Jim & Barbara Burton Travel: Iguazu Falls, Argentina

Iguazu Falls

Friday December 27, 2013 we left the Poetry Building at 5:30 am to catch our flight from Buenos Aires to Iguazu Falls. Leaving really early proved to be very prudent, as the airport was packed. We checked in for our flight and being early we were accommodated with upgraded seats.

Arriving in Iguazu some two hours later we were met by our guide, Alberto and driven first to see the confluence of the rivers, where three countries meet, Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. We were still in Argentina, which is accessible to both Paraguay and Brazil by bridge crossings. As Argentina is much cheaper than the other two countries, people flock over the borders to refuel their vehicles and do their grocery shopping. The line of vehicles stretches for miles and takes for ever to cross the border. Tourist vehicles take a different lane, which was lucky for us when we returned from our trip to the Brazilian side.

After checking in to our hotel, the Orquideas Palace, we were collected and taken for a catamaran trip on the The Iguazu and Parana rivers. This was a very interesting trip viewing three countries at the same time. The rivers are somewhat brownish in colour due to the sediment therein.

After driving through the small, but vibrant, town of Iguazu we we returned to our hotel and enjoyed a very nice buffet dinner. The Orquideas Palace is located on the outskirts of town in a much quieter location than the downtown core. It is a very pleasant, comfortable hotel, set in beautiful gardens with a large swimming pool. The heat in Iguazu was intense so the large pool was very welcoming. Just as we finished swimming a huge tropical storm entailed.

Saturday, we were up early, had breakfast at the hotel then driven to the Argentine side of the falls where we met our guide for the day, Diego. We were joined today by Peter, originally from Thailand and now New York, along with his niece Pairin a professional tennis player from Thailand. They were great company, very entertaining and luckily for us spoke excellent English. It was extremely hot again, they said +42C, but luckily the spray from the falls cooled us down now and then. The falls were absolutely spectacular and we walked about 10km around all the various viewpoints and sometimes twice as we lost our guide. We saw some interesting wildlife, including a troop of coatis around sixty in all. There were several families all together with the sweetest little babies who played around like puppies. There were also beautiful birds, butterflies, iguanas and a cacophony of noisy cicadas.

Sunday, we were once again joined by our new friends and taken by Alberto to the Brazilian side of the falls. The Brazilian falls themselves are not as spectacular as the Argentinian side but you get better views of the Argentinian Falls from the Brazilian side. You can also get much closer to the Devil's Throat. The immense power of the water is deafening from the constant roar of it tumbling over the cliffs.

On both sides of the falls you can watch the Black Swifts that nest on the cliffs under the roaring water. It is truly fascinating to observe these small birds flying right through the cascading water to land on their rocky ledges where they build their nests. It is amazing that they are not swept away at every attempt but their timing is impeccable, or as they say down here, "perfecto".

There is not so much walking to do on the Brazilian side but nevertheless it is no less interesting in the way of wildlife. We saw a huge black catfish in the river and through sheer strength did not get washed over the precipice. There were also turtles, more birds and butterflies and this beautiful (nonpoisonous) snake.

The rivers that flow unsuspectingly to tumble over the falls to another river below are delta like and extremely wide.

After our last visit to the falls we prepared to leave Iguazu but not before visiting the wildlife refuge next door to our hotel. This refuge is home to many indigenous species, birds, mammals and reptiles. Some of them come to the sanctuary injured and will possibly be released back to the wild depending on their recuperation and others come as babies that have been seized from poachers selling them as pets. Peccaries and Coatis are very sweet as babies but as adults they resort to their wild instincts and are usually very vicious and destructive.

We returned to our hotel, retrieved our backpacks, had a final swim, a cup of tea and then off to the airport for our trip back to Buenos Aires.....................