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Published: July 21st 2006
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The Iguazu falls are spectacular. When the Iguazu river is running high more than 200 cascades swirl over a 3km long horseshoe front.
But when I was there, maybe half the cascades were dry. It was still a spectacle even in its depleted form. The falls have been hit by a long drought and the five dams along the river course in Brazil store water for power generation and irrigation. The Buenos Aires Herald says that "the Brazilians turn off the faucet on weekends in order to be able to get the water in their reservoir lakes up to the level needed to generate sufficient power during the work week."
Even though Iguazu had less water than it should, it didn´t deter the tourists. The place was packed. It was hard work jostling amongst the crowds to get my photos of the falls. Even in its diminished form, Iguazu was worth it.
At the end of the last blog I was in the Paraguayan border town of Encarnation. I crossed the border into the sister city of Posadas in Argentina on the 9th of July. Posadas is a much prettier city than its Paraguayan sister. It has a
nice waterfront and modern shopping malls. I stopped in the city for a couple of days to write up the last blog; then I continued by bus to Peurto Iguazu.
Peurto Iguazu is the town in Argentina next to the Iguazu falls. The falls border 3 countries - Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. I spent a whole day walking around the falls and through the rainforest.
After that I travelled through North East Argentina towards Buenos Aires. I stopped off in a number of cities - Corrientes, Resistencia and Rosario.
Corrientes is one of the oldest cities in Argentina, it was founded in 1588. It has a notable carnival, a pleasant riverside and colonial buildings.
Resistencia is only 20kms across the Rio Parana from Corrientes. It is the capital of the Chaco region, Argentina´s empty quarter. Resistencia is a much shabbier place than Corrientes. As a result its hotels were half the price. The city bills itself as
La Ciudad de las esculturas
. The place is littered with public art. Every street corner has a statue on it.
Rosario was my last stop before Buenos Aires. It is a large and pleasant city. Its most famous tourist attraction is the Monumento Nacional
de la Bandera. Beneath this monument is the crypt of General Belgrano who designed the Argentinian flag.
Rosario was also the birthplace of Marxist revolutionary
Che Guevara. His first home was in a very ritsy apartment block designed by architect Alexandro Bustillo. Che´s class background was very bourgeois.
Finally I was back in
Buenos Aires, which I left for Ushuaia back in January (see my blog
The End of the World). Whilst in Buenos Aires I walked around the Recoleta district which I didn´t see on my last visit. Walking around Recoleta you can literally smell the money. Of course a visit to
Eva Peron´s tomb is obligatory on a visit to Recoleta. So, I followed the crowds to Evita´s tomb.
My next stop will be Uruguay.
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Simon
non-member comment
Iguaçu Falls
... and you know why, Stuart, cause the Iguaçu falls are ALL brazilians Argentines use to advertise them in their turistic pachages but the geography doesn't lie.