Into the Devils Throat

---

After a bit of a restless sleep I was up, showered and dressed by 8am ready for a hearty breakfast. I made my usual scrambled egg and fried Argentinian blood sausage on a couple of rounds of toast, as bread and pastries were all that was on offer yet again. I had become very partial to blood sausage and it was quite different to black pudding back in the UK. It was more moist than its British counterpart, and had more in it to hold it together... one of those foods that you could never get bored with. I had a cup of coffee to get me going and without a doubt Hostel Bamboo Mini had served the best cup of coffee I'd had in a while - strong, dark, hot and sweet. As I was getting ready to go out for the day, the rest of the hostel emerged to feed before leaving Puerto Iguazú. One of the lads had been suffering from a sore throat for a couple of days, so I offered him a days worth of echinacea to help him out.

Before long, my pickup arrived to take me to the Iguazú National Park for my trip. I was hugely excited about getting there as I had read so much about it in various travel books. Sadly our first stop was Hito Tres Fronteras which I had already visited. When I asked our driver why we were headed there he explained that most of the group were staying on the Brazilian side and he included it in the tour. I decided to stay in the minibus while everyone piled out to take their photos. I instead used the time to apply lashings of sun screen, because it was already hot and it was only 9.45am.

Once everyone was back on the minibus we were finally on our way to the national park. The drive out of town took us past Güira Oga and along the road the coach had taken into town yesterday. Surrounded by nothing but greenery we arrived at the entrance to the park and were we all filed off wait for our tickets. When our driver rejoined us he explained the route we'd take through the park so as to try and see everything. We were also told that we would be meeting back at the entrance at 5pm Brazilian time which was 4pm Argentinian time. A little confused I asked if this was a guided tour, to which the answer was of course 'Yes'. This got my heckles up a little for a couple of reasons. The first was that I had been looking forward to exploring the park on my own and avoiding the crowds as I had been advised by everyone at the hostel. The second was that this only left me with five hours to see everything within the park because we had fannied around going to visit Hito Tres Fronteras. As ever my frustration was apparent because the guide said that I could see the park on my own if I wanted. Mulling it over momentarily in my mind the only way to do everything was to go with the group, however much I didn't feel like it.

We began by walking through the lower section of the park passing dense forest and shrub whilst keeping an eye out for wildlife. We encountered lots of butterflies along the way as well as huge family of Coatis and although we passed through a swampy area we didn't see any crocodiles. We emerged near to the Cataratas station where we boarded the train that would ferry us up to the top of the falls. It was a long ride on the small train, which at points felt like it was going to give up with the weight it was carrying. We passed more lush forest and the odd iguana that scurried into the bush to avoid being run over.

At the top we hopped off the train and began the walk to the falls. Our guide said that we only had a limited amount of time and so he set off at a fairly brisk walk. I suddenly felt like the day was about to turn into a race to get around the park in the quickest time possible, so I slowed down and took my time as we walked the gantries that led to the fall. Although our guide had upset my karma a little at the start, the walk to the top of the falls soon relaxed me... or perhaps it was the negative ions! Our path crossed tree lined rivers of varying widths and rocky outcrops where turtles had settled to bask in the morning sun.

Suddenly, as the trees began to clear, I heard the roar of the falls in the distance. The sound was spectacular and drowned out the noise of the crowds of people all vying for the best positions to take photos. Once I had arrived at the viewing point I could see what all the fuss was about - I was stood looking directly into 'Garganta del Diablo', the Devils Throat. It was phenomenal to see that volume of water cascading over the falls and how, over the millennia, it had carved it's path through the rock face. The water tumbled into the Devils Throat from all angles and no matter where I stood, I still got covered in spray. Once our time was up, I joined the group in walking back to the train ready for the next section of the falls.

The upper tier took us through the forest that surrounded the falls, so that we could get a different perspective of the many waters that made up Iguazú Falls. I could see island of San Martin which sat at the base of the falls, where the two major tributary rivers met. Much of the landscape looked like something out of a Jurassic Park movie with lush green shrubbery and rocky outcrops in every direction. Returning to the start of the upper tier, we made a brief stop for lunch and were given the choice of three different restaurants. I had been keen on trying the buffet grill that our guide had mentioned, until I was told the price was AR$110 (£16.56), and instead went for one of the two cheaper cafés. I say cheaper, but paying AR$35 (£5.27) for a crappy hamburger was still a bit on the expensive side, but that's what you can charge with a captive audience!

Fed, watered and ready to continue, we made our way to the lower tier gantry. This path gave us an awesome view straight up river and into the Devils Throat. The views from this section of the falls just kept getting better and better the further we walked. Ad we got to the end of the gantry the sun began to break through the clouds creating a wonderful rainbow that seemed to emerge from the base of the falls.

With the tour almost over it was time to venture into the falls by boat and take the Garganta del Diablo on face to face. I stripped down to my shorts and put my T-shirt and backpack into the water proof bag I had been given. Once our boat was full we pulled away from the dock and headed into the belly of the falls. We had been told that we'd be able to take photos before we were taken into the falls and so I began to snap away like crazy, trying not being too fussy about the camera angle. Once we had seen the falls from both sides of Isla San Martin, it was time to exchange the cameras for our game faces.

The boat sped up the river and towards the waterfalls. Having no option but to close my eyes and hold my breath, we were thrust into the deluge of water. It was amazing to have that much water hitting you and soaking you to the skin was a truly indescribable experience. With one down and one to go the boat pulled round and headed for the Devils Throat. The engines on the boat sounded as though they were beginning to struggle as it forced it's way up river against the current. Nonetheless, we made it and were again subjected to the waters tumbling over the falls. I felt exhilarated, the most alive I've felt in ages, and it was well worth it! Dripping wet, but wearing the biggest smile on my face I climbed back up the falls to rejoin the group. Trekking back to the entrance, we climbed back on to the minibus and returned to Puerto Iguazú. I was dropped back at the hostel by our guide, whom I thanked for a truly spectacular day.

I spent the evening washing my already wet clothes, hoping that they would dry in what was left of the afternoon sun, before sitting down to a beer. Today had been by far my best experience in South America so far, and I couldn't wait to continue the journey tomorrow.

---