Today's adventure was to Iguazu National Park to see my second Natural Wonder of the World, Iguazu Falls. Our guide Diego was there to show us the way on this rainy day. Our first area of the park we were set to explore for the Garganta del Diablo (Devils Throat) which was accessible after taking s shirt train riding and walking along the overpass for about a mile. The Devils throat, split between Argentina and Brazil, is the highest point of the falls and dumps a pounding 1million litres/second of water into the river below. This accounts for nearly half of the waterfall in the park. As we made our way along the path water fell from the sky as if we were beneath the Devils throat itself. Raincoats seemed futile as nothing was defending from the downpour above. Despite the rain we saw the immense falls that were thrashing even more water today due to the showering above.
We returned by train back to the main area of the park where we began the walk of the upper circuit above the falls. Afterwards we enjoyed a quick lunch in the cafe. Our optimism about the second half of the day was pulling through as the clouds dried up just enough for us to take on the Jungle excursion. This trip began by boarding a 4x4 truck that led us through the park and to the Iguazu River where we loaded up boats that would take us up close and personal to the falls. The boat into the basin of the Devils throat and up close and personal to the Three Musketeers Falls along with the San Martin Falls (the second highest peak of the falls). After taking a few photos the trip leaders yelled to everyone to place their cameras in the waterproof bags we were provided right before he drove the boat into the falls drenching everyone aboard for the second time today. We couldn't have been happier with our option to take the boat trip as it was the best way to appreciate the size and power of the Iguazu Falls.
The boat trip ended at the bottom of the lower circuit of the falls were we met Diego who showed us along the route.
I preferred the lower circuit to the upper since it allowed us to get more up close and personal. As we walked the route we had a few cappuccini monkeys drop by and play with onlookers hoping to be fed. Our trip to the falls came to a close after finishing the lower circuit and we returned to the hotel to dry out a bit before heading to the center of the unimpressive Puerto Iguazu town for perhaps our best meal yet!
The next day we woke up to make the most of or last day in Iguazu. We hopped in a cab and rode the few kilometers to Hito 3 Fronteras a viewpoint located at the intersection of 2 rivers along the border of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.
Afterward we headed back into town where we caught the local bus back to the hotel. A measly 50 pesos ended up taking us on a cheap tour of the true Puerto Iguazu as we weaved through the neighborhoods picking up the whole village. We hear temperatures back home are touching well into the negatives including the windchill and with our trip winding down we needed to take advantage of the Argentine summer and laid out by the pool for a few hours. We tried to see the animal sanctuary next to our hotel but tours guided only in Spanish were enough to deter us from this adventure. I must say some pool time did us good before jetting off to Buenos Aires for the final leg of our incredible trip. Upon arrival we made our way through rush hour traffic with just enough time to walk to Temple Libertad where we were treated to a argentine Kabbalat shabbat. After 2 weeks in Argentinian the culture was rubbing off on us as we sat down at dinner at 9:30pm. Lucky for us we got the last table on the sidewalk for our final summer feast accompanied with a little bit of police fanfare and apparent arrests for crimes we are unsure of.
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