Rosie and The Operator are at The Iguazu Falls in the north of Argentina which are touted as being one of The Seven Modern Wonders of The World. We awoke refreshed and ready to start the day bright and early by visiting the Argentine side of the falls. Lying in bed, looking at dawn break over the misty falls and jungle top in the pics below stirred us to move and try and beat the hordes of tourists we encountered yesterday when we visited the picturesque Brazilian side of the Falls.
We like to think we have the jump on the touristic hordes as we are staying at The Gran Melia Hotel, the only hotel inside the National Park….and the Park does not open to the general public till 0800am. That means if we start our trekking early we will the place all to ourselves for a little while. Off we go!
There are three 2.5 km walking tracks on the Argentinian side of the falls that take you above, below and practically into the waterfalls. Oh, yes, no great vistas like yesterday, this side is all about up close, a little personal and immersive….oh yes, you will get wet. But, in this humidity, even early in the morning it will be very welcome.
Rosie is raring to go and has chosen the Upper Track to walk before breakfast. The trail head starts just beyond the pool and we are the only ones out and about. It is fantastic!
Ok, this is the worst photo ever of a Toucan…we only see them at dusk or dawn flying past our room, they sit high in the trees and then disappear. As they fly past they warble a weird noise like a frog….and their beaks are totally fluro yellow and orange. My iPhone wasn’t up to the challenge but it was a good start to the day and we have only just left the hotel grounds.
Trekking along the morning air was still, cool and overcast. The jungle surrounding us was unnaturally quiet and so dense. The pathways we follow in the National Park are all man made metal bridge walkways and our footsteps rang hollowly on the surface in the silence. Talking to each other we felt we had to whisper….and look! No people.
Within 10 mins of walking we came across our first falls. It felt incredible being the only ones here looking at them. Rosie was able to scuttle up and down the railing to get her photos and it was so relaxing…just as nature viewing was intended to be.
The transition between the cool of the evening and the day as it warmed up allowed for atmospheric pockets of mist to hang in the air above the river canyons, the noise of the rushing falling water, the panoramic view, it was total magic.
The Upper circuit we were walking meant we were right at the level of the river and standing on the curve where the calm meandering river fell into the canyon below, it was incredible.
Iguazu Falls straddles two countries, Argentina and Brazil and 80 percent of the entire Iguazu falls network are on the Argentina side of the border. An incredible 275 separate waterfalls make up this amazing chain which is surrounded by national park which is lush, green, dense and houses over 2000 different varieties of plants.
As we carried on walking the circuit we got to the top of the falls where the water flowed over the edge…the noise of the water died down the closer we got to the source at the top then all of a sudden the show was over…the walk had taken us directly to the river edge as the water flowed over into the canyon and the falls below were off our rader. Rosie was just getting into this…and was a little disappointed being at the top when she really wanted to be at the bottom.
Having walked our first circuit in blissful solitude and super quick time Rosie’s reckons she can nail another track before the crowds, and breakfast….it is after all only 0900am. Which track to do though as we walked back to the crossroads of the trails.
Rosie called it because the day was overcast and would be good for pics from that aspect off we scooted to the train station that would take us to the beginning of the track to the most popular trail The Garganta Del Diablo or The Devils Throat. After all as Rosie said, it was only 0900am, it cant be that busy already….we only passed a couple of other people walking on the track we had just done.
How wrong could we be…to Rosie’s dismay, we had totally missed our window and the tour buses were already here, disgorging the multitudes. So many people were waiting to be shuttled by train to the start of the 2.5km round trip trail head already and we were only the 5th train of the morning.
Whilst waiting at the station for the train which is in an area you where you can by drink and food, Rosie notices that these Coati are everywhere! They are a cross between a raccoon and a possum and they are the size of a small dog with long claws and sharp teeth. They climb trees in the blink of an eye and are just like giant rats, scavenging for food in bins and stalking tourists with food….they sniff you as you walk past and creepily follow you if you are eating. Signs are everywhere not to feed them and beware of getting to close to them especially children as they could attack you…signs in all languages…but what a nice pic to put on your Instagram of your three year old child hand feeding these rodents that are the same size as your kid…nawww…they are so cute and have such a nice smiley face behind the rows of sharp teeth.
Rosie was still raring to go, it is just over a kilometer walk from the train station drop off to the Devils Throat and Rosie was cruising. The board walk trail took us over the still brown water of the Iguazu River which is quite low in flow at the moment. This river is a 1300km tributary of the Paraná River, which is the largest and longest in South America after the Amazon and flows down through the country past Buenos Aires and out into the sea. Below in the water the first signs of life we see are giant whiskery meter long catfish lazily swimming under our walkways looking for tourist scraps and small fish as they flash by in the murk.
Birds are roosting and twittering in the trees wondering what to do for the day and the long path across the river seemed unusually devoid of people.
We rounded a corner and there in the mighty wide expanse of the river is what looked like a watery sinkhole, water was tumbling into it yet it was so quiet…we couldn’t really hear anything. Here we are at river level….behind the might Devils Throat!
….walk around the front and you are assaulted by the noise and spray! It was incredible! You are literally standing in the beating heart of this waterfall! And you can feel it, with every fibre of your body! The vibration pounds into you and the immenseness is overwhelming as you are standing on the edge of the falls smack bang in the middle with nothing but the roar of white surrounding you.
Yesterdays pics of the The Devils Throat from way back on the walkway in Brazil showed the elegant majestic beauty of these falls, today, standing so close and feeling the power…it was so raw, untamed and wild.
Half the volume of the Iguazu flows over this U shaped fall which is 150 meters wide by 80 meters high. There is no chance of seeing the bottom with all the spray and Rosies photos just do not do it justice because it is so big. The volume of water over these falls is 1.5 million liters every second….yes second!!!!! Iguazu certainly lives up to its name which means ‘Big Water’.
The spray was welcome in the 28c heat with 90% humidity….Rosie was saturated when she left this spot but it was pretty exhilarating! Rosie certainly looks worse for wear but The Operator looks as fresh as a daisy.
Being rather wet and sweaty, and still on abit of a high….Rosie opted to forgo breakfast and nail the trifecta. Onto the Lower Circuit we stepped….this route was stunning….and Rosie’s favorite. This track leads you halfway down the canyon where you can see the waterfalls cascading beautifully into the surrounding jungle. The track itself was more of a challenge than any of the others and Rosie welcomed its twists and turns and ups and downs through the bush and along the cliff face with the raging river below.
From a viewpoint the tour boats that take the intrepid into, yes, into and under the falls pictured above were racing up the rapids and you could the screams from our vantage point above them.
Walking back to the hotel, tired, frazzled, red faced and looking like she had fallen directly into a waterfall, Rosie felt so satisfied. What a great morning it had been and what an awesome sight to behold.
The great thing about our day….it was only 1230, we had seen the sights and now we could have a leisurely shower, a coffee on the deck watching the falls whilst reflecting on the morning before we head out for cocktails and snacks on the terrace, then a wee sun downer with our illicit booty we had smuggled in whilst trying to avoid the invading monkey throngs.
Plus, with Rosies excellent booking (for once) we could have a lie in tomorrow and enjoy the free gourmet breakfast in a leisurely fashion before we have to check out and fly back to Buenos Aires. Oh yes, life is amazing and this was an incredible experience.
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