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Published: January 11th 2016
Our first impressions of Brazil may be slightly colored, as the two places we visited so far are both spectacular wonders of nature.
The Iguazu Falls are truly impressive, with some 275 separate falls and spanning approximately 2,5 km. As Eleanor Roosevelt said when she first saw them: "Poor Niagara!"
We viewed them from both the Argentinian and Brazilian side - in Argentina you mainly walk on top of the falls via boardwalks, whereas in Brazil you have an overall view over the whole area. We have to admit, our expectations weren't too high, as we thought the falls would be one big touristy circus. In a way it is. As you enter Iguazu National Park, it's as if you enter a Disney amusement park with restaurants, souvenir shops, trains, buses and walk ways. However, once in the park, you realize it's just very well organized and they made the falls quite accessible. Yes, there are many tourists, but the way the viewpoints are accessed, this doesn't really bother you. Moreover, once you're at the first viewpoint you're in total awe and you hardly notice the other people.
Another great little extra is the wildlife. The falls literally
are in the middle of the rainforest, so there are also all kinds of jungle animals living near the falls. We saw a snake (all black and up in a tree), loads of coati (very cute looking, but annoying little buggers that steal your food if you don't pay attention), several large lizards, big and small spiders, the most beautiful butterflies (very difficult to put on photo) and all kinds of birds.
As it's currently the rainy season, it was very humid and the falls steamy, due to which it was sometimes hard to get a good view. On the positive side, the falls had much more water than in the dry season and the noise was overwhelming - as if you're at a rock concert, not hearing a word that's being sung, but just a LOT of guitar! Especially when you're standing right above 'Devil's throat', basically a hole in the river where thousands of tons of water just drop and disappear in a hole in the earth. Because of the humidity, we were also soaked almost constantly and drenched to the bone when we were on a boardwalk right at the bottom of Devil's throat. With 30
degrees Celsius that's not really a big problem though.
As the falls are the main attraction in the area, we only spend two days there, but what a great start of our Brazilian trip!
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Andre Petrielli
non-member comment
Iguazu - Great experience to start 2016
Great to see you are now in Brazil!! Hope you keep enjoying the journey. Iguazu is really an amazing place (both sides AR, BR as you visited give different views). Best wishes for a excelent 2016 year!!