| Mar 19, 2006 - Foz do Iguazu, Brazil
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 | | show all 172 | | Mom & Dad, at a Brazil side viewing platform | | Cuati, the mascot animal of the falls | | Closer up of Mom & Dad | | |
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 | | A long stretch of medium-sized falls, and mom & dad
| | San Martin falls, and his neighbors
| | The centerpiece of it all, the Devil's Throat falls
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| The Iguaçu falls, or however you want to spell it, are stunning. They are shared by Brazil and Argentina, whose border runs right down the middle, and thus are housed in two separate national parks. The tri-border with Paraguay is actually very close by as well, and while none of the famous falls are within Paraguay, some people still go there for yet another lookout point. Quite simply, they are one of the most incredible and awe-inspiring natural sights I have ever witnessed. Much like Machu Picchu, the Falls are hyped up everywhere you go along the Gringo Trail, and like Machu Picchu, they were still far better than I ever expected.
We arrived Friday evening and were brought to our more-than-luxury hotel, actually inside the national park on the Brazil side and right in front of an impressive lookout of the falls. That night we ate dinner at the hotel and rested ater a long day of travel.
Saturday was our day to explore the Brazil side of the falls. The Brazil side grants you much more of a lookout and impressive panaoramas as opposed to an upclose look at individual falls. We spent the morning walking the paths that hug the cliffs high above the different waterfalls and rivers. We started a bit downstream, and slowly worked our way up to the main viewing area, where long catwalks actually take you out over the water and right up to the waterfalls edge. There are hundreds of waterfalls within the national parks, but the centerpiece of it all is a horseshoe shaped curve completely ringed with waterfalls, at the apex of which is the largest most impressive Garganta del Diablo falls (The Devil's Throat). By the time we got out to this area the clouds had rolled in and the mist from all the falls was thick. Still it was an amazing sight and experience, and only got me more excited for the Argentina side tomorrow. I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking.
In the afternoon we we went to the Bird Park closer to the town of Foz do Iguacu, and saw many species of exotic birds from all over the globe, at times even walking through large open aviaries and getting a very personal look at the birds. Then finally at night we went out to a very typically Brazilian buffet and show. The food was never ending and spectacular, and although we had worries that the show would be way too tacky for our tastes, it actually ended up being not so bad. It was a multicultural dance show with performances of traditional dances and music from all over South America. So in a way, it was the perfect thing to see and give my parents a crash course on some of the things I had been witnessing up until now.
Then Sunday the 19th was my brithday, and the day that we saw the Argentina side of the falls. Wow, simply incredible. We took a taxi accross the border, a very small portion of which I was actually driving, and started a staggering day getting up close and personal with some of the most impressive waterfalls and natural landscape I have ever seen. Once again, I will let the photos do most of the talking, most. In short, there are many different walking paths and loops and you can take to see different parts of the park and all the different waterfalls. We decided to do almost all of them, and build the suspense slowly to culminate at the Garganta del Diablo falls. So first we just took a strolling path through the woods that ends at one fairly simple waterfall. The park has a train that connects the different trailheads, so from there we trained it to another set of walks. We were able to walk along the long chain of waterfalls that was visible from the Brazil side the day before, and then walk down to get right up next to the raging waters. In the middle of the whole area is San Martin island, and we took a short boat out there to get still another perspective on all the majestic beauty around us, and to get the closest look possible at the fantastic San Martin Falls. After climbing back up to road level, now many hours into hour day and quite fatigued, we took the train out to the final destination. A 1km-long catwalk leads you out over the water that eventually turns into all the falls. From this angle it all seems so peaceful and it is amazing to think about what becomes of all this water just a few hundred meters downstream. But as you get closer you the roar begins to build and you start seeing the mist rise above the trees and the horizon in front of you. The catwalk ends in a large viewing balcony that sits literally on top of the gigantic Devil's Throat falls. We stood there for a while, getting soaked in the spray and taking in the full sensory experience that this location has to offer.
By the night time we were pretty exhausted yet still managed to tackle another buffet dinner at the hotel, complete with an entire cake presented to our table for my birthday. Luckily we were only required to eat one piece each, and the rest was given to the dessert section of the buffet.
And so ended yet another unique birthday experience in my life. In recent years it seems that March has always found me in interesting locals to celebrate, whether it be snowboarding out in Colorado or California, sitting up on the cracked piece of ply wood that was my bed in Nepal, or visiting one of the biggest draws South America has to offer with my parents. It is fascinating what a magnificent outcome the simple combination of running water and gravity can have, the product of which is nothing short of miraculous, and I strongly recommend all people to go and visit this area as soon as possible. |
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