Day 15 - Iguazu Falls, Day 2

20:00
Our starts in Iguazu are getting progressively earlier. Gabriel picks us up at 08:30 wanting to beat the crowds today. It’s not only a Saturday, but also a public holiday weekend, and he’s a little worried about the number of people we’ll encounter along the way.

We start with the Macuco Safari - a ride into the jungle, a trek through the jungle, and finally a boat trip into the falls. The ride and trek are interesting enough, and it’s great to be in the rich vegetation, and surrounded by the noises of the rainforest.

The boat ride, however, is an exhilarating assault on the senses. We’ve brought dry clothes with us in the car today, as we’ve been told to expect that we’ll get wet on the boat ride, despite our waterproofs. The falls are about 4km upriver from us, and we set off at a relatively mundane pace. The speed picks up quickly though, and the pilot is having a lot of fun throwing us around the river. We suddenly arrive under the same falls that we saw from the cliff-side yesterday. Seeing them from down at water level is a surreal, but thrilling experience. Our pilot then navigates us into the waterfall. INTO. It’s an amazing sensation. We’re utterly covered in water, so much so that breathing becomes a little tricky on occasion. The water is cold, and powerful. We back out of the falls, and pretty much everyone in the boat is laughing at what they’ve just experienced. The pilot decides we deserve a second shower, and pushes even further into the falls. I manage to grab a couple of pics that *might* give an idea of what we’ve just done, but my phone largely spends the journey safely dry under my poncho.

Back at the pontoon, we inspect the damage/moistness. Our waterproofs have done pretty well, but there’s definitely some sogginess as well. We change what needs changing, and head further into the park.

Now, it’s probably fair to say that the most impressive falls are in Argentina, where we spent our day yesterday, but the best views of those falls are arguably from the Brazilian side. We marvel as we walk past ‘The Three Musketeers’ - the fall under which we’ve just been doused. The view up to the Devil’s Throat is sensational, just a once in a lifetime experience.

The only slight downside is the number of people visiting at the same time as us. Gabriel tells us that it’s much busier than a typical Saturday would be, as a result of the public holiday this weekend. The walkways are fairly narrow, and progress is slow. The pinnacle of the viewing experience is a walkway that protrudes right out over the canyon, in front of the Devil’s Throat. The views are mesmerising - the jostling and pushes from other people, less so. We try not to let this irritate us, and are largely successful in this endeavour. I really don’t know if the pictures I’ve taken will do justice to this behemoth of the natural world. I’m honestly not sure I’ve ever seen anything that has taken my breath away so emphatically. If you ever visit Iguazu, please PLEASE make sure you spend a good couple of days here. It would be tragic to miss either of the Argentinian or Brazilian sides of the falls.

Gabriel drops us back to our hotel a little before 14:00, and we head out for some lunch at a Lebanese place not far from the hotel. It’s tasty, if a little weird in places. Tamsin, for example, orders some aubergines stuffed with nuts and red pepper. What arrives is some yoghurt with pieces of roasted aubergine in it, the odd nut, and no red pepper at all.

We’re back at the hotel around 16:00, and I treat myself to not far short of 3 hours of sleep. I really needed to catch up after a not so brilliant night last night. This bastard cold is still hitting me, and I’m hopeful some R+R will set me up for the last week of our trip…Läs mer