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| Day 4: December 22,
2005 - Iguazu Falls, Argentina |
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We woke earlier than the
past few days because Sol was picking us up to go
to the airport at 9am. We were ready to go when
she arrived and had a pleasant journey 900 miles
North to where Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay come
together. It was a drastic change in scenery as
we moved north. From the plane, you first saw arid
plains that had rivers running like veins through
them. The landscape became more lush as we came
closer to Iguazu.
Olivera, our guide, met us at the airport and took
us to the hotel. We had waterfall rooms that look
out towards the devil's throat. On the left is Brazil
and the falls dominate the view.
We choose to visit the Devil's Throat - the largest
and most voluminous of the falls. It was a good
choice - being Christmas day and a Sunday, it was
very quiet at the falls. In order to get there,
you take a 15 minute train ride on something that
looks like it came out of an American theme park.
It was a train that runs on very narrow gauge rails
- they couldn't have been more than 2 1/2 feet apart!
The train deposits you at the trail head. In this
case, the trail is a metal catwalk about 4-5 feet
wide and 10 feet above the Iguazu River. Winding
along this path, we saw numerous butterflies and
birds. In fact, there was a nest with 3 flycatchers
right below the decking. It's a fun walk to take
because you can see all of the different sections
of the river. There are even areas where the bridge
had to be rebuilt because it was washed away in
a flood.
The closer you get to Devil's Throat, the noisier
it gets. The waterfall has a constant roar. The
sheer power of the water careening over the edge
when it was so peaceful just moments before is very
impressive. We stayed for quite some time admiring
the power and expanse of the falls.
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Panoramic from Devil's Throat (click on image for larger view) |
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In different sections you could see different things.
In one area, there were birds that kept ducking
into the falls and getting lost in the mist until
they emerged on the other side. In another area,
you could admire a constant rainbow (or two). Based
on the breeze, and the sun, we either saw a very
vivid rainbow or a muted one. As we worked our way
around, the rainbow became brighter and extended
in a perfect arch 270 degrees or more around. We
never saw anything quite like it before and frankly
it is a place to experience rather than read about
- words can't do it justice.
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Brazil side of Devil's Throat with rainbow |
Mom and Dad at Devil's Throat |
Devil's Throat |
Falls at sunset |
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We came back to the hotel and saw sunset on the
falls. The falls are north/south so the sun arcs
across them. As the sun set there were brilliant
purples on the left that gave way to deep blues
as the sun on the right went through reds and oranges.
It is peaceful and touches the soul.
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