You can always rely on Mother Nature to impress…


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Published: August 6th 2007
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The devils throat.The devils throat.The devils throat.

From the Brazilian side.
After the Salar trip we really didn’t give ourselves any time to relax at all, the prices in Chile and especially in San Pedro de Atacama were terrible. We booked a bus to Salta in northern Argentina as soon as we arrived at the grand cost of $46 each, it also left in the morning, arriving in the evening so we wouldn’t save any money on accommodation. You’ve got to pay what you’ve got to pay I suppose, we were just glad we weren’t staying very long.

We spent a couple of days in Salta enjoying the city, which was actually quite beautiful and trying some Argentinean steaks that we’d heard so much about. We also managed to find a cinema that had some showings in English with Spanish subtitles of the latest Pirates of the Caribbean flick so for a spot of normality decided to watch it. Faye enjoyed it, but then she’ll enjoy anything with Johnny Depp in it, I can think of a thousand things I’d rather do than have to watch a film like that again, stupid film took two hours of my life which I’ll never see again. Tsk…

Early in the morning we
Iguazu Falls.Iguazu Falls.Iguazu Falls.

From the Brazilian side.
started out on our longest bus journey so far to Puerto Iguazu, the town closest to Iguazu falls on the Argentinean side. One bus change and 26 hours later (still pretty tame by Argentinean standards) we arrived feeling considerably bus lagged and figured we’d just spend a day catching up on sleep and relaxing. We spoke to an information office about possible hostels, and were told about a trip going soon to the Brazilian side of the falls if we wanted to be on it. After saying that we were just going to chill for the day but we’d be up for doing it the next day we were informed that there’s rain forecast in a couple of days time, so we quickly scribbled our names down were told to be back by 10. That gave us an hour and a half to find a hostel, get washed up and be back at the bus station… there was some frantic dashing and some quick face splashing , but we made it (still smelt like we’d been on a bus for a day but hey it would have to do).

We piled into a minibus with some other travellers and
Iguazu Falls.Iguazu Falls.Iguazu Falls.

From the Brazilian side.
soon got underway. It didn’t take long till we were at the border where we got our exit stamps for Argentina, which seemed like a waste of time considering we’d only be leaving the country for a few hours. This is obviously what the Brazilians also thought as we drove straight past immigration without getting any entrance stamps; it’s an odd feeling being in a country without anything to say you’ve even entered. We got to the park entrance in no time at all and paid the necessary fees to enter, we then jumped on a free bus which takes you to all the various parts of the park. We hopped off halfway on the route to join a walking track which takes you alongside the river giving you a grand panoramic view of the falls, the majority of which are on the Argentinean side.

Iguazu falls consist of 275 separate waterfalls stretching for a good kilometre or more and not surprisingly you actually hear them before you see them. It’s hard to describe the feelings when you first catch sight of them, they are truly amazing and no words or photos could really do them justice. We walked
Iguazu Falls.Iguazu Falls.Iguazu Falls.

From the Brazilian side.
all the way along the walkway through the tremendous clouds of mist, always keeping an eye out for the various wildlife we’d been told were around, especially toucans as they’re on all the postcards dotted around and to us are a symbol of being somewhere tropical and definitely far from home. Faye also said that if she saw one she was going to buy a really tacky toucan ornament, so the hunt was on. The walk ended at a spectacular part of the falls which are in a tight semicircle, dubbed the devils throat. With all the water pouring into such a small area the mist produced obscures the base and it’s impossible to see where the water hits the river after it goes over the edge, the sound it produces is also deafening. After getting slightly damp we made our way to the top of the falls via an elevator and waited to catch the bus back to the park entrance. This day certainly set us up for the next day where we’d be getting a lot more up close and personal with the falls. Sadly no toucans were spotted, but we did see several coati, which we were
The devils throat.The devils throat.The devils throat.

From the Brazilian side.
warned would steal any food if we weren’t careful.

The next day we were left to ourselves so we got to the bus station early and jumped on a public bus to the falls. We paid our park fees (again) and strolled in, opting to take the ‘green trail’ to the start of the walking circuits rather than the free train, thinking we’d have more chance of seeing toucans if we walked through the forest for a bit. It was a fairly short walk, and we didn’t see anything of interest so we started on the upper circuit first. These series of walkways take you over the top of the falls, enabling you to walk along where the water just drops over the edge. Although the views weren’t as grand as the previous days, it was awesome to be so close to such power; we still saw no toucans.

