Iguazú Falls

Tu 1.29.13

• early morning flight out of Ezeiza to Iguazú
• we took a vote, to see if spending less than 24 hours in Iguazú would be worth the trip, and it was agreed that yes, let's do it
• so we arrived in the morning, quickly dropped our bags at the hotel (decent location for the price, out-of-date rooms, but nice pool/hot tub area), then taxied to Iguazú National Park
• we were briefed on the different tour options, given a map, told not to feed these animals: 

I got angry with some tourists giving them crackers, "Stop! Stop!"

• then we were off to view the various water falls, beginning with the biggest, Garganta del Diablo, the Devil's Throat

• no words to describe this World Wonder, so I'll move on

• saw some wildlife along our walk:

• we continued on along the different paths to view the other beautiful falls

reminded me of yummy Thanksgiving mashed potatoes...

• then it was time for our tour through the jungle to get us to our boat

• along which we saw a lot of these guys:

• as well as a variety of palm trees, birds, etc.

• disembarked then suited up...here is Kelly modeling her hot life jacket

• on our way into the falls, most of the water was calm, but we did hit a few rapids...fun!

• photo-op time before we had to put our cameras into water-proof bags in preparation for dunking

• here we go!

• post-dunking

• being driven straight into the falls was thrilling and refreshing...glad we opted for this boat ride (we even got a video of the whole thing...ask Kelly about viewing this priceless little film)

post-boat ride dunk

• by this point in the day, we had about an hour to make it back to the park entrance before closing time
• so we took the last path we hadn't yet explored, soaked in a few more waterfalls...

• ...watched this snake slithering among a tree...

• and somehow managed to lose my dad and Kelly...we reunited, however, then grabbed some ice cream and cabbed-it back to the hotel for a little R&R around the pool
• this place didn't even care that we had a glass wine bottle and glasses around the pool/hot tub, so there we sat, enjoying wine and beer and hearing stories about our parents' olden days as young adults...boy the parties they had...(I'll let them share these stories with you...)
• we went with the hotel's buffet for dinner and brunch the next morning as well, which was convenient, comfortable, and tasty

• so could you "do" Iguazú in less than 24 hours? yes.  but you may want an extra half day to try to squeeze in the Brazilian side, or to do a nature hike, or helicopter ride, or take the free ferry to the island to do some swimming/hiking (sorry dad)...but I think how we did it was just fine

W 1.30.13

• next day we caught our flight to Salta City...look what mom found at the airport:

• goodbye Iguazú! thanks for being so beautiful!