.: Iguazu Falls

Iguazu National Park

Our overnight coach journey to Puerto Iguazu from Buenos Aires was surprisingly comfortable. Coaches in Argentina have got to be the best in South America, if not the world! It depends on which type of coach you travel on but most of them offer food, movies and almost fully reclining over-sized seats with blankets and pillows. There was something quite strange about the fact that we were traveling in such luxury accross South America when such a large percentage of the population live in poverty.

Ali and I arrived in the small town of Puerto Iguazu early in the afternoon and immediately started looking for a place to stay. We were fortunate enough to be approached on the street by the owner of a very nice guesthouse. He suggested that we take a look inside to see if we approved. The room was cosy and clean with an ensuite bathroom. Our room faced a garden which was tranquil and relaxing. An unfamiliar feeling having just spent two weeks in a big city. The only sounds I could hear were exotic birds chirping in the trees and insects buzzing around the bushes. We happily accepted the room and anticipated our visit to the great waterfalls of Iguazu which lay just a short bus ride away.

A view of Devil's Throat from afar

Similar to the Great Wall of China, Iquazu Falls was an experience which far exceeded my expectations. I could hardly control my excitement as we neared Garganta del Diablo (devils throat). My pace quickened as I observed the huge spray of water risng from the gorge ahead of us. Iguazu National Park covers 67,000 hectares of tropical rain forest and has been declared a World Heritage site. There are more than 275 waterfalls within the park that reach an average height of 40 to 80 meters. Devil's Throat is arguably the most impressive and it was only moments away.

Devil's Throat as seen from above

The boardwalk upon which we had been walking finally came to an end. I was there. Watching in astonishment as the mass of calm shallow water that we had been walking over for the past 10 minutes reached the end of it's existence. The sight was unbelieveable and I honestly find it difficult to put into words. So much water. So much energy. The water gushed over the edge of the cliff and disappeared into a misty white spray of nothingness below. It was amazing!

A butterfly

The amount of butterflies that graced the park was almost just as impressive as the falls themselves. If you held out your hand long enough a number of them would happily occupy it. After taking 50 pictures just of insects I resited taking anymore and reserved my remaining battery power for our next view of the falls.

A bird

We walked along the lower circuit trail to observe the next set of waterfalls. I took note of the signs warning us about snakes and cautiously searched every tree or bush that we passed on the way. I never saw a snake but I did get a close-up of a an exotic bird every now and then. The second set of falls were just as incredible as the first but this time we viewed them from below and got to see Garganta del Diablo from a different angle. Absolutely stunning to the point of incomprehension. Not a single photograph that we have taken actually do these falls any justice. But of course I'm going to show you anyway.