After completing the upper circuit we ventured down to the lower circuit. These walkways give you a view from the bottom of the falls and one of the walkways actually leads right up to the face of one of the falls, which meant it was time to put on the poncho’s we’d been carrying since the Inca Trail and get wet. You don’t actually enter the running water (the force would undoubtedly kill you) but the immense wall of mist it produces just envelops you drenching you in seconds. After the soaking we made our way back to the train station so we could continue on to the walkway that peers over the edge of the ‘devils throat’. We also thought we saw the silhouette of a toucan flying away, but I think we were just being hopeful… Faye did manage to spot a snake slithering through the trees though which was pretty cool.

The train journey was really short and drops you off at the start of a walkway which stretches for 1100m over the river to the top of the devils throat. We quickly ran onto the walkway dodging the huge Japanese tour groups and dashed to the end, where we were confronted with the most awesome sight of all that water crashing down into the misty depths below. Every now and then you could barely see the falls as the mist had become so dense, so we were snapping away as and when we could,
Iguazu Falls.Iguazu Falls.Iguazu Falls.

From the Brazilian side.
and then quickly hiding our cameras under our jumpers when we got enveloped by mist so they wouldn’t get wet and broken. After another good drenching, we slowly made our way back along the walkway, forever keeping a watchful eye for the elusive toucans, convinced we were lied to and there were really none here at all!

We caught the train all the way back to the entrance… we were going to continue onto another trail into the park which ends at a different waterfall, but the weather had turned really grey and nasty and it looked like the rain we were warned about would be here any minute, so we sadly made our way to the exit. On the way there was a group of Japanese tourists all with their camera’s out taking photo’s of something in the bush, so feeling the excitement rising we rushed on over to find… a guinea pig grazing on the grass. Pah!!! I decided that I’d had enough and packed my camera away and we continued walking to the exit, only to find another group taking some photo’s of the trees… I wasn’t falling for it again, but then all of a
Iguazu Falls.Iguazu Falls.Iguazu Falls.

Upper Circuit -The Argentinian side.
sudden we caught sight of that huge orange bill poking out of the tree tops… Yay… I really couldn’t whip my camera out fast enough. As it turns out there was a pair of toucans eating fruit from the trees and they stayed there quite a while before flying off, giving us plenty of time to watch and snap away. Typical, we’d been searching high and low for two days, and in the end we find a couple a hundred meters or so from the entrance. Sadly it did mean we had to turn back so Faye could buy her tasteful >snigger< ornament to commemorate the spotting.

Although quite out of our way, it was definitely worth the journey (it’s a 20 hour bus journey to Buenos Aires). I honestly believe it will be a while before Mother Nature impresses me that much again. Enjoy the photo’s, although believe me they really don’t do it justice, if you can, factor it in to any trip to South America, you won’t be disappointed!





Additional photos below
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Iguazu Falls.Iguazu Falls.
Iguazu Falls.

Lower circuit -The Argentinian side.
Iguazu Falls.Iguazu Falls.
Iguazu Falls.

Lower circuit -The Argentinian side - Getting drenched.
Iguazu Falls.Iguazu Falls.
Iguazu Falls.

The devils throat -The Argentinian side
CoatiCoati
Coati

Hmmm... nothing to steal over here.


26th June 2007

wet and wild
Mick! what an experience, I'm jealous, Good photo's and a excellent write up. enjoy yourselves and stay safe. Dad!
26th June 2007

Breathtaking
You have done it again Michael the photos are awesome,and Faye got her toucan.Oh dear!Keep the blogs coming. Love you both lots.
26th June 2007

soooo jealous
omg i am so jealous u have done my dream and been to Brazil! John and I have spoken about getting married in Brazil in 2009 and then touring around a few weeks, not sure how long i'd be able to get off work though. keep up the good work you two, you are doing tremendous and i love reading your updates and then telling John where u have been. whats next? Argentina and then where?
27th June 2007

Spectacular
Michael Faye what spectacular pictures of the falls. Makes me even more determined to see them now. Back to Brazil we have to go. For two weeks this time. Love and miss you both. Safe trip to New Zealand.x
28th June 2007

yay for toucans!
sounds like you guys had a great time. i saw no toucans when i was there, though truthfully i didn't know to look - good sighting. i didn't make it to the brazilian side - i would have had to get a $100 visa to do it! good to see your photos. i made that roundtrip bus ride from BA with one day for the falls. it was a killer but worth it. keep enjoying!
7th July 2007

Magnificent
truly great photos.but you mus't dis Jonny.
26th February 2009

Amazing
Looks incredible. Could be one for my list.

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