Prime Time Travel: Iguazu Falls

Iguazu Falls

January 11th - 12th, 2016

On our arrival at Iguazu Airport (Argentina) we are greeted by a temperature in the mid- thirties and 95% humidity! It's quite a drive to our very nice hotel which is an oasis in an ‘interesting’ back street, with a few indeterminate shops around. Later in the evening we find that around the corner and up a bit, there is a shopping strip and some nice restaurants, one of which gets our custom on both nights of our stay.

We are here to visit the famous Iguazu (meaning “big waters” in Guarani language) Falls. There are approx. 270 separate falls in the area during wet months with a minimum of 150 during dry months, the majority being in Argentina. This afternoon we make a 2 hour trip to the Brazillian side for which we require a visa.This proves to be quite painless - we obtained our visa in Australia and the local tour guide does the leg work at the border.

Very briefly, and quoting the National Park brochure:

“Millions of years formed the basalt in rocks canyon where the Iguazu river falls, coming from 1,320 kilometers away in a place called Serra do Mar (Curitiba) and 20 kilometres downstream the canyon joins the Parana river, where Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil meet in a triple frontier borderline”

Heavy rain has been falling in the Falls catchment and the tour guide explains that the water is usually white, but today it is brown. The good bit is that they are absolutely roaring! Agoutis, not easy to see, wander around and notices are posted warning of the danger of rabies if bitten by the quatis and monkeys which hang around in the hope that tourists will feed them. There is only one trail on this side of the Falls - easy walking with many viewing points along the way - a wonderful spectacle! Most visitors walk down a staircase and onto the ‘bridge’ which looks down “The Devil’s Throat” - here they get a massive shower which causes great delight! It is here that I meet Debbie & Owen West from Brisbane and discover that we will be travelling together on the ‘Ocean Diamond' to Antarctica.

Next morning, outside the hotel breakfast room, we are delighted to see humming-birds around the bird feeders in the garden. At last we have a fighting chance of getting a photo of these magic wee birds! Not in ‘the wild’, strictly speaking, but we take the opportunity.

Our enthusiastic guide for the Iguazu Falls, Argentina side, is Horatio and he is keen to stay ahead of the ‘tour groups’ (he doesn’t put our 12 in that category!) This side of the Falls is served by a train which travels the perimeter and saves quite a few kms of walking, so we hurry to get the first one of the day. We see the ‘other’ side of “The Devil's Throat” from a walkway almost on top of the actual Falls...most spectacular. From this viewpoint, there are cascades almost 360°! It is hot and we are pleased to be walking the Upper Circuit this morning before the sun is directly overhead as the walkways are all metal, it is quite exposed and there is very little shade. There are too many Falls to name but each is spectacular in its own way.

As well as walking and train riding, folk can go canoeing (when suitable, which is not today because of the high water level and the extreme conditions on the water) or jet boat riding. After lunch, taken in a Food Court ‘oasis’ which, not surprisingly also has a souvenir/gift shop, we lose a few new friends to the lure of the jet boat while we walk the Lower Circuit. The Falls on this circuit tend to be not as spectacularly huge but are special in different ways; narrow, tumbling from a great height between rocks and greenery; cascades rippling over rocks before making their way back to the main river. On this trail there are many cool places to rest and have contemplative moments.

Given the amount of water we experienced today, it is a little surprising that we return to the hotel dry and dusty and very much in need of a shower. However, when discover that the temperature reached around 35°C, maybe not...

(More photos at www.flickr.com in johnholmanadventure and click on Albums)