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Published: February 2nd 2006
Half of the Iguazu Falls
The Brazilian side of the fall on the right.Starting off from Buenos Aires this morning at 5:30 am, we did the check out, hailed a taxi, and the next thing we knew was that we were at the
Aeropuerto Jorge Newbery, a thirty minute ride from our hostel. Surprisingly, there were tons of people that early to catch early flights. Our 7:30 flight with Aerolineas Argentinas went smoothly, and two hours later, we touched down in the heart of the continent, in the Iguazu region that borders Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil.
Puerto Iguazú in the Argentine side of the falls is a sleepy little town, with only 20,000 residents, contrast the Foz do Iguaçu with 250,000 people at the Brazilian side. We decided to check into a hotel in Pto Iguazú, not knowing what is good or bad. At least we know that the hotel is nearby from the international/domestic bus terminal that would carry us around the area.
The major thing to do here is of course the mighty Iguazu Falls, which consists of more than 275 individual waterfalls that is wider than Niagara Falls in North America and higher than Victoria Falls in Africa. The falls are located in the heart of South American Paraná
rainforest, which is very fragile, like its Amazon neighbor in the north. At the Argentine side,
Parque Nacional Iguazú protects the part, which was our main destination for the day.
Walking around the forest and riding the train to the
Garganta del Diablo, or Devil's Throat, we decided to take a dip by registering in a Grand Adventure boat that would take us to the base of the falls, then continued on with the 4x4s. We were guaranteed to be soaking wet, and they gave us waterproofing bags to put our belongings inside. Waiting for our 5 o'clock ride, and finally our boat would be was drifting off shore, and filled with soaking wet people. They climbed up the stairs, and looked at us, starting to laugh. An English speaking man yelled at us "You do not know what you're doing, but have a nice cold shower, anyway!". Cool, and I was so ready to go, as we were sweating like no other and sunburned.
It was an amazing ride, and we took many pictures with a waterproof camera, which has no comparison to my digital camera. They brought us to the base of a waterfalls, and the
Platform to the Devil's Throat
Me at the platform over Rio Parana. cold water started to pour down to us. Just like someone dumped million buckets of water. Ah it felt so great.
Many wildlife call the Paraná their home, especially many colorful tropical birds and butterflies. Unfortunately we didn't spot any birds, but we did manage to see many butterflies that like to grab onto you. No coatis sighting yet, so I was a little bit disappointed.
Having dinner in a local restaurant, we sat outdoor, surrounding by big trees in a forrest setting. The sound of cicadas surrounding us, while sipping our
Caipirinha, Brazilian best-kept secret drink.
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