After a 17 hour bus ride from Buenos Aires to Puerto Iguazu, we were ready to get up and get going, so naturally we sat down at the first restaurant we saw after leaving the bus station. The food was huge and delicious and was exactly what we needed after our lackluster bus food breakfast. We quickly went and checked into our hostel which was actually pretty nice as far as hostels go. We had a private triple room and our own bathroom. The hostel also had a huge screen TV, a Jacuzzi, a pingpong table, and a bar. After checking in, we hopped on a bus that took from the town to the national park which was about 20 minutes away.
We got to the falls kind of late in the day, so we didn’t have time to do everything. We decided to split up our trip. We were going to see the falls from above one the first day, and the falls from below on the second. The park had a little train running that would take you around, but we decided to walk because we had had enough sitting. I think we ended up walking around 6 or 7 miles. Anyway, the first path we took went along the train tracks, through the jungle, and around the falls to top of the largest and most secluded waterfall at Iguazu, “The Devil’s Throat”. We could hear the rushing water and see the mist coming from it way before we could actually see the actual waterfall. It was also comforting that the powers that be decided to leave the wreckage of past walkways that had been destroyed.
The waterfall was pretty amazing and words and pictures alone can’t describe how cool it actually is. The catwalk was directly over part of the falls. The water was flowing so fast and so far down that you couldn’t even see the bottom. The mist was rising way above our heads. It was pretty awesome.
We then walked back to the main area and got on a different trail that would take us along the top of the other waterfalls. Those waterfalls weren’t quite as big, but were equally awesome. There were some that were hidden in the jungle, some huge ones just rolling off the cliffs, and one that looked like the Hoover Damn had broken.
Along our walk we also got to see some interesting wildlife. We saw a bunch of toucans way up in the trees. We also saw the Dale Earnhardt, Jr. of butterflies. I was also almost scared off a catwalk into the waterfall by a coati that snuck on me when I was trying to take a picture of the river. I had seen pictures of them, but when I turned around and saw one about a foot and a half from my face I jumped back a little, but with my catlike agility I was able to regain my balance and not fall over the edge. Of course mammal being the ultimate friend saw the whole thing happen from the beginning and said nothing. After finishing the trail, we were told the park was closing, so we headed back to the bus. That night we had some of the best steaks of our lives.
We got to the falls kind of late in the day, so we didn’t have time to do everything. We decided to split up our trip. We were going to see the falls from above one the first day, and the falls from below on the second. The park had a little train running that would take you around, but we decided to walk because we had had enough sitting. I think we ended up walking around 6 or 7 miles. Anyway, the first path we took went along the train tracks, through the jungle, and around the falls to top of the largest and most secluded waterfall at Iguazu, “The Devil’s Throat”. We could hear the rushing water and see the mist coming from it way before we could actually see the actual waterfall. It was also comforting that the powers that be decided to leave the wreckage of past walkways that had been destroyed.
Comforting
The waterfall was pretty amazing and words and pictures alone can’t describe how cool it actually is. The catwalk was directly over part of the falls. The water was flowing so fast and so far down that you couldn’t even see the bottom. The mist was rising way above our heads. It was pretty awesome.
We then walked back to the main area and got on a different trail that would take us along the top of the other waterfalls. Those waterfalls weren’t quite as big, but were equally awesome. There were some that were hidden in the jungle, some huge ones just rolling off the cliffs, and one that looked like the Hoover Damn had broken.
Little guy almost got me
Along our walk we also got to see some interesting wildlife. We saw a bunch of toucans way up in the trees. We also saw the Dale Earnhardt, Jr. of butterflies. I was also almost scared off a catwalk into the waterfall by a coati that snuck on me when I was trying to take a picture of the river. I had seen pictures of them, but when I turned around and saw one about a foot and a half from my face I jumped back a little, but with my catlike agility I was able to regain my balance and not fall over the edge. Of course mammal being the ultimate friend saw the whole thing happen from the beginning and said nothing. After finishing the trail, we were told the park was closing, so we headed back to the bus. That night we had some of the best steaks of our lives.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. in butterfly form
The next morning we headed back to falls and walked along the lower trail. We saw a bunch more coatis and I was prepared this time. One path ended at a deck that was in the midst/mist of a waterfall. We got soaked after standing there for about 30 seconds, but that was nothing compared to what came next. We hiked down the cliffs to the river and hoped in a boat, which was basically a big zodiac with hard plastic seats. The boat took around a little so we could take pictures. Then it took us into the icy brown water of the waterfalls themselves. We were literally at the base of the falls getting soaked. It was pretty awesome. The capitan then took us around an island underneath some other falls which were equally as cool. Finally after chants of “una vez más”, the capitan took us back for an encore. This time he actually took us into the waterfall and letting some of the water fall directly on to some of our shipmates. We all agreed that is was one of the best AR$100 we had ever spent. After getting back to terra firma and attempting to dry off, we hiked back up the steep slope and went back to the bus, which took us to the terminal de omnibus where we waited for our bus back to Buenos Aires which arrived 3 hours late.
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