Water, Everywhere Water

  Puerto Iguazu, Argentina
Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Yesterday, early, was our first day to explore the park. I paid for a "grand adventure" that was a bit less than expected but then for $90 pesos what the heck. I guy picked us up at the hostel and drove us (two girls from Texas and one from New York) out to the Parque Nacional Iguazu. After we arrived I split off on my own, to do the adventure, which started first with a drive on the back of a unimog through the bush. It was kinda boring, the guide was nice (said he lived in Calgary at one time), as the jungle looks pretty much like bush and more bush unless youīre on foot and can properly see stuff. I ran into Greg (another American from...Baltimore?) who was taking the adventure as well. We got overtaken by a guy in a 4x4 who almost immediately got stuck in the red mud of the trail. Everyone had a chuckle and we passed on by.

Giant Drinks Permitted

After the road trip we walked down a bunch of steps to the river and after wrapping our camera gear and anything else we wanted to keep dry, in dry bags we roared up the river towards the falls. The boat trip was short but a riot. The captain took us right into the falls in a couple of places. We were soaked and I mean soaked. It was very refreshing actually after the heat of the bush. After the falls we hopped off the boat and went our own ways to explore and take photos of the water.

Wildlife

The falls are like nothing you can imagine. More water passes over the falls at Niagara but Iguazu is so impressive and imposing. I took loads of photos, dodged busloads of package tourists and bumped into Claire and Dave (a young couple from the UK) who I stuck with to do the last bit of the circuit, the Devilīs Throat.

The Devil´s Throat

Super impressive, my photos do not properly show the place. You ride out on a small train and walk a fair distance over catwalks to platforms built over the river to allow access to the falls. You can see Brazil off across the water and the remains of an earlier set of platforms destroyed by a flood. Get this, from the Lonely Planet, they used to load up a boat with tourists and a guy would paddle like a mad man while the tourists got a snoot full of falls until, surprize surprize, one day the guy rowing got a cramp or something and the boatload of silly folk plummetted to their deaths at the base of the falls. Damn but tourists will suspend all common sense when away from home.

Into the Falls

We bumped into Greg at the Devilīs Throat and all walked back to the bus stop together. After a quick drive back to Puerto Iguazu we headed out for dinner at a local restaurant. You cannot imagine for a second the size of the steak you get for $26 pesos. :) I think my total was $30 pesos including tip. (thatīs $10 CDN kids for a dog sized slab of meat, french fries, and a litro of Quilmes!)

Look! It´s Me!

Today I was up early again, this time taking local transport out to the park, to get one last look at the falls and walk out to the island I saw the day before. Entry to the park is half price if you go back the next day and I was able to scoot past the lineups of tour groups and get moving to what I wanted to see without the delay of some of the things from the day before. I walked down to the lower circuit, got some good shots of the swifts clinging to the wall of one of the waterfalls, and walked down the stairs to the boat launch to the island. A quick crossing and I had to climb what seemed like a crazy number of steps up to the top of the island. I got a couple of new photos of the falls and then back across and out. I met Claire and Dave again as they headed for one last peek at the Devilīs Throat and then back onto the bus into town.

The Devil´s Throat in Distance

The pool in empty and thatīs where Iīm headed this afternoon. Iīm on my way back to BsAs tomorrow afternoon, arriving Friday morning at 8:15, for a few last days of sightseeing and shopping then back North. I got an email from Muz yesterday telling me he and Lux will be in BsAs in the next couple of days. I hope I can meet up with them to hear about the Antarctic trip. I was lucking enough to hear Mikeīs version, itīll be nice to hear theirs too.

The Falls and a Rainbow