OAT - Patagonia and Beyond

January 15 - Igauzú Falls

We got an early 7:30 start to see Igauzú Falls National Park on the Argentina side. After Machu Pichu, this is the most visited site in South America. An early start is necessary to get a jump on the 4000 visitors per day.

I knew very little about the falls when we signed up for the trip. Wikipedia has a description of them:

“The waterfall system consists of 275 falls along 2.7 kilometres (1.7 mi) of the Igauzú River. Some of the individual falls are up to 82 metres (269 ft) in height, though the majority are about 64 metres (210 ft). The Devil's Throat (Garganta del Diablo in Spanish or Garganta do Diabo in Portuguese), a U-shaped, 82-meter-high, 150-meter-wide and 700-meter-long (490 by 2300 feet) cataract, is the most impressive of all, and marks the border between Argentina and Brazil. The Argentine side comprises three sections: the upper falls, the lower falls, and the Devil's Throat.

Garganta del Diablo

When we arrived, we went directly to the central train station where we rode the mini-train to the last station. We walked on the elevated metallic path over lots of water and islets to the Garganta del Diablo observation platform. It was here where we got our first drenching of the day from the spray of the falls. The roaring of the water was very loud and the spray blew across us in waves.

We walked back to the train station and rode to the previous station. We walked on the “upper circuit” passing several more falls. We were walking along the lips of these falls so that we could watch the water cascade over the top. Spray was not a problem.

The Zodiacs

When we returned, we walked all of the way down to the lower part of the river and got into 60-person zodiacs for our “Great Adventure”. This was a wild ride next to and under the falls. We wore bathing suits and had our backpacks, shoes, cameras, etc. stowed in heavy duty waterproof bags. We got soaked, especially when we went under the falls. I was seated on the right-hand edge of the zodiac. Several times the waves washed over the side on top of my lap. This was when my eyes were closed as we were showered from above.

The boat ride dropped us off down river where we got onto a flatbed truck and rode through the jungle back to the park entrance. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Did I say jungle? This is a sub-tropical forested area. We saw lots of wildlife – coatis, lizards, and many birds. (See the day's slide show).

We had a late buffet lunch near the park entrance. Then we left for the hotel. We got back around 4:00. It was hot – well into the 90’s. Down time was until 7:30 when we met Marco and three other couples and went to dinner at Bocamora , a restaurant that was a short walk from the hotel. I had a local fish called surubi. It is similar to a catfish. Ann had a tuna salad.

Bed time was after 10:00.

Here are some videos of today's activities: