Iguazú Falls Argentina Visit – Getting There
After our G Adventures End of the Earth Tour, we flew from Buenos Aires to begin our independent travel Iguazú Falls Argentina Visit. From the airport on the Argentine side, we paid US$ for a cab ride to Puerto Iguazú. We stayed at the Hotel St George, which was a great choice. It’s centrally located near the bus station that take you to the falls. The weather was extremely warm, which was a nice change from the sleet and cold of camping in Patagonia. The pool turned our journey into a vacation instead of an adventure. We wandered downtown for lunch, but soon discovered that locals abandon the downtown area during the heat of the day. That night all the shops and restaurants were extremely busy. Young children played in the parks after 11pm while parents supervised.
In the morning, we caught the bus for the 20 minute ride to the park. Buses run continuously, so it’s easy to get to the park and back. At the park, the entrance fee was cash only, but ironically the tours and concessions took credit cards. The cost was roughly $15 US. We had beautiful sunny weather and the water flow peaks that time of year, which made the falls spectacular.
Iguazú Falls Argentina Visit – the Great Adventure
The Great Adventure (Gran Aventura) Iguazú River Cruise was a highlight of our 2014 visit to the falls. Do the extended boat trip, available only on the Argentina side. Get there early to ensure you get a spot. The Gran Aventura includes a trip by vehicle through the rainforest and a boat ride up the rapids of the Iguazú River to the Falls. The falls appear in the distance and the anticipation grows as you approach.
Be prepared to get completely soaked, because they take the boats right into the spray of a number of falls. The adventure is advertises as a “baptism” with a 100% chance of getting wet – soaked actually. Wear a bathing suit. They provide dry bags to protect items such as cameras and other things that you want to keep dry, so you can bring everything with you. They also tell you when to put cameras in the dry bags. The Gran Aventura completes at the lower circuit of the falls, so you are pleasantly cooled before beginning your hike up along the falls.
Iguazú Falls Argentina Visit – the Series of Waterfalls
After the exhilarating Iguazú River Cruise, we climbed up to thebase of Salto Bossetti falls. You can see others above you at the top of the falls, so we were excited to get there too. Then we hiked up to the Two Brothers Falls (Dos Hermanos). Here we saw our first coati. They are like a friendly raccoon with a long tail. We also saw the beautiful blue Plush-Crested Jay. The jays seek out food scraps from the tourist.
From here we worked our way along the path to the two platforms at the top of Salto Bossetti. The views are fantastic. Not only can you look down the falls, but the view extends in the treacherous Salto Mbigua section. Plus you can see down a line of waterfalls that goes as far as the eye can see. A distance back from the edge, a caiman was resting in the water.
Iguazú Falls Argentina Visit – the Devil’s Throat
After lunch at the concessions near the park entrance, we took the small open car train to the other section of the park. Total train time is less than half an hour. From the Devil’s Throat Station, we took a half mile walk on a metal mesh scaffolding over the river and islands to the Devil’s Throat viewpoint (Garganta del Diablo). We saw large catfish and plush-crested jays along the way. The Devil’s Throat is twice as high as Niagara Falls. You can only get a view of it from the Argentine side of the falls, but even then it’s hard to see down into the falls. Also, the farther you lean over, the wetter you get. We were drenched.
Iguazú Falls Argentina Visit – Coati Crazy
It was an amazing day at Iguazú Falls, but there was one more spectacle on our way back to the buses. A herd of young coatis came wandering down the exit path. There were more than 20 of them wandering among the legs of tourists on the trail. Some of the tourists were nervous, but there was no cause for alarm. The coatis quickly left when no one offered them food.
After our visit, we ate barbecued meat and enjoyed local live music at an open air restaurant in Puerto Iguazú. The next morning we were off on our Iguaçu Falls Brazil Visit.
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