Our hotel in Puerto Iguazu, on the Argentine side of the magnificent Iguazu Falls, kindly arranged a wonderful driver to escort across the river and through Brazilian customs to the Parque Nacional do Iguacu. Instead of just dropping us at the park entrance with our luggage and leaving us to fend for ourselves, Rodolfo showed us where to buy park tickets from a machine, take those to then buy locker tickets, dump our luggage in the lockers, buy safari tickets and just generally made our lives so much easier especially because we had to deal with the Portuguese language for the first time all trip!
I had read that while the Argentine side with its variety of trails offered many more opportunities to see the falls close up, the Brazilian side offered more panoramic views. We couldn't wait to discover if that was the case for ourselves! We knew, though, that while Brazil's park was much larger, it had fewer walkways and no jungle train. However, it was equally well laid out with its buses transporting visitors from point to point. Time was of the essence for us as we could only see the Brazilian side of the falls until mid-afternoon before flying onto Sao Paulo.
I had read that while the Argentine side with its variety of trails offered many more opportunities to see the falls close up, the Brazilian side offered more panoramic views. We couldn't wait to discover if that was the case for ourselves! We knew, though, that while Brazil's park was much larger, it had fewer walkways and no jungle train. However, it was equally well laid out with its buses transporting visitors from point to point. Time was of the essence for us as we could only see the Brazilian side of the falls until mid-afternoon before flying onto Sao Paulo.
It was a little daunting reading the sign that we needed to be responsible visitors to the park by not littering, not feeding the animals, not removing stones from the park, not smoking in the park plus so many other things we were instructed not to do in the park!
We took the bus to the park's Hotel das Cataratas so we could start on the Trilha das Cataratas or Waterfall Trail, a 1200 m trail that followed the shore of the Iguacu River.
Across the street from the hotel, we got our first glorious view of the falls, overlooking Garganta do Diablo or Devil's Throat which we'd seen last thing yesterday afternoon from the Argentine side.
We counted ourselves so lucky that we were again treated to a rainbow.
From such a distance, the smaller waterfalls looked so minute.
The birds circling way above made the sight even more special.
Scenes from our hike down to the falls:
The panoramic views did indeed live up to their billing in our minds. Spaniard Don Alvar Nunes happened on the falls in 1541, dubbing them Saltos de Santa Maria. The name didn't stick but the Guarani name, Iguacu or Great Waters, did. In 1986, UNESCO declared the region a World Heritage Site. That was followed by its being declared one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2011.
Apparently, to see the full force of the falls, it's 'best' to go in January or February when the river is high. As that's also the time when the heat and humidity are fierce and both the Argentine and Brazilian national parks are packed with tourists, we were thrilled being there in early December when the river seemed high enough and we didn't have to grapple with excessive heat.
Looking at these photos I took almost six months ago brings back memories of how spectacular our all too brief time there was. It was just jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring and every other positive attribute I can possibly think of to see AND hear the force and beauty of nature. We have been so incredibly fortunate to go on some exciting adventures for months on end year after year but our view of and time at Iguazu/Iguacu Falls remain the most spectacular of any we've seen anywhere in this fabulous world!
It was difficult not to want to just stay put at one of the overlooks as we were just so overwhelmed with what we were experiencing. But kept going we did, always curious what might lay ahead and yet doubtful that anything could possibly equal, let alone surpass, what we'd just seen.
A family of coatis making lots of noise in the bushes next to the trail did draw our attention away for few moments.
See those itty bitty people way, way down there? Well, that's where we were heading and we could hardly wait!
A mini, mini waterfall caught our eye!
Yet another view of Devil's Throat that just took our breath away.
Yup, I had my poncho with me, too, but I chose to just get wet and enjoy every moment of it as we walked out to the end of the platform! I could have stayed there for ages but there were plenty of people wanting their own selfies from that spot and we had to hustle back to get the bus for a safari ride.
Another view of the pretty hotel where we caught a bus to take us to the Macuco Safari.
The Safari started with a 3km ride through the jungle with a guide, Andre, who effortlessly switched between speaking Portuguese, Spanish and English while pointing out the park's flora and fauna.
We felt like ants as we craned our heads looking at the tops of the palm trees.
