Parque National del Iguazu - The Falls
We were up and out of the room by 5:30. The short sleep and early rise is not sitting well with me. I kept my eyes on the road instead of napping so that I did not feel more nauseous. Neila showed us where to check in t the airport and sent us on our way. The ladies have taken very good care of us in Buenos Aires.
Once we checked in and went through security, Bill was kind enough to stand in the line that did not move for the one and only shop in the domestic area to buy me some water and a croissant to settle my stomach. Thankfully that did the trick, plus sleeping the entire 90 min flight to Iguazu Falls helped too.
Tatyana aka Taty greeted us after we collected our baggage and a short drive later we were in the park. We pulled out our necessities for the day - sun screen, camera, lenses, and eye liner... Then we left the van behind and Taty bought our tickets for the park.
The name Iguaçú or Iguazu Falls comes from the Guarani (native) words "y" meaning "water" and "ûasú” meaning "big". The falls are located on Iguazu River on the border of Argentina and Brazil (which we are desparately hoping will grant us visas today).
There are numerous islands along the 2.7 km long edge divide the falls into many separate waterfalls, varying between 60 and 82 m high. The water depth varies greatly due to rainfall (despite not having a rainy or dry season) which greatly impacts the number of smaller waterfalls which can fluctuate between 150 to 300, due to the water level. Approx. 1/2 of the river's flow falls over Devil’s Throat, which is where we headed to first. 85% of the falls are in Argentina and the rest are in Brazil. The most intimate and lush views are from the Argentinian side of the border.
We walked along a short trail and boarded the “train” that took us 2.5 km to a network of bridges/walkways to get an amazing view of Devil’s Throat, Brazil and Argentina.
We took the train back, the walked along the upper trails where we were able to see other parts of the falls, such as Eve and Adam and the large island.
We were also able to do a quick tour on the lower walk to see a different view of the falls and to get very close to one falls which was very refreshing in the 32+ degree weather in the sub-tropic forest.
Overall the falls are awesome. Being in a jungle setting makes the views spectacular. For Bill it definitely tops Vic and Niagara.
Along the way we saw lots of butterflies, flowers, trees, birds, and mammals:
Mockingbird
Cicadas that serenaded us the entire day with a sprinkler type sound
88 butterfly
Cat fish called moncholo
Plushed-crested jay
Heliconius with the red and yellow is poisonous
Swallowtail Androcles - group on ground
Great white egret
Last two white orchids blooming for the season
Southern Lapwing
Common Potoo (this is the first time in the four years that Taty has worked here that she has been able to see this bird)
White ginger lily is not native
Black headed vulture
Turkey vulture
We had a great day capped off with a 20 min hour truck ride and an hour boat ride to the base of the falls where we were able to get up close to a couple of the falls. So close in fact, that we were totally drenched!
The entire day was beautiful. The weather was hot, but bareable, the rain stopped when we arrived at the fall and we had a beautiful blue sky all day. Even though we were trying to connect with anyone who could possibly help us with our visas for part of the day, we were still able to enjoy the beauty of our surroundings and were awed by what nature can do!
Taty booked a room for us for the evening at Mercure Eco Hotel and gave us an option for an ecotour for the next few days. She was super helpful letting us tether our phones, making calls and emails to help get our visas, and then offering us with some options for backup plans. She definitely went over and above her guiding duties for the day, and we really appreciated everything she and her company did for us.
After relaxing and researching by the pool, we had dinner at the hotel. I had the grilled local fish, Surubi, and Bill had a Caesar salad.