Mar
26
2010
Las Cataratas
Author: JesseAs full of awe and wonder the waterfalls, which lie on the boarder of Argentina and Brazil, are, I would like to begin this post with an odd story. After posting on Curitiba, my newly found English friend Dan asked me if I had referenced the “baby beater”. To be quite honest, I am glad that it escaped my memory so quickly but am also shocked it did. My mind was obviously on more notable things whilst there.
So Dan and I and two other ladies from our hostel were venturing down the Rua das Flores when the sound of a crying baby pierced our casual awareness. We looked down to see a man shuffling his hand viciously in a small box. The crying persisted and seemed apparent to be coming from within. Then, suddenly, the man pulls an opaque bag (of sorts) out and begins beating it on the ground! The crying seemed to get louder and my heart both sank and began racing as my fight or flight senses were heightened. “Do I tackle this guy?” I thought. We were all frozen at the cross walk waiting for someone to say or do anything.
In these 10 seconds that it took for the sick joke to register, I experienced a rollercoaster of emotion only equalling that of a pregnant woman. It ended up becoming clear to us that the bag was slightly too “empty” to be holding an infant and that this sad, sadistic individual was either trying to sell the item as a joke mechanism or street “performing”. Either way we all gave him our own look of disapproval and moved on in shock that some people actually have the mentality they do.
ANYWHO…the cataratas (or waterfalls) do Iguaçu (for the brazilian side) or de Iguazu (for the Argentinian) are mind-blowingly powerful, expansive, and, simply, beautiful. Upon arrival to our hostel (Timbo Posada, $11 pppn, highly recommended) my iPhone read thunderstorms everyday as far out as I could see; the rain fell accordingly. Nonetheless, we only had two days here and two sides (both unique and worth seeing) to see.
We decided to grab a bite and give the rain a minute to contemplate its intent on making our day difficult or not. Our first stop was the Avenida da Pajaras. Here, amongst an array of exotic birds, anacondas, and flora, the kamikaze den of parrots made the 50 pesos worth the hour not spent at the falls.
The kamikaze cage, unlike the others, had a sign of warning to enter at your own risk. Not only were these birds loud and strangely in unison but they would suddenly dive, one/two/three at a time, just narrowly missing your outstretched camera hands or spinning head. This is not to say the others were without entertainment. As you can see, the toucan had its own agenda…
On to the cataratas. The initial sight was breathtaking to be sure, but only a glimpse of what we would end up seeing throughout these two days full of billions of gallons of water.
The Brazilian side is mostly a side view of all the falls where as the Argentinian side attempted to instill a feeling of plummet potential. Making our way along this trail we came to Brazil’s lookout point. I may have been more or less dry to this point, but not for long as the mist was coming horizontally in waves.
After the four hour visit, we culminated our boarder-crossing day. Since we arrived at the Foz do Iguaçu bus station and our hostel was in Argentina, we first crossed this double-stamp border in the morning. Having gone back for the national park visit we were able to get a total of six stamps (three from each side) in one day. I just love seeing my passport fill up. Between boarder control stations we noticed the artistic way that the two countries decided to create a normally boring line. The second and third picture below shows my view with one leg on each side and Paraguay in the distance. Too bad for them that their was was just not close enough to the tourist gold mine.
After a night of Argentinian asada and wine and phenomenal sleep, we set out for our tour of the Argentinian side of the falls. This one was to include the well regarded boat immersion. For about $25 USD, you get a trip along the river leading up to both major falls systems, time for pictures, and 4 different ways to feel, taste, and hear the power coming from above.
After the tour we made our way towards the upper platform mazes that provided view after view looking out over the plunge of just about every waterfall. However, I was able to manage to get attacked by a raccoon family member while eating lunch. I am still a bit bitter that the workers inside the restaurant made no attempt to warn me that sitting down outside invites these raccoon types to sit at the table with you and, in a matter of two seconds, snatch at my ricotta cheese pastry causing a reaction from me that projected the insides (of my only food in eight hours) into the air and all around me. I grabbed my lunch tray as a weapon and was ready to bat this bas*ard across the way to the Brazilian side if he got any more ideas. I came to find it is because of the tourists feeding and worshipping them with cameras that they feel they own the place. I offered a few choice words in spanish to the workers inside and they made me buy a new one. Sorry for refraining from getting a photo of one, but at the time it wasn’t on my mind. Moooooooooooving on…and up!
The myth behind Devil’s throat is of a man who followed his wife and her lover down the river only to cast them to their fate in revenge. There is a lonely tree at the top near the mouth of this monstrous system that is meant to symbolize him looking over the edge in confirmation.
This experience was certainly everything I had hoped it would be. It intrigues me to attempt to visit the world’s tallest, Angel Falls in Venezuela, and widest, Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, someday soon. My camera was a champ and wicked the water without problems and most people refused to wear the poncho. Everyone wanted to taste, feel, and hear this wonder of the world nominee as naturally as possible.
Sorry for the delay in posts, but Buenos Aires (my current location) has been a whirlwind of activity. I plan on posting on my experiences of delicious $2 wine, tango, Evita, and futbol by Monday or Tuesday before I make my way down into Patagonia for some hiking, wildlife, and endless array of scenic panorama.
