My visit to world famous Igazu Falls -- which borders Brazil, Argentina and very nearly Paraguay -- is everything I had hoped for. All that was missing was from the world's largest and most powerful falls was brilliant sunshine. Overcast skies predominated most of the day. Best viewing of this visually stunning series of cataracts is from both sides of the Iguazu River -- the Brazilian side, and the Argentinian side. Politics, border crossing difficulty, distance and adequate time for viewing make this daily double endeavor difficult however (at least on the same day). Cost makes it difficult on successive days. So I chose the Brazilian side of the river, that being where my hostel was and the airport side I had flown into on Sunday night. Scouting reports from others at my hostel, including those who had the time to visit both sides of the falls, tell me I made the right choice.
For the Brazilian approach gets you along the edge and down into the falls at various points on an up-close-and-personal catwalk system, while the Argentinian trails pretty much keep you topside unless you elect for excursions such as the tourist boat that takes you right down underneath the numerous cauldrons that make up Iguazu Falls. From what I saw of the tourist boats, they were expensive and worthless. Looked like they were getting swamped most of the time, they were rocking about at steep pitched angles, nary a camera was exposed to the heavy moisture present, and virtually all passengers were swaddled in heavy plastic cladding. What was the point of all of this?
You start at the Iguazu National Park visitor's entrance, about ten kilometers from Foz de Iguazu, the primary local town on the Brazil side of the river (and name of the airport on THIS side of the river as well). After paying a $23 entry fee (which includes busing to the tour departure point, and return ride) you begin a 1200 meter walk to the finale at the Naipi Square viewing elevator which takes you slowly up each level of the falls. This walk is a self-directed visual feast. At the first turn, there are a set of falls about half the size of America's famous Niagra Falls. That is just for starters. At each corner, there are always more (and bigger) falls. They increase in size, flow, and number as one proceeds from west to east. The average number year round is 275 ribbons and sheets of water, on two primary (upper and lower) levels but it grows to over 300 during the rainy season. The average annual flow per second of water over the falls is about 1413 cubic meters but during the rainy season grows to 2506 cubic meters per second. Niagra Falls (kindly referred to here by locals as "That American Trickle") by contrast, flows at a rate of 750,000 gallons per second. Somebody should translate this for us.
Along the way, each overlook offers multiple angles and opportunities for photos of the Falls attractions from differing vantage points. The focal point is the misnamed "Devil's Throat," where the greatest flow takes place in the most concentrated arc. It is 90 meters tall, twice the height of Niagra Falls. So much water is fighting to get over the edge here, that the downhill rush creates a massive uphill air draft. This draft tends to keep The Devil's Throat in a perpetual mist. It looks like a pulsing white mushroom cap, that occasionally pops and expands about twenty-five feet in a second and immediately deflates, only to expand about five seconds or so again later. Above the Falls ! The Devil's Throat is at the end of a river level catwalk one enters just before a floor to ceiling viewing elevator at the end of the walking portion of the journey (Naipi Square Complex, on Falls maps). There is too much mist here for good photos or good viewing. That is best accomplished further back along the trail, perhaps midway (and then using a telephoto). Nobody emerges from this catwalk dry. Plastic ponchos are handed out, but to no avail. They are primarily intended I think for protecting purses and cameras. Most folks are only too happy to get wet or even soaked, given the local humidity. Any photo, must have the settings triggered in advance, and then you just point and click and hope for the best. Otherwise the lens mists up too quickly and the shot becomes clouded or grey.
The viewing elevator at Naipi Square is a treat in itself. The slow rise takes you from river level, directly adjacent to the widest and one of the most powerful of the sheets making up Iguazu Falls, until you are directly above it and looking at the pulsing mist cloud rising above The Devil's Throat. Viewing stands on the Argentinian side, for the most part looking across at the Falls, are clearly visible. Bathrooms and your usual shopping and dining opportunities are nearby at the Porto Canoas Station. Buses return you from here to the Visitors' Entrance.
I took the opportunity immediately afterward to attempt a viewing from the Argentinian side as well. But that involved a long bus ride back to the bridge connecting the two countries over the Iguazu River. Then another bus ride parallel to what I'd just traveled, only on the Argentine side. Then another bus wait, or an expensive taxi. Then another park entry fee, on the Argentine side. With the whole process to be repeated in reverse -- taxi, bus, border crossing, bus, and ... you get the idea. I demurred and simply walked the Argentine side down to the river for two hours. Am told afterward, the Argentine trail system has a fine territorial view, but doesn't get you right down into the mist and along the edge like the trail or catwalk on the Brazilian side.
On Tuesday, I pass on any more falls viewing. Unless there is the possibility of some kind of vantage possible from the Paraguay side. I find there is not. This aspect of my trip, is one of the most disappointing of the last 50 days. A long distance view of the primary city on the Paraguay side of the river, La Ciudad Del Este, gives hint of promise. Its buildings are tall and colorful. It appears to be making a statement. Visitors welcome ! But the impression is shattered as soon as one crosses the border at the bridge over the Parana River. There is trash and filth and unkept roads everywhere. Tiendas all offer the same thing, cheap goods turned out by the hundreds and none of any particular interest. You wonder who they are marketing to. Worse yet, not a single smile from the crowd. The locals look like denizens from the Stepford Wives. Or, East Germany during the 1970's. I have a simple meal and get my passport stamped, and leave in record time. Was told by others this would probably be the case and it turned out to be Spot On. It begs the question: is this so because Paraguay is one of if not the poorest country in South America, or is it one of the poorest due to what I have just witnessed, and visitors just avoid the place, which creates a self-fulfilling phrophecy?
