Igu.azu Falls

You know how at the airport they have the "Departures" board up that will tell you what gate you need to be at? Well, this airport decided to only put my gate up 1/2 an hour before my flight departed! Usually you're already boarding at that time but no, this time I was making a mad dash to make sure I got to my gate in time. Sheesh! Nothing like leaving it to the last minute. The flight was uneventful and just over an hour so that was nice. Once we landed I found the person with my name on their sign (I always feel so important when I see my name) and boarded the bus to my hotel. Now I will quote from my journal:

My hotel leaves much to be desired (see pics below for what my "view" was like when I opened the window).

I'm trying to keep myself awake until suppertime (7:30 - remember, Lea and I had stayed up until 4:00 am the night before and I didn't sleep much on the bus). Watched Oliver Twist on TV while the jack hammer went constantly outside my door and the power went out twice. There's only 10 chairs around the pool. Hilarious. Found out I can't go to the Brazil side of the Falls because I don't have a visitor's visa and they don't give out day visa's anymore. :( Supper at 8. Bed by 10. Woke up a bunch of times throughout the night either to people in the hall or the torrential downpour at 4:30 am. I thought the roof was going to cave in! Crazy!

Not a thrilling first day, but adventures don't have to be fun all the time. Makes for an interesting story either way. :)

The next day I joined my tour and headed to the Falls. These Falls border Brazil and Argentina and were short-listed as a candidate to be one of the New 7Wonders of Nature. Upon seeing Igu.azu, the United States' First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt reportedly exclaimed "Poor Nia.gara!" and I have to agree. It was spectacular!

When we walked through the gates we waited for our tour guide and while I was waiting, I heard 3 guys behind me speaking perfect English. It felt like awhile since I'd heard that from anyone but myself and Leana, so I turned around and said, "You guys are from the States, right?" They said, "Yes," and I said, "It's so nice to hear ..." and all 4 of us said together, "ENGLISH!" We discussed how surprised we were about how little English was spoken here and they said they had just come from Chile and it was worse there. I hung out with these California firefighters off and on throughout the day (not too shabby) as that's what you do when you're travelling by yourself. :)

Anyway, to get to the falls, you walk over these walkways they've built literally over top of the river and falls. At times it's a little freaky, but pretty cool.

Then you start to hear the roar and you get your first glimpse of the Devil's Throat ... yes, that's the actual name of them. Can you feel the power of this rushing water?

Another reason for meeting people when you're travelling by yourself is so they can take pictures for you.

And if you're not happy with the pics they take, you take them yourself. :)

Here's a nice pic of my 3 friends.

At this point we were happy when the spray off the falls hit us because it was quite warm and muggy outside. Even though the water was a little murky looking, it was still quite spectacular.

Looking at this walkway sure didn't give me much confidence in the ones I was walking on. I don't know if you can read the sign below, but it says, "Catwalk destroyed by flood in 1992." Freaky!

Next we took a little train to another section and took more walkways down to the lower section of the falls. Here I am looking over to the Brazilian side of the falls. Would've been nice to be able to say I've been to Brazil as well, but that will have to wait for another trip.

At this point it was starting to rain a little bit but as it was still warm outside, I didn't really mind.

Then ... it poured! See the dark cloud in the picture below? Yeah, they dumped on us and I've never heard thunder so loud directly above me. It was quite fun actually. I eventually caved and bought the lovely white, plastic poncho. My clothes were fully drenched by this point but I was worried about my camera getting wrecked so I bought it to cover and protect my camera.

Despite the rain, I still got my favorite shot of the day. Stunning. Remember the movie, The Mission? Filmed here.

Doesn't it look like I'm standing IN the water in this shot? I wouldn't have liked to have been the person who built those walkways.

These are called Dos Hermanos (Two sisters)

And again, you never know what you're going to get when you ask someone else to take the picture. A little blurry ... and where'd that dove come from? ;) Note the fashionable poncho.

There were a few critters I saw in the park. I believe this one's called Coates, but don't quote me on that. He looks like an anteater but apparently will steal food right out of your hand if you're not looking. Good thing this is the only one I saw.

This beautiful butterfly was my friend for quite awhile. At one point I had 3 on me and people around me were calling me "the butterfly lady."

I'm not exactly sure what this guy is, but he pretty much looks like a cross between a gopher and a guinea pig to me.

I really enjoyed my day at the falls. I was planning on going back the next day as well, but when I woke up it was POURING again so I decided against it and did some email, watched TV and read that day.

The day that I was to leave it cleared up a bit so I went and sat out by the pool for about an hour ... before it started ... guess what ... pouring again.

Now I see how brochures can make places look nicer than they are. haha Now I'm headed back to Bue.nos Air.es. Will Leana and her family join me? You'll just have to wait until tomorrow to find out.