Thursday, January 28, 2016

Iguazu National Falls, Argentina and Iguacu National Falls, Brazil


Iguazu Falls                January 24- 27, 2016

Sunday morning Larry and I caught a cab to the domestic airport, Jorge Newbery at 8:20am. It took about 20 minutes to get there….there was absolutely no Sunday morning traffic in Buenos Aires. Why?..... because they had been up partying the night away into the early morning hours. Argentinians close up shop everyday around 1:00pm for around four hours for a siesta….we were awakened Friday and Saturday evenings/early morning hours with happy shouts of partying in the streets.

We got our boarding tickets….no electronic tickets here….and headed to Gate 11 waiting for our plane to arrive at 11:00AM. After sitting there, Larry noticed that they had printed out the wrong gate number on our ticket so we scurried down to Gate 16….the same area that we had boarded to go to Ushuaia  three weeks earlier. Here we found that the plane had some repairs being taken care of and that we would not leave until 12:30. I am beginning to think that this whole trip will be the record of having delayed flights. Larry and I have been so lucky to not have this happen to us in the past….but it is sure making up for lost time.
                                          Metal Sculpture Coatie.....Argentina type raccoon
 
We finally boarded and took off in a plane that did the shimmy….I was saying my prayers that we would make it to Puerto Iguazu because it shimmied all the way for an hour and forty-five minutes. Finally we made it….and boy was it hot….upper 90’s. 



After gathering our bags, we were able to board a mini bus to our hotel….La Cantera Jungle Lodge. Our room was down a boarded walkway through a deep forest/jungle.






 
After a light dinner we fell fast asleep.

On Monday we were up at 6:30 and ready to have breakfast when our tour guide, Carlos, showed up to take us (a whole hour early)to the falls. Larry and I quickly assembled two scrambled egg sandwiches and jumped into the van with four other tourists…. two from Paraguay and two from Chile…making Carlos translate in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
                                                                         Carlos, our guide

 By the end of the day we were all communicating with a lot of hand signals and body language. We were pleasantly surprised to find the temps this morning were nice…somewhere in the 70s.
                                                Entrance into the Argentina National Park

Iguazu means big waters….and that is just what we found.

 
The Jays jabber just like in the US.
 

After about a 20 minute ride through this lush green forest, we arrived at Iguazu (Spanish spellinig) Falls National Park on the Argentina side.
Coaties were running all along the path
 
Carlos led us through the lines of people into the park explaining that we would have about a three mile hike into the park to reach the falls. Along the way he pointed out many different plants and critters along the way ….the tiger ant, a clump of moving caterpillars
 
                                 These caterpillars moved in mass to keep preditors away
                                           Warning signs about the monkeys and Coaties
                                     The coatis (a South American branch of our raccoon)
These critters, Coaties, were all over the place. They would get into tourists bags if they had snacks. Worst of all, signs warned us that some could carry rabies that could be gotten through scratches, licks, or bites. Needless to say we tried to stay away from them.



We walked many catwalks seeing magnificent views of the upper falls spotting orchids,


                                                                              morning glories,




                                                                                  spiders,
                                                                    and  unusual butterflies…..



We stopped around 11:30 for lunch, eating baked empanadas filled with chicken and beef while guzzling lots of water. The temps had soared to the high 90’s. After lunch we hiked the lower falls and took a boat ride under the falls getting totally soaked and enjoying the refreshing drench. 
Dos Hermanas Falls/ Two Sisters Falls


                                                                    Are we happy or what?

                                                                        What a plunge!
 
 
                                         A monkey family was hanging out  right after lunch.

Lower falls hike

 
 
 
This sort of captures our hike down the mountain side to get to the boat ramp.

                                                  And away we go.....ready to get drenched!

 
 
The boat took us to a drop off point where we boarded a huge open ended truck that took us through the forest.
                                                   Didn't take long to dry off on top of this ride.

