To Iguazu Falls

Friday 26^th February

Pouring with rain this morning. Checked out and hotel called taxi to go to Aeroparque. Realised the meter wasn't running and worried I was going to get stung but he only wanted 130. Felt generous and gave him 200. Cup of coffee and two ham and cheese media lunas also came to 130, not such good value. The flight was delayed by about an hour; Aerolineas Argentinas sent me an email but I had already checked in by then and I only received it at the hotel after landing. The flight was fine, surrounded by a big group of Americans. Two of them were really big, needing all three seats abreast. Wonder how you book that? Ascending out of Buenos Aires we flew over a maze of rivers and lakes cutting through what I am guessing is swamp land. Later, after the cloud cover broke, there was flat agricultural land followed, as we came into Iguazu by a mixture of cultivated land and forest. Had the same snack crackers as on the previous flights. Taxi to the hotel was 260 and the hotel, although basic is new, clean and welcoming. Only problem is that the Wifi in the room is borderline and there isn't anywhere comfortable to sit near the router. In the evening went out and had dinner at Aqua, one of the many restaurants along Avenida Cordoba. Pleased I arrived early before eight since by ten past it was full.

Saturday 27^th February

Heavy rain this morning so no point in heading for the waterfalls. Breakfast which was supposed to be served in the room didn't turn up so it wasn’t a great start to the day. Looked up the weather forecast for Iguazu and it showed rain for the next couple of days. After the rain had subsided somewhat I went out in search of breakfast.  According to the map Avenida Cordoba is the centre of town but it is almost deserted and there were few options for breakfast. It says something about a town when the best choice is the bus station café, where I got another ham and cheese croissant and coffee out of the machine. Quite unlike El Calafate or Bariloche Puerto Iguazu is a bit of a dump. After breakfast explored some of the other streets but didn't see anything to make me revise my opinion. It rained for most of the day and the thick cloud showed no sign of breaking up. Looked at the possibility of staying another couple of days which would mean sacrificing my return flight and paying for a one way fare. Used the opportunity to track my expenses, and other bits and pieces.

In the evening tried Quita Penas for dinner, up a side street with several restaurants and bars, most of them describing themselves as "resto- bars up a sidestreet which I missed this morning.  Instead of the usual bread they served little scones with savoury pickled vegetables. Better than average but no wines by the glass so it was Quilmes Cristal again. Getting boring! The brochettes, two of them , were excellent, although more to eat than I wanted or expected. None of the bars looked lively so bought a couple of cans of beer to drink in the room. Had a look at TV for the first time in over a month or so. 50+ channels, almost all in Spanish and many look pretty awful.

Most of the US stuff gets dubbed so I could watch Bones and CSI in Spanish. I did find the Second Best Marigold Hotel in English with subtitles but I’ve seen it before. Also an American comedy “Mozart in the Jungle” which could be interesting if I was willing to spend long enough to get onto its wavelength.

Sunday 28th February

The weather didn't look brilliant in the morning but at least it was dry so went straight to the bus station where the bus was almost ready to leave. About 20 minute journey (100 pesos return) to the falls entrance where I bought the entrance ticket for 260 pesos. It all looks very well organised. Next, got on a little, narrow gauge train just in time before it left, which took us about 1 km to the Central Station which has food, toilets etc. It did feel a bit Disneyfied but guess it is the only way to handle large numbers of people. From there I started on the lower trail and unfortunately got stuck behind a big group. As I proceeded I was beginning to feel rather underwhelmed. So what's all the fuss about? Over 30 years ago I visited Niagara falls and remember being blown away. Maybe my memory is playing tricks but, as I recall, one minute there was nothing, then they were in my face, looking just like the postcards. Iguazu isn't like that. As you approach them you get little tasters before you get to see them in most of their entirety. In the first glimpses of the main falls mist obscures much of the view. Also I was shocked at how brown the water was. One of the information boards explains that 40 years ago the water was clear but massive deforestation upstream has led to equally massive soil erosion and that soil is taken down the Parana river. Sometimes I do think the human race is hell bent on destroying the planet. But as I followed the trails I was more and more impressed by what I saw. It is a Really Big Waterfall. And you can get really close so I needn't have had a shower this morning. The trails lead through tropical rainforest where there are lots of butterflies, most of which moved too fast to photograph but one decided it wanted to be my friend. Also near the food areas there are families of Coatis, racoon like creatures which look really cute but signs warn that they can inflict nasty bites.

Early Glimpse of the Falls

Getting Closer

At last can see most of them

OK, got carried away taking photos

Think it's a Condor

Coati on the Prowl. Does this Guy have Food? 

But They are Very Cute

But Maybe Not if There is a Gang of Them 

After going round the lower and upper trails stopped for a couple of empanadas and a coffee out of a machine; both were better than expected. Was keen to try two other trails, St Michaels Island, reached by boat, and Devils Mouth reached by a similar train to the one which brought us in. Unfortunately both were closed because of the high level of the river. So I went round both upper and lower trails again, having a better idea of what I wanted to see, and so avoiding the big groups. Looked in at the visitor centre, which was quite informative about the rainforest and exhibited a depressing map showing how the vast majority of the forest has already been destroyed. On the plus side the indigenous people, the Guarani, have not been exterminated and are still around.

