The Roar of the Falls

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Ola,

We flew out of Ushuaia and its 10 degrees, spent an uncomfortable night sleeping in the airport in Buenos Aires, and then landed in the sweltering 30 degree and humid heat of the northern Argentinian jungle. The purpose of this was because we were going to visit Iguazu Falls which is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful waterfalls in the world.

We checked into our hostel in Puerto Iguazu and then took a bus to the Brazilian side of the falls as both Argentina and Brazil share them. The falls themselves are a series of many different cataracts of all sizes and one massive cataract that is known as "The Devil's Throat". The Brazilian side is good because it gives a person an overview of the falls. The falls are surrounded by the jungle, so we saw several animals along the walking paths, which were much like those at the Perito Moreno Glacier. We saw many large lizards, butterflies, a couple of monkeys and a Capybara. We walked along the various paths and then we were able to walk along a boardwalk that was suspended above the water to the midpoint of the Devil's Throat so we could get up close to it. The force of the water was incredible and we got thoroughly drenched.

The next day, we went to visit the Argentinian side of the falls. The Argentinian side is cool because it allows people to see what the falls look like from the top of each cataract. We entered the park and took a little train that they have that takes you through the area. We saw a few lizards from the train as well as a highly venomous Coral Snake. It is a good thing that we did not get off the train at that point. We walked along the boardwalks over the river and came out above the Devil's Throat. It was incredible to watch the water thunder over the precipice and yes, we got very wet once again.On the way back, butterflies kept landing on us and using their long tongues to try and get some sort of sustenance off our skin. We still have our hands and arms, so we're pretty sure they were not carnivorous. We then went to visit some of the myriad other cataracts that are there. They are smaller, but no less impressive. The whole area is like one large curtain of water, interrupted only by small islands and greenery. It was also fun walking through the jungle as we saw many Coati. Coati are a bit like a cross between a Raccoon and an Anteater in appearance but much cuter. They also have ridiculously cute babies, as we saw a mother and fiver of her little ones running around. We also saw a Coati jump up on someone's table while they were having lunch, rip the food out of their hand and run away with it into the jungle to enjoy it.

Back in Puerto Iguazu, we chilled at the hostel for ages because we were taking a bus to Posadas at 3am. By this time, we have been fairly acomplished at killing time but it still is hard to kill 12 hours!

We got on the bus to Posadas, a larger city that is also in northern Argentina, and past through the raolling hills and jungle until we arrived in Posadas to a pretty sunrise. We then got on a local bus because we wanted to go to Paraguay to see the Jesuit ruins of Trinidad. We arrived at the boarder and lined up. There, we waited...and waited...and waited some more. In the blinding sun. In 30 degrees. With high humidity. Just short of three hours in, we finally exited Argentina and were able to hop on a bus and cross the river into Paraguay to the city of Encarnacion. Most people who do this crossing are Argentinians looking for cheap shopping deals in Paraguay as things are much cheaper there. As a result, the whole city feels like a giant mall. We talked to several taxi drivers about driving us to and from Paraguay but all of them were extremely greedy and asked for exorbitant amounts of money so we ended up wandering around the town for a while before coming across a store called "Canada Center". For some reason, it sold electronics. We walked through the area where cars drive through to get our passports stamped, apparently this is how one exits Paraguay, and then we started walking along the sidewalk of the bridge back to Argentina. At this point we were whistled at by an army figure and told that we were not allowed to walk over the bridge so we had to flag down a bus to take us to Argentina. The boarder getting back into Argentina was much simpler and we were back in Posadas which is nice for a boarder town, quite quickly. We then set about what we have become masters of, killing time waiting for a bus. We decided that we wanted to splurge a little for our last overnight bus ride in South America so we paid for Cama Total. What this means is that the seats were extra-wide and also folded flat to become beds. We also were served snakcs, dinner and breakfast and we were even offered wine and champagne. It was a nice way to finish up our frequent bus trips and a great way to arrive in Buenos Aires.

Bye for now,
Valerie and Peter

Things we learned in the jungle:
-There is something called "The Lonely Planet Effect". It is where restaurants get mentioned in Lonely Planet and as soon as they are in, raise their prices and cut back on food quality and service.
-Duck Season. Wabbit Season. Duck Season. Wabbit Season. Duck Season. Wabbit Season.
-Do not eat one's lunch within sight of a Coati. It will be taken from you.

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