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Published: August 1st 2006
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Rainbows in the Falls
A rainbow forms in the spray of the fall once the sun puts its hat on. Hip hip hip hooray! The bus journey to Puerto Iquazu takes 24 hours from BA. Maybe as 18 year old gap yearers we would have saved 30 quid and spent a day on a bus but we decided to fly. Luckily we were sat next to a Kiwi guy, Jim, who was as disorganised as us and was prepared to suss out the town with us.
We chilled out on the first day, taking a walk through the town along Avenida Tres Fronteras, where at its end, you can stand at the top of a gorge and marvel at the River Iguazu, which runs from West to East separating Brazil from Argentina and the Rio Paraná, running from North to South, creating a natural barrier between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. By the evening we had managed to get a bit of a traveller posse together so we sampled the delights of Cuba Libre, the only nightclub in Puerto Iguazu. Unfortunately only one (but one too many) free
caipirinha cocktails in the club meant that we all found it very hard to get up in the morning, even though we knew that 2km of waterfalls were waiting for us to explore. Laura was also a
On Approach
A view from the skies of the colourful landscape.. little stiff after convincing the club that both her and Shakira's hips, don't lie!!
We explored the falls from both Argentinian and Brazilian national parks (yes we've even been to Brazil now!). From the Argentinian side, numerous wooden walkways terminate in viewing platforms which afford an up-close and personal view of the falls from various perspectives. The views were breathtaking which made it hard to believe the Brazilian side would be even more scenic, as the guidebook suggested. You do feel that you are in a theme park on the Argentinian side as boats ferry passengers to and from Isla Grande San Martin, a separate island with yet more viewing platforms and a small beach. You can even choose to take a jet dingy as near as dammit into the spray falling from the gorge known as The Devil's Throat! Of course, we fancied this 15 minute refreshing ride so prepared to get soaked by stripping down to our essentials. It's now official that the best hangover cure in the world is having your head plunged underneath a great big cold waterfall. There is also a Sheraton Hotel within the grounds of this national park which although a bit
of an eye sore, does have great views of the falls from its terraces and restaurant window. This is definitely THE place to stay for wealthy Argentinians and for a moment we joined the hoi palloy to enjoy the hotel's lunchtime buffet spread. We could even hear the thunder of the falls in the distance.
Exploring the waterfalls from the Brazilian side was a little more serene - although there were just as many tourists. You really get a sense of the distance spanned by the Iguazu falls and it looks just beautiful. Seeing Iguaçu, as it's known in Brazil, gives you the opportunity to see the panoramic views of the whole falls and to take the precarious walkways that go right to the precipice where the water tumbles over. It's on this side where the Devil's Throat is most easily seen and the power of the water falling 82m into this 150m wide U-shaped pit, is no less a sight than awesome! On a sunny day, the watery mist creates rainbows and the numerous butterflys fluttering by make this scene breathtaking. Other wildlife is also more visibleon the Brazilain side, especially the badger-like Coatís. These small mammals can
be seen all over the park, along with signs warning tourists not to feed or handle them. They're quite comical beasts and quite audacious in their attempts to find food - any sign or scent and they charge after the unlucky victim whose shouts of "shoo", do nothing but delay the inevitable snatch. Being extremely tall with long arms are useful attributes in these circumstances!
Some people argue as to what are the "greatest waterfalls" in the world and by all accounts it would seem that Iguazu is a lead-runner along with the Victoria falls in Africa. Certainly they are the largest in terms of the area they cover and being surrounded by 260° of falls is an incredible thing to witness. Our pictures don't really do this scenery justice, show how lazy the river looks before tumbling over the precipice, or capture the power that emanates from the crashing water. You've just got to go and see it...
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fiona
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jealousy just got ugly!!
OOOHHH MMMYYY GGOOODDDD! Those pics are amazing!!!! fiona