Ups and Downs of travelling
Trip Start
Oct 14, 2005
1
62
71
Trip End
??? ??, 2006
Puerto Iguazo,
Argentina
Sunday, April 30, 2006
We arrive at the falls and pay a measly 30 pesos (6 pounds) to see one of the most impressive sites so far, ranking up there with Ayers Rock and Angkor Wat. Firstly we decided to walk over to an island that offers great views of the falls, and was carved out by the 2 strongest points of the falls. The walk to the Island was surprisingly eventful, as we encountered numerous coatis an animal I had never even heard of, long nosed creatures similar to monkeys crossed with anteaters. These strange looking creatures were very inquisitive, looking for food from the tourists
01. Don´t feed the Coatis
. We also saw a monkey with a reverse mohican like Keith Flint from the prodigy, leaping acrobatically with the falls an impressive back drop to his antics.The wild life around the falls was an added bonus, but even with out the strange mammals, huge soaring birds, and plentiful mettalic butterflies, the Iguazu falls would have been a highlight in anyone's world tour.
You could hear the roar of thousands of tons water long before you could see it, and rounding that bend to witness the panoramic view of the falls, caused us to stop in our tracks, even getting my Swedish friends to take there eyes off the particularly attractive Argentian tourists we had been following for the last 10 minutes. The power of the large falls, known as the garganta del diablo (the devils throat) contrasted by the beauty of the countless smaller falls that trickled their way down the cliffs was spell binding, for a while. A few photos later and we were following the good looking girls again...
The trip to the Island took us closer to the falls, and if anything they looked even better close up, what I had previously thought to be trickles of water were actually giant cascades, any of which alone would be worth a visit, but they paled in comparison to the power houses
02. The Iguazu Falls
.A quick boat ride over to the island, we opted against the adventure tour, another 30 pesos to go in a boat and get soaked, and relaxed on the beach for a bit before exploring the Island. The view from the look out point on the Island was mesmerising, quite literally as I feared that one of my new Swedish friends was in the thralls of hypnosis, not taking his eyes of the falls for nearly half an hour, neither moving nor talking in this time, until his friend decided to wake him from his trance. So far I had only viewed the falls from below, so we decided to trek up to the top, and take the free train to the garganta del Diablo.
The ride and the walk from the train was a picture of calm, the cataracts that lead in to the falls appeared as still and flat as a mirror, deceiving as to the ferocious force of nature that was to come. The garganta del Diablo is the supposed highlight of any visit to the falls, but for all itīs power and spray that it kicked up as it crashed down into the valley of itīs own creation, with hundreds of smaller falls assisting in the torrential flow of water, I was definitely more impressed with the intricate patterns weaved by the many smaller falls, and the overall panoramic view of the falls from the Island of San Martin.
03. Me at the falls
It was getting late and the last train was set to leave soon, but we were in no hurry enjoying the majesty and power, as calm slow moving waters were transformed into a rushing beast. As the many tourists started to leave we managed to watch the falls virtually alone, with the exception of an Irish guy only too willing to take pictures of us, and an official looking man with a whistle. We were ushered from the garganta del Diablo by the man with the whistle, and noise of officialdom that translates into any language, wanting to ensure we reach the last train before it departs. A final bit of wildlife watching as we spot a cayman, smallish crocodile type thing, from one of the bridge that spans the cataracts of Iguazu. Managing to snap off a final picture before the man with the whistle is upon us again.
Waiting for the bus back to the town of Puerto Iguazu the Irish guy, who has spent the last week in Puerto Iguazu tells us about Cuba Libre apparently the best place to drink and dance in the town, he was not wrong. After convincing my Scandinavian friends to eat at a proper restaurant and try the fabled Argentine beef, a week in Argentina and they had not had a steak, the fools, we set off to Cuba Libre, it was dead, we remembered that we were in Argentina and nothing gets started until 1, so we head over to our sister hostel* to play a bit of pool and practice our Spanish. 1am sneaks up on us amid a pool tournament and we venture out to Cuba Libre. In the 3 hours since we first saw this small, lifeless bar it had turned into a seething, hot, sweaty mass of Argentinians and a few intrepid tourists. After a few more close encounters with the local wildlife, and discovering the dancefloor at the back of the bar I rolled back to our hostel with Freddie, (Swede 1) leaving Martin (Swede A) with his new Brazilian friend, at 6:30am
04. San Martin Island
.Awaking far too early and in no state to make a decision I decide to accompany the two Swedes through Paraguay, and then onto Bolivia was my plan, little did I know at the time I was going to travel with Martin and Freddie for the next 2 weeks, such is the joys of travelling.
*I should probably mention how bad the hostel was at some point, sharing the same name as one highly recommended in the LP, it lacked even the most basic facilities, water, a flush, sheets that actually fitted the mattress, despite boasting a pool, dirty and mouldy, and free internet, "no funcionar". Itīs sister hostel did not look much better but it at least had a bar, and functionl toilets, and a pool table, although ripped, and uneven.
