Parque Nacional do Iguaçu

On my Gate 1 South America tour, we flew today from Rio de Janeiro on Tam Airlines to Iguaçu Falls, Brazil, which is south of Rio and Sao Paulo on the Brazil/Argentina border.

The spelling of the falls is Iguaçu in Portuguese and Iguazu in Spanish. It is also sometimes spelled Iguassu. It is pronounced ee–gwah–SOO.

Iguaçu (Iguazu) Falls is 1/3 taller than Niagara Falls, 197–269 feet (60–82 m) high vs. 165 feet (50 m). At 1.7 miles (2.7 k) wide, it is wider than Victoria Falls in South Africa, but Iguaçu Falls is divided into many waterfalls, from 150 to 300 depending on the water level, whereas Victoria Falls is one long curtain of a waterfall. The falls are fed by the Iguazu River which falls over the Parana Plateau. The falls are located in a rain forest.

The CDC recommends a yellow fever vaccination if you are traveling to the falls. The travel nurse at my health provider recommended having it only if I would be staying at the falls for longer than two days, which I wasn’t, so I didn’t have it. However, a tour mate who has the same health provider that I do but in a different state was told by his travel nurse to have it. Mine told me to wear long sleeves and apply a strong concentration of DEET. I did see mosquitoes there––big ones––but they left me alone. From recent reports, they probably weren’t carrying yellow fever but there are also other diseases they could be carrying such as dengue fever.

After landing, we met our local guide and entered the Brazil side of the Falls. Photo: the entrance to the Parque Nacional do Iguaçu.

Parque Nacional do Iguaçu

Map of the Brazil side of the falls. The viewing area of the falls on the Brazil side is much smaller than on the Argentina side.

Parque Nacional do Iguaçu

Our first look at the falls.

Iguaçu Falls-1–MOVIE

A movie of the falls. You can hear the roar of the falls in it but you can’t feel the heat and the humidity. For me it was uncomfortable as I live in a dry heat climate and am not used to high humidity.

Iguaçu Falls-2–MOVIE

Another movie of the falls.

Butterflies

There were beautiful butterflies at the falls. A real treat to see them.

Devil’s Throat

Devil’s Throat is the highest and deepest of the falls. We are looking at the falls on Argentina side from the Brazil side. We were treated to a rainbow.

I have put my photos of the Brazil side of the falls on a slide show. Go to

http://www.peggysphotos.com/iguacu–falls–brazil/

(Slide Shows, South America, Brazil/Argentina, “Iguaçu Falls: Brazil”).

Crossing the Border into Argentina

Republica Argentina: Bienvenidos! At the border between Brazil and Argentina.

Crossing the Border into Argentina

After viewing the Brazil side of the falls, we crossed the border into Argentina. It took a little longer than it should have as Argentina customs searched some of the carry–on bags stored in the bus’ luggage racks.

Argentina

We are definitely in Argentina. Tango dancers!

Iguazu, Argentina

Driving through the town of Iguazu.

Our Hotel

We would be staying two nights at the Amerian Portal de Iguazu, a very nice modern hotel.

Our Hotel

An antique car in front of the hotel. There is a sign behind it saying taxi but I think the car was just for display.

Our Hotel

From the side.

Iguazu National Park

It was lightly drizzling when we left our hotel this morning. I went back to my room for an umbrella but didn’t take my raincoat, which was a bad decision. It was so hot and muggy when we left that I couldn’t think of putting another layer of clothing on and the light rain was actually very nice as it was cooling.

But during our visit at the falls, it rained heavily at times, even with thunder and lightning, and I was soaked to the skin. So know that it rains in a rain forest! Also, I wish I had taken a waterproof camera along so that I wouldn’t be concerned of my camera getting wet while taking photos. I had put a baggie over my camera except for the lens but I had to keep the baggie in place while holding my umbrella in my other hand. Didn’t work too well.

Photo: the entrance to the Iguazu National Park, Argentina side.

Iguazu National Park

Map of the Argentina side of the park, much bigger than the Brazil side. Many people visit the falls on their own. On a tour, your time here is limited by the tour schedule––for us, 1 1/2 days, but I would recommend that if you come on your own you stay for at least three days: one day for the Brazil side and at least two days for the Argentine side. If it starts raining heavily, you could then leave the park and come back later. Additionally, you don’t have to rush through it and can take your time to fully enjoy it as the walks between the viewing sites of the falls are long. There are also other activities such as a boat ride and sports.

Iguazu National Park

Some of the waterfalls.

Iguazu Falls-3–MOVIE

A movie of the Iguazu Falls from the Argentina side.

Coaties–MOVIE

We saw South American coaties, a member of the raccoon family, on both the Brazil and Argentina sides. They are considered to be wild animals but they usually don’t attack you unless you are eating food that they think should be theirs. Here, there was a big group of them.

I wasn’t afraid of the coaties as I had experience beforehand with one in the Yucatan in Mexico at a hotel. I had never seen one before that one and it did scare me until I knew that it wasn’t interested in me and let me walk right by it.

Being Prepared

The rain is really coming down now. This group was the only one prepared for it. Some people bought light ponchos at a store here. I didn’t as we had been stopping when the rain came down hard and I thought we would continue doing this. We didn’t. A big mistake on my part.

To Devil’s Throat

A never–ending bridge to view Devil’s Throat from the Argentina side. A very long walk on a metal bridge over water in a thunder and lightning storm. Somehow I don’t consider this a very safe thing to do. I was behind my group as I was taking photos while trying to protect my camera from the rain. Silve came back to find me and suggested that we go back to the train station. I agreed.

At Our Hotel

The view from the balcony when we got back to our hotel. By then, we were all soaked to the skin, even ones who had bought ponchos as they didn’t cover everything. Some people came down with colds a day or two later, most likely from getting soaked, and I caught the tour cold a few days later.