Iguazu Waterfalls, Argentina
Hi Everyone,
Well I just got back from Iguazu Falls. This has been one of my long term travel goals and one of the specific reasons I came to South America in the first place. The falls were even more spectacular than I imagined. They are truly magnificent. What an inspired moment the goddess of Creation had when she dreamt of these beautiful and enormous cascades of Water.
They have been compared to Niagra falls on the USA and Canada border, but this is not such a great comparison. Let me explain. First of all You must be willing and able to hike about a dozen kilometers through rainforest trails to see all the falls. There are a great number of falls here not just the two that are called Niagra
The trails are very well made, most excellent infrastructure thanks to the hard work and dilligence of the government of Argentina and are accessable to any traaveler able to walk the distance required in the heat. It is about 30 degrees in the morning and it gets up to 36 or 37 in the afternoon. (That would be a spread of between 90 and 102 farenheit for those of you who think the world revolves around the USA.) I believe I walked about 10 kilometers including quite a bit of stair climbing but... "Oh Mine Babies" it was worth every step of the trek.
The trails are perfect. They a are either cement or steel grid catwalks. Well marked and well maintained. There is also a narrow guage railroad to take you to the extreme parts of the park and a ferry to take you to one of the islands in the river.
The falls occur at a point where 3 rivers converge. They fall as high as 60 meters (90feet). There is one unbelievable vista point about 200 meters from the falls where you are just drenched in spray! I am here to testify...Oh did that ever feel good in the heat of the noon day sun!!
As I trekked along the trails there were incomparable flowers and trees all around me and many lizards and reptiles and beautiful birds of every description. But the kicker were the butterflies-Who knew? There were at least 6 species I had never before seen and that is just the point where I stopped counting. A zillion tourists taking 100 zillion photos kinda bugs me but everyone travels the way they travel and you have to learn to accept this while on the road.
It costs 30 pesos to enter and that includes free ferry boat and free small guage railroad. At first I thought it was a bit of a rip off but,I admit it, I was wrong. It must cost quite a pretty penny to keep up the maintenance and there are scores of workers about including nurses in aid stations for those who cant hack the heat or have some injury.
My only poroblem was my wonderful parents bought me new sandals in Florida and now I am waring them all the time, but uh-oh spaghetti O, whenever I get zapatos nuevos, I get blisters on my feet the first couple of weeks. OOUUCCHH!! I have like 5 on one foot and 3 on the other.
Last night I went out walking with a nice (but depressed and sad) French woman I met in the "hostel Iquazu falls" (I recommend this place. 6 dollars a night with a nice swimming pool and a very friendly staff. Great showers and a kitchen too.) So anyways we cruise the town for a couple or 3 hours and find a place with live music. It is a big outdoor cafe bar and restaurant with two absolutely CALIENTE guitaristas and a third player who was okay and he sang and aparently owned the place. A few folks from the audience came on stage and joined them to sing or drum and it was just a delight. A nice liter of icy cold Heineken cost 4.5 pesos (a dollar fifty). And it was all in all another one of those great nights and days for a traveler on the road. I live the life I love and I love the life I live.
Peace to you all. Dont forget to live your dreams.
Rambling Robert the traveling man
Well I just got back from Iguazu Falls. This has been one of my long term travel goals and one of the specific reasons I came to South America in the first place. The falls were even more spectacular than I imagined. They are truly magnificent. What an inspired moment the goddess of Creation had when she dreamt of these beautiful and enormous cascades of Water.
They have been compared to Niagra falls on the USA and Canada border, but this is not such a great comparison. Let me explain. First of all You must be willing and able to hike about a dozen kilometers through rainforest trails to see all the falls. There are a great number of falls here not just the two that are called Niagra
The trails are very well made, most excellent infrastructure thanks to the hard work and dilligence of the government of Argentina and are accessable to any traaveler able to walk the distance required in the heat. It is about 30 degrees in the morning and it gets up to 36 or 37 in the afternoon. (That would be a spread of between 90 and 102 farenheit for those of you who think the world revolves around the USA.) I believe I walked about 10 kilometers including quite a bit of stair climbing but... "Oh Mine Babies" it was worth every step of the trek.
The trails are perfect. They a are either cement or steel grid catwalks. Well marked and well maintained. There is also a narrow guage railroad to take you to the extreme parts of the park and a ferry to take you to one of the islands in the river.
The falls occur at a point where 3 rivers converge. They fall as high as 60 meters (90feet). There is one unbelievable vista point about 200 meters from the falls where you are just drenched in spray! I am here to testify...Oh did that ever feel good in the heat of the noon day sun!!
As I trekked along the trails there were incomparable flowers and trees all around me and many lizards and reptiles and beautiful birds of every description. But the kicker were the butterflies-Who knew? There were at least 6 species I had never before seen and that is just the point where I stopped counting. A zillion tourists taking 100 zillion photos kinda bugs me but everyone travels the way they travel and you have to learn to accept this while on the road.
It costs 30 pesos to enter and that includes free ferry boat and free small guage railroad. At first I thought it was a bit of a rip off but,I admit it, I was wrong. It must cost quite a pretty penny to keep up the maintenance and there are scores of workers about including nurses in aid stations for those who cant hack the heat or have some injury.
My only poroblem was my wonderful parents bought me new sandals in Florida and now I am waring them all the time, but uh-oh spaghetti O, whenever I get zapatos nuevos, I get blisters on my feet the first couple of weeks. OOUUCCHH!! I have like 5 on one foot and 3 on the other.
Last night I went out walking with a nice (but depressed and sad) French woman I met in the "hostel Iquazu falls" (I recommend this place. 6 dollars a night with a nice swimming pool and a very friendly staff. Great showers and a kitchen too.) So anyways we cruise the town for a couple or 3 hours and find a place with live music. It is a big outdoor cafe bar and restaurant with two absolutely CALIENTE guitaristas and a third player who was okay and he sang and aparently owned the place. A few folks from the audience came on stage and joined them to sing or drum and it was just a delight. A nice liter of icy cold Heineken cost 4.5 pesos (a dollar fifty). And it was all in all another one of those great nights and days for a traveler on the road. I live the life I love and I love the life I live.
Peace to you all. Dont forget to live your dreams.
Rambling Robert the traveling man
posted by Rambling Robert | 11:51 AM
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