Our final big sight in Argentina was to be Iguazu Falls. The bus ride there was fairly empty, some say tourism in the area was severly slow due to the Dengue Fever outbreak certain zones in Argentina are suffering. (Dengue Fever is contracted via a certain type of mosquito. Symptoms are an ugly flu that can get dangerous if not treated. Sound familiar? Swine Flu..ahum) So we did our research, however, and found 1) Dengue Fever is not a new issue to Aregentina, but rather something that has been surging every few years here in certain areas and 2) Iguazu wasn´t a highly dangerous area and 3) bug repellant and long sleeves help avoiding it. So we forged ahead, knowing we´d only be there for a few days and would just take precaution. The bus there, all 17 hour of it, was a huge highlight! (for us scrappy travelers at least.) Our ¨cama¨seats were leather, fully reclined and allowed for a very comfy spacious ride. I´d take them any day over a plane ride! The service was amazing - started with a candy greeting by our server, then cocktails and cheese, two course meal with wine and THEN an after dinner champagne! Truly amazing for $60! Compare that with a $300 flight there.
But on to the Falls! The first day we hit the Brazillian side which offered more distant, full views of the falls. The bus ride inside the Brazilian park to the falls reminded me of Disney World, quite touristy. I loved the crazy animals and creatures we encountered along the way to the falls - first a tarantula, wonderful butterflies and racoon like furry guys.
And the falls were beautiful, but unfortunately the water levels were very low as to cut the falls size in half at least. The massive size is what is the most spectacular we hear.. oh well. It was still amazing. It was quite crazy to see the dried rivers, and dry rock that remained where massive waterfalls usually flow. We wondered why the dryness - is it normal for the season or is Iguazu getting ¨warmer¨ too? Got some researching to do there...
On the Argentina side, the highlight was Garganta del Diablo (Devil´s Throat), the most massive convergence of the serious of falls. You got quite a good view, standing right next to the point where they pounded down below in such fury that you couldn´t help but stare in amazement. You could only see half way down its fall due to the mist that it created from its force on the pool below. Like the glaciers, I couldn´t move McLure for a while...
We did head home back to our rockin super hostel, with pool, pool tables, bar, internet center, BBQ dinner, Tango Show and enjoyed the luxury. Next step, 20 hour bus ride to Salta.
Iguazo Photos http://picasaweb.google.com/jenniferhlavac/IguazuFalls#
