly not bothered by anybody. Once in Argentina, we drove past what appeared to be an Argentine military base. Outside this base was a memorial to the soldiers killed in the 1982 Falklands War (Guerra de las Malvinas in Argentina) against the United Kingdom for control of the Falklands Islands, or Islas Malvinas to the Argentines. Without getting into the intricacies of the conflict, this got me thinking quite deeply about war, as I have done a lot over the last six months. Sitting next to an Argentine family on the train through the national park a little later, I was simply thinking that I simply could not see any situation where I would ever view fighting the people sitting opposite me. More so, I could not see how could a situation could ever be created where there was so much hate that I felt I could do. Clearly, this does occur; however, this is the first time I’ve ever really visited somewhere where there are memorials to people who have died as the result of actions of my own country, regardless of whether they were right or wrong. I don’t really know what else to say about it; however, I certainly found it very thought-provoking, and every time I saw a “Las Malvinas” sign, of which there are many, my brain just began to churn with general political and psychological thoughts. 

However, it was not for a thought-provoking morning about the Falklands War that I came to the Argentine side of the falls. Most of the falls are situated on the Argentine side, and it’s possible to stand directly below the giant Devil’s Throat Fall and right next to many others. The strong flow of water, the green vegetation and the rainbows that emerge make it a mesmerising watch. If it wasn’t for the large groups of people who amassed here, I could have stood just staring in front of myself all day. The kilometres of trails give you various angles of the falls, all just as beautiful but just different, as well as numerous chances to see the various animals on show. Additionally, just a little shout out to the Argentine flag, which I genuinely think is the best flag in the world when set against a blue sky, and they clearly know it with the slightly excessive amount you will find on the Argentine side of the falls.

Finally, on our final morning in Iguazu, we took a boat ride along the Iguazu river up to and slightly insanely under the falls, which resulted in this ridiculous picture of me looking like someone was throwing a bucket of water on my head. Nevertheless, it was a great experience getting this close to the colossal falls and skipping along the rapids in a speed boat was quite a cool experience.

Overall, Iguazu and Búzios just had such a nice feel to them. Both places have an outstanding natural beauty but also a peacefulness which I loved. Búzios is pure relaxation, whereas Iguazu is much more of a feeling of being one with nature. I cannot recommend anyone who comes to Brazil to visit these places more. Rio is great, but you shouldn’t limit yourself to it. As I said before, Rio is almost a trial of what Brazil has to offer, and the offer places have it on a large scale. Rio has great beaches, forests and waterfalls, but if you want a truly relaxing beach experience, spend a few days in Búzios and if you want to see the most mighty of waterfalls and perhaps an introduction to the jungle, then look no further than Iguazu.

Accommodation

In both Búzios and Iguazu, we stayed in two incredible but quite pricey hotels. If you are able to stay there, I wholeheartedly recommend them; the view in Búzios was one of my all-time favourites, and the beautiful pink building stone’s throw from the falls in Iguazu was perfect. However, if not, there are definitely other options, and ultimately it’s about the natural characteristics and not where you stay with Búzios and Iguazu.

Iguazu Falls – Hotel das Cataratas

Hotel das Cataratas booking.com link

Búzios – Vila d’este

Vila d’este booking.com link

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The Random Wanderer