Utterly amazing!

The following morning we took the 20 minute bus ride to Iguazu Falls, set amid National Parks in Argentina and Brazil.  The falls which are four times wider than Niagara derive their name from guazu which is Guarani for big, and I, Guarani for water, and it lives up to its name many times over.

 

There are four main trails around the falls.  We started off by taking an open sided train the short distance to the Garganta del Diablo, or Devils Throat, then a walk of a few hundred metres over open water to the viewing platform by the semi-circular series of falls.

The combination of the sight and sound of the water as it rushes relentlessly over the edge and crashes into the depths below, and the smell and taste of the constant spray that fills the air, attacks the senses simultaneously and left me breathless and in awe.  I have never been anywhere or seen anything that demonstrates nature’s power so vividly.

Hannah also seemed to be impressed!

From here we ventured back on the train and began our journey of the ‘Lower Trail’ on foot.  This was no less impressive as you get an entirely different perspective of the falls.  Due to the heat of the day we elected to cool off when we could.

 

As I mentioned before, the falls are in National Parks which means you could come across a wide variety of creatures at any time.  Here’s a selection of the ones we saw:

       

 (Crazy Frog!)

After a full day we enjoyed a leisurely meal before collapsing into bed.  As we were in a hostel there was a certain amount of partying into the night by some of the other guests.  Lorraine said she was on the verge of screaming out ‘Silencio’ but thankfully the party ended and peace returned.  I’m not sure whether she thought it was a direct translation into Spanish, or a spell she read in her ‘Harry Potter book of Magic’.  Either way it wasn’t needed on this occasion.The following day we returned to the Falls and took the ‘Macuco Trail’, a 3km jungle path leading to a single waterfall and rock pool where you can take a needle shower and have a swim.

  On the trail we were treated to another impressive selection of wild creatures.  

To finish our time at the park we took the ‘Upper Trail’ which provided us with more lasting memories and photos of what has to be the most amazing natural wonder I’ve ever seen.

  

Our final day in Puerto Iguacu was spent lazing by the pool before boarding our bus for the 11 hour journey to Curitiba.  We had originally planned to go straight to Rio however the carnival was on and although it would have been great to experience it, it was apparent from our investigations on the internet that accommodation was as rare as chocolate fireguards and the cost increases by around 4 to 5 times which put it way beyond our budget.  So we decided to spend a few days in Curitiba as a stepping stone before Rio.  Or so we thought……..