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Thursday. March 7: We had a continental breakfast at the Circulo Militar, then repacked our suitcases for Iguazu. (We each took a small suitcase on our side trips, leaving unneeded items behind in our one large suitcase.) We knew it would be hot and humid there. Carlos' chauffeur, who he had introduced to us as Martinez, picked us up at 10:30 a.m.
Newbery Aeroparque, used for internal Argentine flights, was fairly close in, right on the shore
of the Rio de la Plata. Our plane took off shortly after noon. Our "lunch" consisted of a
small box of Gruyere-flavored crackers and a beverage. We landed in Iguazu at 1:35. We
were met by Wilson, the English speaking guide and driver Carlos had arranged. He drove us to the
International Hotel and waited while we unpacked and changed. The hotel was built in a
modernistic style and was not very impressive from the outside. We had taken a room on
the side of the Hotel facing the falls, and the view was spectacular.
At 3:00 Wilson drove us to Puerta Canoas, where we took a small boat to the end of the remains of the Paseo Superior, the walkway directly over the upper Iguazu River before it dropped over the falls. At one time it had been possible to take this walkway directly from the shore, but it was repeatedly destroyed when the river flooded. After the last calamitous flood in 1983, the walk was never rebuilt. (During that flood, the flow rate was 23,000 cubic meters per second, as compared to an average rate of 1,600.)
As we followed the walkway toward the brink of the falls, we could see the twisted
steel and the uprooted concrete columns that once held earlier walkways. The river
appeared to be a mile wide (actually 1.6 miles, as we learned later). There had been
recent rains, and the river was fairly high. (We had been concerned that there might be
very little water since it was late summer there.) The water, a very muddy brown, was
flowing swiftly but quietly, seemingly going in several directions at once as it followed the
varying contours of the high cliffs above the falls.
Finally we reached the end of the paseo, directly above the Garganta del Diabalo
( The Devil's Throat), the most spectacular part of the falls. It is in the shape of a
horseshoe (or a throat), and there is a constant heavy mist (the Devil's breath) rising from
the falling water - so much that it often obscures the falls completely. Later we realized
that this was the precise spot we were looking at when we viewed the falls from our hotel
room.
We walked back down to the end of the remaining paseo and took the boat back to Puerta Canoas. Wilson drove us to the entrance to the National Park, directly behind our hotel. From there we walked the Paseo Superior as it followed the lip of the falls for hundreds of yards. Again it was spectacular! At each section of the falls, there were foot bridges suspended only a few feet above the water just where it dropped over the edge. Some of the bridges were only ten yards long, others as much as forty. Between the bridges there were slightly higher points of rock that channeled the waters into individual falls. The rock was not barren, though. This was a rain forest, and there was lush vegetation everywhere. As we crossed one waterfall after the other, eventually we could see an endless wall of water running perpendicular to the falls we were crossing. Finally, we reached the end of the Paseo Superior, almost in the corner where the two sets of falls met. By now it was after six and we were very tired. We arranged to have Wilson pick us up at eight the next morning to try to get a Brazilian visa. We rested in our room for a while, then explored the hotel. Although beautifully situated, our hotel was the only facility for miles around, other than the few eating places clustered around the entrance to the National Park. They all closed by six. Our hotel was 11 kilometers from the nearest town, Puerto Iguazu. We found a travel agent on the lower level of the hotel and were able to get some information about available tours and activities. Among other things, we found that almost all of the tours started across the border in Brazil, in or near the town of Foz do Iguacu. We also found that Wilson's fees were two to four times as much as ordinary tours to the same places would cost. Of course, it was only to be expected that a tour would cost more with an individual guide and a private car, but we could have done without that luxury. However, we could not do without a visa for Brazil, and we knew Wilson was our only chance of getting that. We had dinner in the "informal" dining area, since Carlos had told us (wrongly) that coat and tie were required in the formal dinning room. It was a fixed price menu with a large buffet table of entradas, including various cold meats and fish. There was a choice between two main courses. Nonalcoholic beverages and a dessert were included, all for $24 a person. We both selected the cerubi' (a local fish) as our main course. It was very good. Sitting along the solid glass wall facing the falls, we could see that it had rained quite heavily a little earlier. It had stopped, though, so we were able to take a stroll after dinner. It was very warm and humid, but a beautiful night. We got to bed before 11:00, but were awakened during the night by a very heavy rainstorm. The falls were not going to run short of water. Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
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