April 21, 2013
“I can still hear and feel the falls. I am so impressed. I thought Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe was incredible. Niagara Falls wasn’t bad either. But after seeing Iguazu, I know why Eleanor Roosevelt said “poor Niagara”. I think Iguazu is the # 1 falls to see.”
The center of Uruguay is cattle country or goucho country.
We left our dogs in Uruguay with friends, one less border crossing to hassle with them. Without the dogs and all our stuff, we had lots of space. We drove up through the middle of Uruguay and spent the night in the border town of Salto. Our lodging was an old colonial home converted to a hotel.
The entrance to the old mansion/hotel in Salto. Imagine what it was like a hundred years ago.
We stayed on the upper level, our room is over Chris’ shoulder. There is a center courtyard – very cool.
The weather was still nice, but the days were getting cooler: May is in the heart of the fall season.
Just loved this colorful street in Salto.
We decided to cross the border early the next morning to avoid the crowds. We arrived only to find that we were supposed to pay a reciprocity fee online before arriving at the border. That meant we had to go all the way back to town. How are you supposed to know this ahead of time? Once again, we completely lucked out. One of the border agents who knew some English took us into her room and guided us through the site on her computer. It would have taken us a lot more time just to figure out the site. Argentina has a reciprocity fee of $160 per person and it is good for 10 years. We just need to hang on to that sheet of paper as proof of payment.
Iguazu Falls is voted one of the seven natural wonders of the world and is a UNESCO site. It’s located in the upper eastern part of Argentina. There are not a lot of other things to bring you up this way, but it is worth the effort. You can view the Falls from Argentina or Brazil. Each side claims to have the best view. We spent two full days at the Falls, staying the night in Puerto Iguazu.
Our quaint hotel – we had the most comfortable bed – hard to get up in the morning!
The waterfalls are incredible. Put it this way, after seeing them, Eleanor Roosevelt said “poor Niagara.” Argentina has built walkways and platforms to view the falls from many vantage points. You can do a lot of walking here and some of the paths would probably not be allowed in the US.
Now . . . let’s have some fun. I have decided the best way to show YOU Iguazu Falls is to shrink you to the size of a parrot and carry you on my shoulder. Together we will “walk” this amazing place.
Are you ready?
Hundreds of these colorful ambassadors greet us.
The butterflies float in the air around us, occasionally brushing the hairs on our arm. We look down to find one hanging on our shirt.
Hope you are comfortable. cuz we go we have lots of ground to cover. Today we are walking path “A,” the yellow one. We begin off the map in the lower right-hand corner.
Once we have walked into the park towards the water, we turn right along a well beaten dirt path. This leads us to a sturdy metal walkway. No rickety wood planks. It actually is a bit weird to peer through the metal grate to the rushing water below.
Having gone a few “blocks” on the metal walkway, we can look far ahead and see more walkway.
What you are seeing is the Argentinian part of the falls. At the top center you can see a bit of white, that is the Devil’s Throat, half is in Argentina and half in Brazil. This walkway hugs the edge as we try to get closer to the larger falls.
The falls are “U” shaped with an island in the middle. We have begun our trip on the right hand side an upside down “U”. The walkway runs along the very top of multiple smaller falls.
Now . . glance over your left shoulder. About 10 feet from where you stand, the earth drops away. You are actually looking down two large drops. The white water is the top of the next ledge. If you look close towards the top of the picture, you see over that ledge to the lighter green below – the river. A tiny boat fights the current. We will be on that boat later.
Lifting your head, you are looking out at the river (in the center). Iguazu Falls is to your right. Between the falls and the river is an island. It is not easy to differentiate from all the green.
Continuing on the walkway, we stay close to the edge of a huge drop-off. Can you feel your heart beat a bit faster? The river is way below.
Incredibly green, lush, and beautiful. Listen to the roar of the water, smell the “green” air, feel the cool mist.
When we come around the next bend, we may think we are seeing “The Falls”. As it turns out, this is only a portion of the entire falls. I would have driven hours just to see this. To the right is one of my favorite pictures. It was difficult to narrow the number down.
Just had to include another view – it is impressive. And there is still more…
We are getting close to the farthest point of the walkway.
Walking back along the walkway we glance over the edge to our right. We can see people below on a viewing platform on top of the next ledge. Eventually, we will get there.
We can go no farther. We reached the end of the walkway and turn around. Even though we are walking the same route, the same views looks completely different from the this direction.
Looking back, we can see how the falls curve left, forming one side of the “U” shape of Iguazu Falls. The walkway let us travel quite a ways along the edge.
As we walk along, we can now see both sides of the island.
This path stays high up as it brings us around to see the other side of the island. In the distance, we spy a part of the mighty Devil’s Throat. At the bottom, we see a boat. Straight in front of the boat is a waterfall . . . those people will be going under the falls . . . just like us later.
We reach the dirt path that we started on this morning and now we go the other direction. It is still hard to tell that is an island in the river.
- One last glance to the right of the island. we spot a boat heading up between the island and the mainland we walked.
Be careful. These animals that look a like a raccoon are called a Civet Cat. We are not supposed to feed them. They are not afraid of humans. Children need to be careful; especially cautious. The cats are bold enough to grab food from your hand and could scratch or bite if provoked.
This large male Civet Cat was more aggressive.
Tomorrow, we spend part of the day on the island and also visit the top of the “Devil’s Throat.” For now, you can hop down, stretch your legs and think about what a great day we have had.