We got to sit right in front of the bus during our 16hr ride to Iguazu. Anyone who's imagining Greyhound busses probably has much more sympathy for us than is warranted. These busses are cush!
Maté, if you're Argentine, you don't leave home without it.
We've arrived in beautiful, tropical, Iguazu in the Argentine province of Missiones. It's startingly green.
Trev and Meg took a walk to the tres fronteres while the rest of the group rested. They're standing in Argentina, with Brazil visible across the river to the right, and Paraguay to the left.
Mosquitoes attack! These bites actually happened in Buenos Aires. The bug population of Iguazu was surprisingly low...yet large (to be shown later)
William sleeps off his bus hang-over while the rest enjoy lunch. For those of you who wonder who the new friends are, there's Meg (Trev's girlfriend), Lisa (a friend from church in Seattle, who's a missionary and student in Buenos Aires), and Marcos (her fun and goofy fiancé).
Interesting tree fungi. I don't usually go for straight nature shots, but I like they way they glow.
The group started off their first day in the national park with a "Great Adventure," which included a 30min truck ride through the jungle and a much more exciting something afterward.
Wow, William sure is enjoying himself...
the jungle is quite impressive.
The truck ride is over, and now comes...
...the boat ride!
Yeeeehaw!
Hello friends.
Our first glimpse of the falls up the river was exciting indeed.
Oh my...do these things really exist?
Yup...
How close can we get?
close enough to soak everyone and everything. Fortunately, they provided us with dry bags for our electronics and whatnot.
We're drenched, comfortable, and amazed by what we've seen so far.
What you have to understand, is that we've only seen about one half of the falls.
Marcos and Will climb out on the rocks...
...and get yelled at by a park guide.
Wow...
Meg starts something here that Trev was determined to finish.
Breakin' the law
Hello jungle friend
Deuling cameras
This is not even the main section of the falls. While you can't see the Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat) in this picture, you may be able to see the plume of water coming up from it in the distance.
Happy friends
A surprising number of the photos look completely fake, like this one. But really, we were there, and the falls exist.
It needs salt.
We crossed a 1km wide section of river to get to the Argentine lookout over the "Garganta del Diablo." Just make sure you stay in the human lane.
Welcome to the Devil's Throat.
In the words of Marcos, "Wow."
Go birdies, go.
You can see the Brazillian side of the falls there.
And more birdies.
The whole thing is simply amazing.
But...you've got to go home sometime...and work on Sudoku puzzles.
Master chef Marcos and his beautiful salads.
Despite being a strong stimulant, maté is an anytime beverage in Argentina. We're enjoying some tasty tart, made by Marcos' mother, maté, and "The Magician's Nephew."
But we're not ready for bed yet, time to go out for ice cream.
Trevor was having a bit of difficulty sharing.
The next day, we returned to the falls, which were more impressive than I remembered.
This is a coatie, basically a cute and tropical version of the raccoon.
Nature walk time
What large ants there are!
all the better to feed the large gecko/lizard/salamander or whatever animal this is.
This day, we got to take a short boat ride to San Martin Island.
The park admission is 40 pesos (about $13) for the first day, and 20 for the second. We thought it was a great bargain considering all that they offer and have to keep up.
We thought about "inviting someone for Will," but then who would have taken the cute couples shots?
It was a wonderful thing to get to swim in this warm river water so close to the waterfalls. The current was impressively strong.
Even the non-falls areas are incredibly beautiful.
Those birds that play so gleefully around the waterfalls, occasionally get caught in the downpour and stuck in the river.
This one was fortunate enough to be saved by the boat driver.
A new view of the falls, from San Martin Island.
I have to keep saying it to myself...this place actually exists.
Cute couples
There were many larger birds to watch soar around the falls. We suspect that they survive by eating the smaller birds.
My Spanish isn't the best, but I think there's a hint of suggestion in the message on that sign.
We made many jungle friends
Is it just me, or are there some horse-heads forming in that waterfall?
This butterfly is admiring Lisa's engagemnet ring.
Great goofs, walking along the lower circuit.
We went for a 7km hike to get to a small waterfall with a pool at the bottom, which we heard was good for more swimming.
Friends like this one help keep the bug, and small bird populations down.
Who says you can't hike in a dress and sandals?
Lisa made it seem easy.
Hello little fall.
Though small, the water came down with impressive force.
Beware of panthers, jaguars, and leopards...
The fall (or literally translated from Spanish, jump) from above.
Beautiful jungle views
The end of our second day in the park...
"Hey Meg, would you stop gnawing on my shoulder? I'm trying to brush my teeth..."
More maté!
Beautiful flowers for a beautiful lady.
Another trip to the tres fronteres.
You don't get to stand in all three countries at once, but you do get to see all three flags!
The sun is hot, and we've walked a lot.
Back at the hostile, we continue to make friends. I'd never before had a cocroach poop on my hand.
At lunch, Leonard came up to us and offered to sell a figurine. He and Marcos made friends right away.
Leonard then went and got his friend Edward, who also joined us for lunch.
Soon enough, it was time to get back on the bus, and make sure that all our contraband was well hidden during the random drug search.
It's a good thing the dog didn't smell Leo, our coatie friend. He was good company during the 16hr ride home.
