Advertisement
Published: October 29th 2006
Invasion of the coaties...
Apparently, these monkey/racoon creatures are causing many problems to the tourists...As the end of our stay in Buenos Aires is rapidly approaching, we decided to leave the capital for a short adventure and visit the Northern provinces of Misiones and Corrientes. Our itinerary: the impressive Iguazu waterfalls, the famous San Ignacio Jesuits ruins and the rich wetlands of Carlos Pelligrini.
Our escapade started with a 17 hour-bus trip from Buenos Aires to Puerto Iguazu, a small city located in Misiones which is home to the famous Iguazu waterfalls, named world heritage site by the UNESCO. The name “Iguazu” comes from the guarani word “Y” (water) and guasu (big) and the legend says that “a god pretended to marry a beautiful aborigine named Naipú, who fled with her mortal lover in a canoe. In rage, the god sliced the river creating the waterfalls, condemning the lovers to an eternal fall.” Guaranis have a wonderful way to explain the beauty of the waterfalls…
We arrived in the afternoon (of the next day!) and decided to visit the Iguazu Park despite the torrential rain. Due to the park schedule, we only had time for a visit to the “Garganta del Diablo” (The Devil’s Throat) which we accessed through the park small train.
On our way to the Garganta del Diablo
As we were approaching this imposing waterfall, we could feel the mist on our skin and hear the impressive roaring... This impressive u-shaped 150-metre-wide waterfall with a 700-metre-long cliff was dazzling.
Once you got off the train and approached the Garganta del Diablo by walking on suspended wooden and metal bridges, you immediately feel the tropical climate while observing the luxuriant vegetation and multitude of birds species. As you get closer to this powerful waterfall, you can hear it roaring and feel the mist generated by the its outstanding height. I could have admired this wonder of Mother Nature for hours; the sight and sound of this imposing waterfall are simply hypnotizing. Besides, as the park is shared by both Argentina and Brazil, you can look across the Garganta and see the country of Brazil just few meters away.
The town of Puerto Iguazu, like many other villages in this province, had very few inhabitants and an underdeveloped infrastructure. The roads were made of a red soil which colour contrasted with the blue sky and green tropical vegetation. The business engendered by the proximity of the waterfalls seems to be the sole commercial venture of the town which is slowly adapting to this new tourism. While we had great meals at the local restaurant, we unfortunately had a
Walking to the waterfall...
The suspended bridges leading to the Garganta del Diablo... very disappointing experience with our hostel: some travellers simply do not have any “hostel ethics”. Well, it was at least very affordable…
The next day, we woke up early to enjoy the quietness of the trails and islands located in the “inferior” part of the park. The previous day, we observed the Garganta del Diablo from a “superior” perspective; this view from below (inferior) was very different but equally impressive. The numerous waterfalls created various patterns; it was truly spectacular! Since the two islands were separated by water, we took a small boat to cross over and got another perspective of the park and its waterfalls; it was during this hiking that we saw gigantic lizards and vultures.
As for the other type of wildlife, we watched a multitude of birds; one bird specie was literally playing in the mist of the waterfalls. It was a beautiful spectacle to observe these birds flying in circle at the bottom of the waterfall and sticking to the cliffs to rest as bats would do in a cave. Unfortunately, we did not see coaties, a monkey-racoon animal living in the Iguazu Park. Finally, I have to admit that I was extremely
Garganta del Diablo
The noisy top of this 150-meter wide waterfall... surprised to see the visitors wearing shorts and t-shirts in a zone which supposedly has a high risk of malaria. With my hat, long pants, hiking boots and long sleeve shirt, I was the outsider!
We left the next morning for San Ignacio with our minds filled with memorable images of these magical waterfalls!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.072s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 14; qc: 28; dbt: 0.0315s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
birte
non-member comment
Hi Laurence I had just sat down to play a couple of games and got the l;etter telling med that you had put another chapter in your blog. thanks for letting us know how you and Jason are enjoying your adventure. take care love Birte and Ove. the pictures are great.