Saltos de Monday

The internet can be a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it’s full of useful travel tips, and on the other hand it can scare you away from really cool things. If you read too much, Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, sounds like a terrifying place. So much so that we seriously considered whether it was worth spending any time there or if we should get on the first bus to Encarnación. Luckily, we had also read enough to know that the two main attractions near Ciudad del Este were worth seeing: Saltos de Monday and the Ituaipu dam (more on that in a later post).

Upon checking into our hostel and dropping off our bags, we promptly left again to find the bus to Saltos de Monday. The Saltos de Monday are pretty impressive waterfalls that would be a significant tourist attraction if they weren’t located so close to Iguazú Falls. The Monday in the name is not the day of the week (and it’s not pronounced that way either, so don’t be surprised if the locals repeat it back differently when you ask). It’s a guarani word that means “water that steals” or something similar.

The woman who checked us into the hostel had told us there was a bus stop near the double avenue, so we headed in that direction. After our bus ride from the ferry port, we knew we needed to get some smaller bills, so we went in search of ice cream – Eric had a cribbage victory to celebrate, after all. At the ice cream shop, they told us the bus to Saltos de Monday passed just in front and should be coming any minute. It’s a small, green bus that says Puerto Presidente Franco is its destination. After about 15 minutes, the bus showed up and we got on. Jess had a 10,000 guaraní note in her hand. She handed it to the bus driver and stood there expectantly waiting for change, which the bus driver did not provide. We had been told a bus fare should be somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 guaraní per person, so this seemed a bit odd to us, but we didn’t have much recourse, and we didn’t actually know how much it was supposed to cost.

We got off the bus in a village and used offline Google Maps to navigate our way to the Saltos. We felt a bit conspicuous and exposed in this tiny village, but the people were nothing but friendly. After 10 or 15 minutes, we arrived at the entrance to the Saltos de Monday. The entrance fee is 36,000 guaraní ($6) per person for foreigners, and there is a 20,000 ($3.33) guaraní charge for the elevator to the bottom of the falls if you want to see them from below. Unfortunately, the elevator was currently without power, so we paid the entrance fee and walked to the falls.

The Monday waterfalls are beautiful. Some people say you shouldn’t visit Saltos de Monday after Iguazú because you will be disappointed. By this token, you probably shouldn’t visit any waterfalls after you see
Iguazú, except maybe Victoria Falls. The Saltos de Monday are considerably smaller than Iguazú (obviously), but it’s not really fair to compare them. They are definitely an impressive sight on their own.

Once we got down to the falls, it looked like the elevator was working again, so we purchased tickets to ride down and saw the falls from the bottom as well. We think this elevator ride is pretty worth it, although stairs would be fine too. The falls are even more impressive from the bottom and there’s a viewing platform that puts you so close you could almost touch the water. It’s a bit like being on the boat at Iguazú without paying the 2,000 peso ($60) cost for the experience. Obviously, not quite like that, but still really cool.

At the bottom of the elevator it started to rain. There was nowhere for us to hide out, so we snapped some quick photos and headed back up. The rain seemed to stop for a bit, so we decided to head for the hostel. As soon as we had exited the park, the skies opened and it started pouring. We weren’t sure whether it was better to try to wait it out or keep going. We half-heartedly waited under a leaky tree and decided if we were going to be wet anyway, we might as well be making progress. We walked back to a bus station and waited under cover for a bus. This time we decided to ask “¿Cuánto cuesta?” before handing over any money since it seemed the bus drivers would just take whatever bill we were holding. This new strategy worked, and we learned the bus cost 3,000 guaraní per person which was consistent with the change other people had been receiving on the way to Saltos de Monday.

We arrived back at our hostel and hung out by the pool in the hammocks enjoying the cooler weather. Unfortunately, the rain came back and created a waterfall off the roof of our hostel that threatened to get us wet when the wind blew. Eventually, we moved inside to watch the most spectacular lightening we’ve seen in a long time.

Nothing about our first day in Ciudad del Este made us feel uncomfortable or wish we hadn’t decided to stay for a few days. Everyone, including the opportunistic bus driver, was helpful and kind, and we decided we liked Paraguay well enough so far.