Rainforest: Then and Now

That's Nice to Know

Got the bus back to the bus station in town. Was impressed by four young backpackers two men,  two women, who didn't know each other but instantly built up a rapport. Did people of my generation do that?

Since it was still light when we got back, walked to the river-side where it faces Brazil. There was a catamaran at the jetty but not sure where it was going, and what looked like an abandoned cruise ship. Continued further along the river to the triple point where you can face both Brazil and Paraguay. There is a tall conical marker on the bluff overlooking the river surrounded by water jets with children playing in them. 

Iguazu River

Brazil across the Iguazu River where it Flow into the Parana

Good View while Drinking my Beer

There are supposed to be two similar markers on the Brazil and Paraguay river banks  Feeling thirsty and a little hungry by now I stopped off at Bocamora, an up-market restaurant, since I couldn't see any others, for a beer and a piece of passion fruit cheesecake. Not an obvious combination but it worked. As I got back to the triple point marker, it just turned 8pm and there was a lights and music show, a smaller and  less ambitious version of the one at Marina Bay in Singapore. After that we were entertained by an "Indian" group doing Abba. Don't think they are authentic local Guarani Indians since their feather head dresses look like props from a Western. 

Evening Entertainment

Had another look round for food places but nothing apart from Bocamora, the place I went to before. So walked back to the hotel along Avenida Tres Fronteras which is lined by some upmarket hotels and even a convention centre. Maybe Puerto Iguazu is going up in my estimation. It would go up more if it had street lighting along the road; the lights are there but nobody turned them on. Back at the hotel, had a quick shower before dinner of wok fried chicken and vegetables in a restaurant on Avenida Missiones. Wouldn't score any awards in Asia but it was quite tasty and made a change.

Monday 29th February. Leap Year!

Persuaded the receptionist to check if the Devils Mouth was open today; it is. Checked out, got some money from an ATM and then taxi with my bag to the falls. A beautiful, hot,sunny day today. Taxi to the falls was quite reasonable, 200 pesos and I got my 1/2 price entrance ticket for 130 pesos but was shocked to be charged 100 pesos for a left luggage locker.

Yes, the Devils Mouth really was open! Two trains to get to the station and then a long trail crossing several branches of the river above the falls before arriving at a lookout which feels as if it is in the middle of the falls. Just amazing watching and hearing so much water falling off a cliff! Tried taking many photos but totally impossible to convey the sensation of being there. For one thing, huge clouds of spray obscure the falls themselves. Hope the engineers who designed the walkways got it right. The columns supporting it must be under tremendous stress from the raging waters and I could see several abandoned and derelict walkways. Presumably they build the walkways when the river is lowest but still I imagine it must be scary working on the top edge of a hundred metre waterfall. Just a couple of days ago I read the sad story of three young backpackers who were swept to their deaths in a waterfall near Dalat in Vietnam. Stayed quite a while at the Devils mouth, mesmerised by the shear amount of water going over the edge. About 2000 tons per second according to Wikipedia. 

The Devil's Mouth

Took a photo for two young women, one English living in Holland and her friend from Angola. I do understand why people want photos of themselves on holiday , even if it doesn't appeal to me, but there are times when I wish the selfie and its stick had never been invented. On the way back, I tried getting photos of the amazing selection of butterflies. Several of the same species that adopted me yesterday are doing the same today, settling on me, my hat, backpack and even camera. It has been a brilliant day, so pleased I came back for a second bite at the cherry.

Amazing Numbers and Varieties of Butterflies

Stopped off for a Coke before getting a taxi to the airport for 260 pesos, 60 pesos more than this morning for a much shorter trip. But the driver showed me the official price list in the office window. There was a long wait to check in and then had an expensive (178 pesos) hamburger and coffee in the airport cafe. It's been an expensive day but couldn't have been any better.

Do women's eyes open wider than men's? Three young men and one beautiful young woman are at the table next to me in the cafe. All are in their early to mid 20's. I don't think the girl is deliberately flirting with the guys but her  face is incredibly animated and her eyes dart everywhere showing the whites all around her irises. The guys are about the same age but never do their eyes show white except on either side of the iris. I've seen actresses showing incredibly wide eyes and rolling them but always assumed it was a skill that they had learnt. 

According to http://learnbodylanguage.org/flirting_eyes_1.html

“And even though the male eye is slightly larger than the female eye, the female eye has a higher proportion of white showing.”

First time I have been on a plane that took off about 15 minutes ahead of schedule! Sitting next to a young couple who are obviously besotted with each other, sweet. I've noticed that young couples in both Chile and Argentina display overt affection, lots of kissing in parks for example. Far more demonstrative than Asia and probably England too. Also in Buenos  Aires I have noticed men greeting each other with an embrace, like old time communist leaders.

The flight arrived at the other Buenos Aires airport, Ezeiza, which is much further out of town so it was a 500 pesos taxi ride to the hotel. There was a cheaper airport bus to major hotels but I was told it wouldn't go my hotel area.