Andre explained these were 100-year old timborana trees and were also known as monkey ear trees as their fruit is in the shape of a monkey of course! It takes ten years for the fruit, which are eaten by toucans and monkeys, to grow to a kilo in size.
This area of the jungle supported 250 species of butterflies, 41 species of snakes as well as large animals such as tapirs, pumas, ocelots and jaguars, oh my, oh my! The jungle had been in private hands until 1916 when it became a public park with only 3,200 hectares. Since then, the park has increased to 185,00 hectares in size.
Andre showed us water vines.
The second part of the safari was a short hike to a small waterfall. We were so glad we had insect repellent packets with us as the mosquitoes were out in abundance.
Me at Salto Macuco!
I grasped a branch, thinking it was something I could hold onto for balance, only to realize a moment later that the branch was actually a vine and it gave me no help with balancing!
The most thrilling part of the safari was about to come: a zodiac or inflatable boat ride under Iguacu Falls! First, we had to take a mini cable-type car down to the river though which was fun.
How well I remember how pleased and thrilled we were, thinking we would be the first people on the zodiac until the boat guide then took people from the end of the line. i.e. those had therefore arrived last rather those from the 'beginning' of the line to get on the zodiac! We pleaded and pleaded to get seats somewhere on the zodiac and not wait for another one as we were concerned about missing our flight later that afternoon.
Luckily, two seats were finally found but not together. At that point, we didn't mind.
The boat ride took us several kms over the flat river toward the falls.
The speck just in front of the boat was the falls that we were barreling toward.
More mini falls or waterfalls became visible on the river journey.
Straight ahead was another zodiac which had left the dock several minutes earlier and appeared to be doing all sorts of crazy stunts in the river at breakneck speed. I remember feeling such a sense of excitement as we were nearing the falls and wondering exactly HOW close we'd get!
The falls on the right were the Argentine side.
A view looking back the way we'd just come - how still and calm the water was compared to what lay ahead for us!
Steven was just wearing his swimsuit and poncho which is what I should have done too, probably!
Our boat guide looked supremely unconcerned and nonchalant at what lay just ahead.
Not much of a picture, I know, but at least I was able to get a sense of the fury and being right in the middle of the falls as we went back and forth, back and forth, under the falls known as the Three Musketeers on the Brazilian side. What an adrenaline rush it was!
A pair of drowned rats but at least we were happy, drowned rats after the exhilarating ride! Steven and I later questioned each other about which side of the falls we liked more. I think we both agreed that we were just so thankful we'd been able to see the falls from both vantage points as the panoramic views from the Brazilian side were out of this world and a thrill a minute. But I couldn't imagine spending much more time than we did on that side of the falls as there was just the one, relatively short trail in the park to the Devil's Throat viewing area. We certainly didn't get the stupendous panoramic angle from the Argentine side but the variety of the trails and the proximity to so many waterfalls were also out of this world.
After trying to dry off somewhat, we took the cable-type car up the incline railway from the dock. We were both concerned with getting to the airport on time even though it was just a ten minute ride from the park entrance. But to get to the park entrance, we still had to wait for a jeep ride to the jungle exit, then hop on the bus without knowing how long we might have to wait for each part of the journey as the jeep and bus rides had their own timetables! Then it was a matter of retrieving our luggage, and waiting again for a city bus to take us to the airport. It all worked fine and dandy in the end but we did have our share of anxious moments when we seemed to have to wait for so long at each step of the way for the next mode of transportation. Plus, we sure didn't want to miss another flight as we had just done a couple of days before!
It's easy to say our visits to both the Argentine and Brazilian sides of the magical Iguazu Falls had been beyond our wildest dreams. Our all too brief time there will live forever in my memory.
Next post: The Highs and Lows of Sao Paulo.
Posted on May 27th, 2018, from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, after Tropical Storm forced us to evacuate from Grayton Beach State Park in Florida's Panhandle.
Posted on May 27th, 2018, from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, after Tropical Storm forced us to evacuate from Grayton Beach State Park in Florida's Panhandle.
Oh, my aching knees on the trail/steps. What a wonderful experience. Hope to do it soon. Lil Red
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