New Year's Celebrations at the falls!
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Foz do Iguacu,
Brazil
Friday, December 29, 2006
So a much delayed flight north to Igauzu and it turns out we're staying on the Brazilian side of the border - surprise! A bit of a step down from our luxurious Buenos Aires surroundings, we were all a bit spoilt there. We went to see the Brazilian side of the falls on the 30th which was very nice, followed a concrete walkway which gave good views of the falls, most of which are actually on the much larger Argentinian side of the National Park. Afterwards we went to a dinner and show, the cheesiest touristy show I've ever seen, complete with cheesiest compere ever who entered the stage from the ceiling onto a raised platform which slowly brought him down on to the stage. There was also an entry via slide by some dancers, one even came up out of the floor at one stage. They had traditional music from most of the South American countries, including some excellent capoiera, all accompanied by a smoke machine with flashing disco lights. The peruvian part was pan pipes playing "El Paso del Condor" or something similar when the highlight of the night (for me) appeared: a man on stilts in a huge gaudy condor costume! Classic! Jenny was roped into dancing on stage at one point for comic effect but the less said about that incident the better...
On the 31st we headed across the border to the Argentinian side and it was fantastic. The Iguazu falls are simply the most amazing natural phenomenon that I've seen. I can't think of anything that comes close. We started the day with a boat ride in under a couple of the smaller falls - screw the environment that's what I say! Might as well, after flying here anyway. Great fun though. Then we spent the day wandering all of the many paths in the park, getting more and more impressive views of the falls from all angles: from below, half way up, and even hanging over the edge in places. Loads of wildlife around including incredibly colourful butterflies. Tropical climate here, noted the temperature at 11pm one night at 31 degrees! The day culminated in the climax at the Garganta Del Diablo, which was incredible. Impossible to capture in words or pictures, just the most powerful thing I've seen yet. Finished off with a boat trip on the river above the falls in an inflatable raft where a caiman came swimming up to us like he wanted a chat or something. Cheeky beggar. So John and I went for a dive in the water to cool down and freak my mother out just afterwards. The guide said it was fine so in we dove... seconds later I was standing on a rock about a meter below the surface. I was very glad to still have my face at this point...
NYE was a bit strange, we decided to eat on the Argentinian side (a recommendation from our 'driver' Mario, who drove us around in style for the duration, complete with deck chairs in the back for the extra two people). Caught a great fireworks display at the bizarre time of 10.30pm on the Brazilian side. Just as well, as the bells were a bit of an anticlimax in the half full restaurant, and we could hear fireworks all around but see none. Had a taste of the Argentinian nightlife (a rare occurrence on this trip actually) before heading back to the hotel about 3am.
New Year's Day we went to the excellent bird park where we saw all sorts, played with Macaws and a baby Boa (not the feathered type), saw humming birds and loads of butterflies, and spent ages taking photos of the excellent toucans. A very relaxing day. Returned by plane to Buenos Aires on the second, after a quick visit to the lookout point to see Paraguay and Brazil from Argentina...
