Monday, October 24, 2005
South America Trip - Days 4 to 6 - Iguazu Falls
Day 4:
We said goodbye to Buenos Aires this morning. We were sad to leave the great hostel but weren´t sad to leave the traffic noise and intense heat. It was hotter than usual for the time of the month.
Our plane to Iguazu was delayed by 1 1/2 hours. We were wondering if we would ever get there! When we finally arrived we got a taxi to the Sheraton Hotel. This was our splurge for the trip. The Sheraton is right in the middle of the national park and our room had a view of the falls. Amazing! (warning many superlatives will be used in this posting when describing the falls). Once we were settled into our room we went out for our first (of many) close up glimpse of the falls.
The Iguazu falls are on the border of Argentina and Brazil. You see a overview of the whole stretch of falls on the Brazilian side and on the Argentinian side you get in amongst them. On both sides you are guaranteed to get very wet! When you get close you really feel and hear the full power of nature. It´s like being on the prow of a boat in a storm. Breathtaking! (I did warn you :) )
We returned to the hotel (only a short walk) and went for a swim, sauna, played ping pong and mucked around in the small gym. It´s a hard life but someone has to do it (he he). For dinner we opted for the buffet. The Lum´s would have been disappointed in us as we didn´t do it justice.
Day 5:
We encountered more buffet in the morning and did the old smuggle food out for lunch trick. Today we went to the upper part of the falls and enjoyed stunning views of the falls from different look outs. It was very hot so we welcomed getting close to the water. We then caught the free train to the Devils Throat. During the train journey we saw many groups of beautiful butterflies. The Devils Throat is where some of the falls plunge down into one spot creating a dramatic effect. Mesmerising! The park and it´s facilities are the best maintained that I´ve ever seen. The toilets are clean and the walkways take you to spots that would be impossible to get to by other means. It left us wondering how they built them in the first place. An amazing feat of engineering.
The highlight of the day was the speed boat trip where you get blessed by the falls by going as close as you dare. As you can imagine this is when you get really wet! Great fun. I was whooping´all the way. After a break for lunch, when we saw some lizards and coati (furry cat/anteater/possum type animal), we went for a walk along the hiking track hopíng to see some more wildlife. Unfortunately we had to turn back after half an hour as we had to cross the border over to the Brazilian side. Guess what the dinner option was when we got to our hotel in Brazil...yep that´s right...buffet. It´s hard not to over eat when you are on holiday!
Day 6:
Today we enjoyed the overview of the long stretch of falls (the longest in the world) on the Brazilian side. It´s just incredible and a treat to see the rainbows across them. Many photos later we hopped back on the taxi to go to the Parque des Aves (Bird park). Here we saw the most colourful and beautiful birds the continent has to offer e.g. endangered parrots, toucans, flamingos, hummingbirds etc. I have never seen birds so beautiful. There were also some reptiles, including caiman (similar to a crocodile but smaller), iquanas, anacondas and turtles. Butterflies were abundant as well.
We also visited a huge tourist shop with the usual tacky souveniers but also some huge quartz cross sections which are exported all over the world. I seem to remember seeing one like them in a hippy/new age store in Cuba Mall.
After the days activities we headed back to the hotel and pool. You are really greatful for a pool when it´s so hot!
We said goodbye to Buenos Aires this morning. We were sad to leave the great hostel but weren´t sad to leave the traffic noise and intense heat. It was hotter than usual for the time of the month.
Our plane to Iguazu was delayed by 1 1/2 hours. We were wondering if we would ever get there! When we finally arrived we got a taxi to the Sheraton Hotel. This was our splurge for the trip. The Sheraton is right in the middle of the national park and our room had a view of the falls. Amazing! (warning many superlatives will be used in this posting when describing the falls). Once we were settled into our room we went out for our first (of many) close up glimpse of the falls.
The Iguazu falls are on the border of Argentina and Brazil. You see a overview of the whole stretch of falls on the Brazilian side and on the Argentinian side you get in amongst them. On both sides you are guaranteed to get very wet! When you get close you really feel and hear the full power of nature. It´s like being on the prow of a boat in a storm. Breathtaking! (I did warn you :) )
We returned to the hotel (only a short walk) and went for a swim, sauna, played ping pong and mucked around in the small gym. It´s a hard life but someone has to do it (he he). For dinner we opted for the buffet. The Lum´s would have been disappointed in us as we didn´t do it justice.
Day 5:
We encountered more buffet in the morning and did the old smuggle food out for lunch trick. Today we went to the upper part of the falls and enjoyed stunning views of the falls from different look outs. It was very hot so we welcomed getting close to the water. We then caught the free train to the Devils Throat. During the train journey we saw many groups of beautiful butterflies. The Devils Throat is where some of the falls plunge down into one spot creating a dramatic effect. Mesmerising! The park and it´s facilities are the best maintained that I´ve ever seen. The toilets are clean and the walkways take you to spots that would be impossible to get to by other means. It left us wondering how they built them in the first place. An amazing feat of engineering.
The highlight of the day was the speed boat trip where you get blessed by the falls by going as close as you dare. As you can imagine this is when you get really wet! Great fun. I was whooping´all the way. After a break for lunch, when we saw some lizards and coati (furry cat/anteater/possum type animal), we went for a walk along the hiking track hopíng to see some more wildlife. Unfortunately we had to turn back after half an hour as we had to cross the border over to the Brazilian side. Guess what the dinner option was when we got to our hotel in Brazil...yep that´s right...buffet. It´s hard not to over eat when you are on holiday!
Day 6:
Today we enjoyed the overview of the long stretch of falls (the longest in the world) on the Brazilian side. It´s just incredible and a treat to see the rainbows across them. Many photos later we hopped back on the taxi to go to the Parque des Aves (Bird park). Here we saw the most colourful and beautiful birds the continent has to offer e.g. endangered parrots, toucans, flamingos, hummingbirds etc. I have never seen birds so beautiful. There were also some reptiles, including caiman (similar to a crocodile but smaller), iquanas, anacondas and turtles. Butterflies were abundant as well.
We also visited a huge tourist shop with the usual tacky souveniers but also some huge quartz cross sections which are exported all over the world. I seem to remember seeing one like them in a hippy/new age store in Cuba Mall.
After the days activities we headed back to the hotel and pool. You are really greatful for a pool when it´s so hot!
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