Iguazu Falls
BRAZIL
Iguazu Falls: Don't Kayak These
By AARON
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
I’ve seen Niagara. I’ve witnessed 70 meter waterfalls in Central America. I’ve looked at pictures and video of Victoria Falls in Africa and Angel Falls in Venezuela. My point is, is that all of these natural wonders don’t hold a candle to Iguazu Falls. Although I hadn’t seen them in person, I had seen a video that Lyndi took on her camera, and I was sold- Iguazu Falls is the King of Waterfalls.
Iguazu Falls rests on the borders of Argentina and Brazil, and they are so big, that they even double as a border between the two countries. Now I know what you’re thinking- “hey Aaron, but the Rio Grande River is also a water border between Texas and Mexico and you can go tubing in that”. Well, you’re right, but the difference being that if you tube down the Rio Grande, you would probably be arrested by Border Patrol, whereas if you tube down Iguazu Falls, you will certainly die.
Pulling into the town of Foz was actually a big disappointment for me. I expected a bunch of hotels all right on the waterfalls and a nice resort town featuring “Waterfall Coolers”, a type of cool alcoholic tourist beverage. Instead, we pulled into a humble town that resembled most of the other small, Brazilian towns we visited thus far. The hotel was very nice, and even had its own restaurant that we dined at for our first night there.The next day we headed out to the Brazilian side of the falls with our driver Daniel. Not having to do any border crossings, we arrived quickly to the falls, and even from a distance, you could hear the thunderous crash of billions of gallons of water spilling over 100-200 meter drops.
The Brazilian side of the falls doesn’t offer as much as the Argentinean side, but you do walk along the side of the falls and take in the spectacular views of both the Brazilian and Argentine sides. There are several lookout points where you can stop and take pictures. Normally in South America these are called “Miradores”, but for some reason (in English), here they were called “Contemplation Belvederes”. Now we all racked our brains on this one, but as far as I know, “Belvedere” is just the funny, loveable butler from the popular 1980s sitcom. Regardless, just to give you an idea of how big these falls actually are- taking a leisurely walk from Contemplation Belvedere to Contemplation Belvedere will take you about 2 ½ hours.
That night, we returned from the falls with our cameras loaded with pictures. Steff, Kim, Lyndi and I even went out to a NICE steakhouse where we got prime cuts of beef in a blue cheese sauce for about $20USD- a big spending night for us budget travelers.
The next morning we headed out at 8am to the Argentinean side of the falls. This was to be the big day- the day where we could do the adventure tour which included a speedboat ride to a section of the falls where the driver would literally navigate you under one of the (smaller) falls, drenching you. It also included a nature ride to the boat, and a rafting ride back downriver to the mini train station where you could head back to the entrance.
Once we crossed borders into Argentina and arrived at the park entrance, the entire place had the aura of a theme park. Iguazu Falls T-shirts, shorts, vests, hats, shoes, shot glasses, etc. reigned supreme among the overpriced Pepsis and cafeteria-style food. Things that would cost you about $2USD anywhere else were priced at $30USD at the minimum. Out of the corner of my eye, I swear I saw “Fallsy”, the lovable Iguazu Falls mascot/Disney Character©.
Once we got Lyndi’s group rounded up, we all purchased our tickets for the “Adventure Package” and headed off to our nature truck ride that would take us to our boat. The ride was interesting enough, with our bilingual guide quickly switching back and forth between English and Spanish so as to accommodate both native tongues, and we arrived at the boat in no time.
Boarding the boat, there was an air of anticipation from every passenger. Anyone buying this tour seemed to have heard of or seen what was to come. Thanks to Lyndi, all of us in our group knew the same as everyone else- we were going to get drenched. The boats they use are military grade transfer speedboats with two, 250CC outboard engines- designed to withstand the highest of waves and the toughest of currents with the greatest of ease. As we all stripped down to our swimsuits, put on our life vests, and packed all of our belongings in a waterproof bag, we all couldn’t help but notice the Argentinean couple who despite all the warnings on the truck and the boat, kept their iPod headphones plugged into their ears and continued to drink SKOL beer (at 10am) and make out during the entirety of the trip. I think I speak for everyone on that boat when I say (1): there is a time and place to drink SKOL, make out and listen to (probably) Bjork, and (2): I hope your iPod gets waterlogged and broken.
As the boat made its way upriver to the falls, it navigated the rapids with the ease of a doctor taking a 2nd grade anatomy test. Once we approached the falls the sheer power, sound and sight of that much water crashing over the drop off was enough to give the bravest of men chills. And just as soon as we had time to snap a couple of picture of the waterfalls from a safe distance, our boat’s 1st mate yelled “OKAY- PACK YOUR BELONGINGS AWAY, WE’RE GOING IN!!!”. VRRROOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!! The driver pushed forward on the throttle and took us dead ahead into one of the ominous looking waterfalls. There is nothing to describe the sensation, but knowing that we were in the capable hands of a pro, or at least a guy who passed boating school, I was able to enjoy the sheer power of just one of over 200 waterfalls as the water continuously splashed and poured over, into and on top of our boat- getting all of us (and the Argentine couple’s iPod) soaked! After going into the “devils throat” as it’s called, a couple of times, we returned to the docks wet, flowing with adrenaline, and all smiles. It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience.
I would like to describe the rest of the tour in such detail, but to be honest, after being that up close and personal with Iguazu Falls, the rest paled in comparison. Another highlight though, was the bridge that took us pretty much directly over the largest part of the falls. We were able to take video and pictures of the falls about as close as you can get (safely), but the crowds of tourists and congestion of people made it a difficult experience to fully enjoy.
After our photo shoot at the bridge, we took our rafting excursion back to the train station, which would take us back to the entrance. Our guide did show us a big caiman (large alligator) and a couple of birds, but as far as rafting rides, this was a Class -3. After the raft ride, we walked on the Argentinean side, similar to the Brazilian side, where you walk along and above the falls to different “Contemplation Belvederes” and snap some amazing photos. Afterwards, we headed back to the entrance, met up with our transfer driver Daniel, and headed back across the border to our hotel.
Afterwards, we headed back to the entrance, met up with our transfer driver Daniel, and headed back across the border to our hotel. We made it back to the hotel around 6pm, and had a night bus that was departing at 9pm, so Lyndi and I picked up some salgados, drank some whiskey and cokes, and watched Friends in the hotel lobby until our departure that would take us 10 hours from Foz to the colonial town of Curitiba.
