Iguazu Falls Pictures

Next stop - Iguazú Falls

What an amazing sight. These are the largest falls I've ever seen. I visited the Argentine side and took over 200 pictures. No, you don't have to see all of them - I've picked my favorites, including a video, which is at the bottom of this post.

Let me start at the begining. I arrived at Cataratas del Iguazú International Airport. Cataratas means falls and Iguazú means giant water. I took a taxi to the Iguazú Grand Hotel, where I was greeted by a cute bellhop who offered me mango and kiwi juice.

I relistened to part of my book on CD, since I'm sure I slept through part of it.

After an early wake up call the next morning and a fantastic breakfast buffet, I headed off to the cataratas. I started with an adventure ride through the jungle, where I saw huge spiders and toucans - not together. The ride ended about a mile down river from the falls.

I boarded the boat, donned my dollar store parka, and started to get really excited. When the falls first came in view - I had the same unbelievable feeling as I did when I saw the Grand Canyon or Machu Picchu. The camera started flashing as we sped along the river.

The captain then told us to store our cameras, since they might get a little wet. He then proceded to take us under the falls - not once, but three times. Everyone was drenched - except me - I had the only poncho. Everyone else looked like drowned rats.

I then walked the lower trail, looking up at the falls. The path was about a mile and a half, with the most amazing views of the falling water.

The upper path lets you look at the water as it starts to cascade down. Very pretty, but definitely not as scenic as the lower path.

Finally you take a little train to the top of the largest section of the falls - Devil's Throat. This is the section between Brazil and Argentina.

It was still early so I walked the lower trail again - where I saw raccoons, monkeys, countless birds and - for my cousin Sara - 1000's of butterflies. You hold your hand out and they just alight.

The driver told me there were tigers, but I didn't see any.

It was starting to cloud up, so I took a taxi back to my hotel. Ten minutes after I arrived, the wind picked up and the rain came down in sheets. The power went out twice, but not for long.

Tomorrow if it clears up, I'll visit the Brazilian side, which I hear is not as impressive. At least my visa to Brazil has four more days before it expires.

As it turned out, the next day was rainy - all day, so at least I had time to work on and post my blog.

Hope you enjoy.