After that we boarded the Rainforest Ecological Train (similar to the Walt Disney World Train) for about 20 minutes and rode to an area where we walked a mile long catwalk



across the flowing Iguacu River. We spotted a huge catfish.... 
 
turtles, and
 
an alligator.
 
 


At the end of the catwalk we came to Devil’s Throat, a U shaped  part the waterfall that over half of the river water plunges 82 meters down, projecting lots of spray and giving us a grand view of the falls on the Brazilian side.


The park boasts 275 waterfalls all with incredible majestic views….it makes Niagara Falls in New York look very small. Carlos returned us to our hotel around 6:00pm….an oasis of air conditioning. We were content to have a light dinner and watch a movie with Josh Brolin for the evening. What a day!

Tuesday morning we were up at 6:00am, had breakfast, and were ready to tackle the Brazilian side of Iguacu (Portuguese spelling) Falls at 7:30am.
                                                                    Breakfast Buffet
Carlos picked us up at 7:30 sharp and got us through the Argentina and Brazil borders.
                                                                               Brazil

Surprisingly, Argentina border had long lines coming and going, even doing a check of our vehicle when returning.  Carlos knew how to bypass the line taking us right to the front….that was nice.
                                                              Larry and Carlos
We stopped off at a shop to do some Brazilian shopping before going to a 40 acre bird sanctuary called Parque de Aves.
                                         Loved these stone craved parrots in the Brazilian Shop


                                              What sights we saw in this fantastic park!

 
 




 Although birds are the priority of park, they have great exhibits of reptiles and butterflies. Opening in 1994, the aviary aims to help endangered bird species in the world.  The park was absolutely AMAZING!
                                                      My favorite....gorgeous!


                                                What a colorful bird....Uganda's National Bird!

Many birds were paired for reproduction purposes in cages while others were exhibited in larger aviaries for a visitor’s close up view of many species.
These flamingos will only mate in a large group, so the staff have put up huge mirrors to reflect the flamingos that are standing there to fool them into thinking that they are a larger group. ...it works....they are multiplying!

 Parque de Aves........What a fabulous two hours of pure enjoyment!

Larry and I were eager to see the Brazilian side of Iguacu Falls so off the group went  around 11:00am.

 



Arriving at the Brazil Iguacu National Park, we drove about seven miles into the park. Here we walked past the historic hotel, Hotel das Cataratas,


a short distance to reach the first terrace viewing of the Argentina side of the fall. Unbelievable! Incredible! Because 80% of the falls is on the Argentina side, the views are much greater from the Brazilian side…and what spectacular views. 


The Brazilian falls were first owned in the 1930’s by a foreign gentleman until 1939 when the government bought it to make a National Park for all to enjoy. It became a member of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1984.
Popular view point of the Argentina side....lots of mist in the air today.
 

The coatis took a backpack away from a teenage tourist....scary....Carlos rescued it back for her.
 

We continued walking the 1,200 meter path of pure sensational views. The pictures just do not capture the enormity of the falls.  A huge black cloud formed overhead and Carlos gathered us to ride the elevator back to the top of the falls for lunch, just before the rain can tumbling down on us.




We all enjoyed views of the Iguacu River while enjoying cuisine from a Brazilian buffet.
A Brazilian Passion Fruit Drink....tasty orange flavor

                                                                 Our tour group at lunch

 After a long leisurely Brazilian lunch we went back to the top of the falls to watch the endless waters plunge to the lower Rio Iguacu Inferior. What an incredible flow of water!  

                                                                  What a powerful falls!
We arrived back to our hotel for a relaxing late afternoon… it was rainy and overcast and the perfect opportunity for a little nap. The Iguacu Falls was a fantastic experience. Larry and I were excited to check off another of the Seven New Wonders of Nature. (Last year we checked off Table Mountain in South Africa.)

 
Plants co-exist on the side of trees creating some natural beauty.
 
Adios to Iguazu Falls 


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