Tag Archives: Iguazu Falls

ARGENTINA & CHILE #20:  ABOVE AND BELOW(!) THE ARGENTINIAN SIDE OF IGUAZU FALLS

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It was our last full day in Argentina, and we were going to do it up right.  Back to the falls we go!  This time, we saw Iguazu Falls from the Argentinian side—above AND below.  More on the “below” views later…

Unfortunately, the skies were a mucky white and gray, but we were (again!) fortunate to not have rain.  It just made for lousy photography—white waterfalls against a white sky.  The views (in person) were spectacular, though, and we enjoyed walking around the edges of the falls, out onto platforms, and over bridges looking down on the powerful rush of water:

(For all photos, especially panoramas, click on the image for a full screen view.)

Along the trail, we could see three toucans way off (and I mean waaaay off!) in the distance, so I did my best to zoom in through the mist of the falls to get this shot, (which has been cropped to a vertical).  It’s bad, I know, but…

We saw a couple of Coatis, in the raccoon family.

On our way back through the jungle after seeing the falls, we saw some monkeys up in the trees.  There was no time to adjust my camera settings, so here’s another bad shot that I don’t want to leave out, because this little guy is so cute!

Now comes the fun part!  In the afternoon, some of us took a boat ride to see the falls from below.  They warned us we would get wet, so dry bags were provided.  I wore my swimsuit, because it was a hot day, and I was looking forward to a refreshing shower from the fall’s spray.  What a blast, in more ways than one!

This is a nine-second video from the boat before turning to head into the falls.  Make sure to have your speakers on to hear the water:

This is another nine-second video (shot with my waterproof camera) as the captain steered our boat INTO the falls.  Notice how much louder the sound is on this one?  The falls were roaring!

And this is what we all looked like afterward!

Ahhh, so refreshing!

After returning from our boat ride and walking across the dock, we were greeted by this handsome fellow:

On our way back to the hotel, I shot these murals through the bus window:

Our Farewell Dinner was wonderful, and we enjoyed one last view from the rooftop.

The following morning, we flew back to Buenos Aires and had a few hours to hop on over to the bakery for empanadas and to Rapanui for one last delicious gelato.  After saying our goodbyes, we headed home.

Eva (“Evita”) Perrone graces the side of this building on the bus ride back to the airport.

We arrived home on March 7, and more than one month later, we are still in touch with each other on our “Buena Onda” WhatsApp group that Andrea set up for us.  It was such a fabulous tour with an amazing group of people, and an experience Bruce and I will never forget.  Gracias TOTALES, Andrea and our buena onda OTT group!

Andrea and Julio enjoying breakfast at home following our tour. Ciao, amigos!

Coming up next:  ARGENTINA & CHILE #21:  A SLIDE SHOW

ARGENTINA & CHILE #18:  INCREDIBLE IGUAZU FALLS

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Off again for another flight!  We had never been on a tour with so many flights, but there was no way around it.  Besides, there was no way we were going to miss the post-extension and not see Iguazu Falls!  We had been to Niagara Falls and were mesmerized and in awe of how large and powerful it was.  Well, Niagara Falls (167 feet high and 3,947 feet wide) are small compared to Iguazu Falls, which measure as high as 269 feet and are 8,858 feet wide! 

The falls can be viewed from both Brazil and Argentina because they are located on the eastern-most tip of Argentina and surrounded by Brazil and Paraguay.  We were going to get to view the falls from both countries.

After arriving in Iguazu, we crossed the border into Brazil and changed buses, drivers, and guides.  Ola Manuel (“Manu”)!  More about Manu in my next post, but he was a terrific guide! 

We headed straight to Iguazu Falls, which is comprised of 275 waterfalls, the largest waterfall system in the world!  There were several viewing platforms to see the falls from different perspectives as well as a walkway built over the water to get an up-close and personal (and very refreshing!) view of the falls.  The volume of water pouring over those falls (61,000 cubic feet per second!), was so powerful that a constant mist was present.  It was impossible to keep my camera lens dry, but the cold water was a glorious relief from the heat!  I got completely soaked (on purpose), which was a lifesaver during the hike up the hill to get more of a birds-eye view.

The sky was a bit mucky, so my photos aren’t pretty like the ones in that Wikipedia link.  I think they will give you a pretty good idea of what we saw, though:

(For all photos, especially panoramas, click on the image for a full screen view.)

Getting ready to depart Buenos Aires

Wildlife seen on the walking trail overlooking the falls:

This is a South American Coati, in the raccoon family.

Following our visit to the Brazil side of Iguazu Falls, we crossed back into Argentina and headed to Puerto Iguazu, our home base for three nights.  We learned from Manu that since the city is situated on the borders of Brazil and Paraguay, the 82,000+ residents are a mix from those two countries in addition to Argentina.  As a result, the food, language, and culture is a bend of all three.  Spanish, Portuguese, and the language of the Guarani natives can all be heard in this tourist city.  And, 70% of the residents work in tourism-related jobs, because Iguazu Falls is the most visited National Park in Argentina.

Our hotel, Amerian Portal Del Iguazu, was beautifully situated on the river where we could see Brazil straight across the river and Paraguay across to the right.  A short walk away was the Three Borders Landmark where there were more beautiful views of all three countries.  Although our room didn’t have a view of the river, we looked out from our balcony to lush jungle views as far as the eye could see.  On the roof of the multi-story hotel, there was a beautiful outdoor bar with amazing views:

See where it says Argentina? Our hotel was the tall building above and to the left.
The view from the hotel’s rooftop bar. That’s Brazil on the right and Paraguay on the left.

During the evening, our group gathered for a wonderful dinner in the hotel’s restaurant overlooking the pool and the lit-up Ferris wheel across the river in Brazil.  It was beautiful!

Coming up next: ARGENTINA & CHILE #19: A VISIT TO THE INDIGENOUS GUARANI COMMUNITY