Next: Rio de Janeiro -- Carnivale ! (The World's Biggest Party)
For the Brazilian approach gets you along the edge and down into the falls at various points on an up-close-and-personal catwalk system, while the Argentinian trails pretty much keep you topside unless you elect for excursions such as the tourist boat that takes you right down underneath the numerous cauldrons that make up Iguazu Falls. From what I saw of the tourist boats, they were expensive and worthless. Looked like they were getting swamped most of the time, they were rocking about at steep pitched angles, nary a camera was exposed to the heavy moisture present, and virtually all passengers were swaddled in heavy plastic cladding. What was the point of all of this?
You start at the Iguazu National Park visitor's entrance, about ten kilometers from Foz de Iguazu, the primary local town on the Brazil side of the river (and name of the airport on THIS side of the river as well). After paying a $23 entry fee (which includes busing to the tour departure point, and return ride) you begin a 1200 meter walk to the finale at the Naipi Square viewing elevator which takes you slowly up each level of the falls. This walk is a self-directed visual feast. At the first turn, there are a set of falls about half the size of America's famous Niagra Falls. That is just for starters. At each corner, there are always more (and bigger) falls. They increase in size, flow, and number as one proceeds from west to east. The average number year round is 275 ribbons and sheets of water, on two primary (upper and lower) levels but it grows to over 300 during the rainy season. The average annual flow per second of water over the falls is about 1413 cubic meters but during the rainy season grows to 2506 cubic meters per second. Niagra Falls (kindly referred to here by locals as "That American Trickle") by contrast, flows at a rate of 750,000 gallons per second. Somebody should translate this for us.
Along the way, each overlook offers multiple angles and opportunities for photos of the Falls attractions from differing vantage points. The focal point is the misnamed "Devil's Throat," where the greatest flow takes place in the most concentrated arc. It is 90 meters tall, twice the height of Niagra Falls. So much water is fighting to get over the edge here, that the downhill rush creates a massive uphill air draft. This draft tends to keep The Devil's Throat in a perpetual mist. It looks like a pulsing white mushroom cap, that occasionally pops and expands about twenty-five feet in a second and immediately deflates, only to expand about five seconds or so again later. Above the Falls ! The Devil's Throat is at the end of a river level catwalk one enters just before a floor to ceiling viewing elevator at the end of the walking portion of the journey (Naipi Square Complex, on Falls maps). There is too much mist here for good photos or good viewing. That is best accomplished further back along the trail, perhaps midway (and then using a telephoto). Nobody emerges from this catwalk dry. Plastic ponchos are handed out, but to no avail. They are primarily intended I think for protecting purses and cameras. Most folks are only too happy to get wet or even soaked, given the local humidity. Any photo, must have the settings triggered in advance, and then you just point and click and hope for the best. Otherwise the lens mists up too quickly and the shot becomes clouded or grey.
The viewing elevator at Naipi Square is a treat in itself. The slow rise takes you from river level, directly adjacent to the widest and one of the most powerful of the sheets making up Iguazu Falls, until you are directly above it and looking at the pulsing mist cloud rising above The Devil's Throat. Viewing stands on the Argentinian side, for the most part looking across at the Falls, are clearly visible. Bathrooms and your usual shopping and dining opportunities are nearby at the Porto Canoas Station. Buses return you from here to the Visitors' Entrance.
I took the opportunity immediately afterward to attempt a viewing from the Argentinian side as well. But that involved a long bus ride back to the bridge connecting the two countries over the Iguazu River. Then another bus ride parallel to what I'd just traveled, only on the Argentine side. Then another bus wait, or an expensive taxi. Then another park entry fee, on the Argentine side. With the whole process to be repeated in reverse -- taxi, bus, border crossing, bus, and ... you get the idea. I demurred and simply walked the Argentine side down to the river for two hours. Am told afterward, the Argentine trail system has a fine territorial view, but doesn't get you right down into the mist and along the edge like the trail or catwalk on the Brazilian side.
On Tuesday, I pass on any more falls viewing. Unless there is the possibility of some kind of vantage possible from the Paraguay side. I find there is not. This aspect of my trip, is one of the most disappointing of the last 50 days. A long distance view of the primary city on the Paraguay side of the river, La Ciudad Del Este, gives hint of promise. Its buildings are tall and colorful. It appears to be making a statement. Visitors welcome ! But the impression is shattered as soon as one crosses the border at the bridge over the Parana River. There is trash and filth and unkept roads everywhere. Tiendas all offer the same thing, cheap goods turned out by the hundreds and none of any particular interest. You wonder who they are marketing to. Worse yet, not a single smile from the crowd. The locals look like denizens from the Stepford Wives. Or, East Germany during the 1970's. I have a simple meal and get my passport stamped, and leave in record time. Was told by others this would probably be the case and it turned out to be Spot On. It begs the question: is this so because Paraguay is one of if not the poorest country in South America, or is it one of the poorest due to what I have just witnessed, and visitors just avoid the place, which creates a self-fulfilling phrophecy?
Next: Rio de Janeiro -- Carnivale ! (The World's Biggest Party)
Wow, Iguazu Falls do make Niagara seem like a trickle, though Horseshoe Falls (on the Ontario side) are the most powerful falls in N. America. Good call on the viewing elevator vs. Brazilian equivalent of The Maid of the Mist! How many thousands of photos are you up to by now, Larry?
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