Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Today I went back to Argentina.....just for the day. I met up with Eduardo first thing in the morning. Like my trip through Patagonia, I had booked this portion through G-Adventures, so mostly independent but everything organised. On this day I joined 3 other girls, Shondra and Venice from the US and Anvi from London. Our destination was the Argentinian side of the falls. The girls had been to the Brazilian side yesterday but it is said that each side is very different. Of course I did ask the girls what they thought. Shondra's first response was to quote Eleanor Roosevelt who said "Poor Niagara". I knew I was in for a good day.
We had to make the border crossing again. Which again meant waiting in the van while Eduardo took our passports in to get stamped. No one ever laid eyes on us.....but I got a whole bunch of new stamps. It actually was not a very long drive so we arrived quickly at the park and headed in.
Being welcomed to the park.
I think this means I'm supposed to share the path with snakes. Mostly it meant I wasn't spending anytime stopping and looking at the trees. There are tons of trails leading to view points of the falls. It is really well done with metal walkways and wheelchair ramps. Pretty much anyone can get around and have a very nice view of the falls.
The river looks nice and calm from here.
A little bit of mist appearing. Must be getting close.
Getting a little closer.
A black and white view of the Devil's Throat. The mist can rise anywhere between 30 and 150 metres (100 and 490 ft) above this portion of the falls.
And there it is....my first look at the falls themselves.
Very beautiful, and just like Niagara, you cannot stand here for too long because of all the people also trying to take pictures.....and the mist.
I think I mentioned that the falls sit on the border between Brazil and Argentina so to remind you, the pictures you see today are mostly the Argentinian side. 80% of the falls are in Argentina with the other 20% in Brazil. The border runs right through the part of the falls known as the Devil's Throat.
A little bit of an idea of the power of the water.
Very interesting to note, that the falls are not as big on this day as they normally would be. If you have seen pictures of them, you might find them to look a little bit dirtier and a whole lot fuller. I got the slightly smaller but much cleaner view because the dams further up the river were partially closed.
After a little bit of a walk, you can see a bit more of the falls. It seems everywhere you looked there was water coming through the trees and off the side of the mountain.
The park was really busy this morning. A lot of large tour groups as you can imagine. The park is quite big but you can walk it. You can also take a train for short periods of time. The best part about having a local guide is that they can help out with the lines. Because there were only a few of us, and Eduardo knows the operators, we were able to move up through the lines a few time to get on the train.
Looking back along the edge you can see just how far the falls spread out.
We made a quick lunch stop at the local cafe. Prices are really cheap but there were people everywhere. Busiest tourist attraction I had been at in a while. It was a quick lunch stop and then we were off again. There was still lots to see and do.
After lunch we hopped on a big jeep like this one and went for a little trek through the jungle. Not a lot of animals wanted to come and see us but it was a nice little trip with more than a few birds to see and it took us to the start of the next part of our ride.
Along with the train ride and the jeep ride, our entrance ticket gave us a boat ride up to the falls. I'm sure you have all seen these.....you hop in a zodiac and they take you right up underneath the falls. Yes you get very, very wet. I came prepared and changed into my bathing suit.....the others girls did not and I'm not sure they really knew how wet we would be getting (Shondra and Venice were mostly worried about their hair and make-up).
Sitting on the boat going up the river. If you do not like boats and water, this probably isn't the ride for you.
A little video as we approach the falls.
A beautiful view as we head towards the Devil's Throat.
Getting closer to the falls.
Did not have my waterproof case with me so this is as close as I got of the falls on camera. So amazing and I think you get the idea. This is at the base of the Devil's Throat but our boat ride would take us right inside.
Now we had a very fun experience.....and I'm not just talking about the boat ride. As we were heading into the falls, all of sudden we started smelling smoke. Turns out our boat engine was on fire. Now not the place you really want to abandon ship.....not that I was sure that's what they wanted us to do as none of the boat operators spoke English. We were not very long into our trip under the falls so were a little disappointed. But turns out they just transferred us to another boat and then just continued on our ride like nothing had happened.
Looking up at Devil's Throat.
Another view of the portion of the falls they call the Devil's Throat. We would head right into the middle of this picture......front end of the boat right under the falls. It was amazing to feel the power of the water......a little worrying too. Would not have lasted long had we ended up in the water.
Getting a little close to the water.......there are a few water drops on the camera lens.
The boat ride lasted about 30 minutes and then we were back on land. I put on my nice dry clothes, while the other girls had to walk around in wet ones. I was very happy I came prepared.
Hmmm....no swimming. Too bad. I really....really wanted to go swimming.
After a full day at the falls, it was eventually time to head back to the hotel. The routine at the border was replayed again. Still no one came to see us but again there were new stamps in my passport.
Back at the hotel I had a bit of a nap and then headed out for dinner. There was a recommended restaurant about a 20 minute walk from the hotel and I decided to check it out. Was not too bad at all. Again, the hotel is not in the best neighbourhood, but it was still early enough that I could walk...but I avoided the park. Took a taxi home though. Always better to be safe than sorry.
A very exciting day seeing the falls eventually came to an end. Tomorrow I would get to visit the Brazilian side.
Julie
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