The Road Goes Ever On

Monday, January 30, 2017

Iguazu Falls Flora, Fauna, And Signage

Best "stay on trail" sign ever, so far

About to go over the falls in a shell

This is a coati, sort of a cross between a racoon and a fox; we also saw a monkey,
but it disappeared before I could get the camera going

The coati are mean little devils, and the park was littered with warning signs...
but people here are pretty much like other people...

No one was petting this guy

Beware of low-hanging snakes..."no piggy--backing"

Explanatory flora/fauna signage everywhere...mostly in Latin!

Seven course meal, all in a row

Commons area at the hostel we stayed at

In its garden

All from January 17-20

Iguazu Falls, 2

After a hearty parilla lunch, we headed for the lower trail from to see the mostly Argentine side of the Falls. The next day, we did the corniche superiore, so to speak. We were very glad to have seen the whole incredible show. Jan. 18-19.

Temps and humidity were both pushing 100; this is the jungle portion of our South
American trip; sub-tropical, really; in a week we'll be in the Andes and back in
polar tech

The lower trail takes you right there

La Criada de la Neblina

Looking up to a viewing stand on the upper trail

The Maid of the Mist heads into the tumult

Another on deck

We had to get wet to get this double rainbow shot; but the water felt good

Dressing more appropriately the second day

Looking down on the lower corniche

Nearly 3k of waterfalls

Looking back up river

A last look at the plunge from above

Iguazu Falls, 1

The Iguazu Falls are generally considered the earth's greatest waterfall complex. Of course, there are many ways to describe waterfalls...height, width, volume of water, whether seasonal or perennial, how many steps, etc. Iguazu are neither highest nor greatest volume, but, at nearly 3 km, they are certainly the widest. The Falls are basically in a fish-hook array, with the hook on the Brazilian side. On the Argentine side, there are three basic trails for viewing the falls, a long boardwalk to the Devil's Throat, the hook, down which pours 50% of the water. The upper and lower trails take you to view the longer stretch entirely on the Argentine side. Of course, there are Maid of the Mist types of excursions, flora/fauna excursions, jungle excursions. It is all in a sizable and popular national park, although many hundreds of miles from most of Argentina. How all this happens is that the great Iguazu River comes down from jungle Brazil and, at the Argentina and Paraguay borders, the basalt plain that carries it gives way to sedimentary rock. Thus the extent of the falls. It certainly is one of the most impressive sights and sounds we have experienced, and we spent two days experiencing the Falls, in addition to the two partial days coming and going from Buenos Aires. Jan. 18-19.