Au Revoir Iguazu Falls – Day Three!

Another Dam Picture!

Our last day at Iguazu was a short half day! After checking out of the Pousada, Ricardo took us to the Itaipu Dam on the Parana River. The Dam is amazing - a joint venture of Paraguay and Brazil. The American Society of Civil Engineers has listed it as one of the Seven Wonder of the Modern World (along with the Panama Canal, Empire State Building, Chunnel, etc.). It is second in the world in generating capacity – only the new Three River Gorges dam in China produces more. 90% of Paraguay’s energy comes from the dam and almost 20% of the electricity for Brazil. This seems amazing considering that Brazil has a population of around 190,000,000. The dam spans the Parana River just outside Foz de Iguazu. Touring the dam is well organized with a visitor’s center where there are exhibits and a short film on the construction and history of the project. Group buses then leave the visitor center for a close up view of the dam and lake.

After our tour, we headed to a place to change travelers checks to pay our bill and then on to the airport in Argentina. Our return flight on LAN was just as good as the first and we were back to Buenos Aires 15 minutes early! GO LAN!!!

Back to our apartment and Eva Peron!

You say Iguacu and I say Iguazu….

Day two at Iguazu started at 8:30am – but we were waiting for Ricardo at 7:30am – why? He forgot to tell us that Brazil went off of Daylight Savings Time at the beginning of the month – Argentina does not change until March 14/15. Oh well…at least we were not late.

We drove first to the Parque das Aves – a Bird Park. The Park was set in the natural jungle setting – there were some cages but mostly giant aviaries. It was a lot like the Wild Animal Park in Escondido/San Diego. The Parque also rehabilitates birds. Two Scarlett Macaws were there because poachers had cut out there wings for the feathers…how awful!!! The Park was well maintained and had explanations in Spanish, Portuguese, and English.

Next we drove to the Falls after stopping at a small museum at the entrance to the Brazilian National Park. Ricardo took us to the starting point of a pathway down into the canyon of the river. At the top we saw a large coatis – a raccoon like animal whose habitat runs from Central America to northern Argentina.

The walk down the path was spectacular. Since most of the Falls are actually on the Argentinean side, the views are really best from Brazil. The path continues to a natural ledge that is about half way down into the gorge of the Iguazu River. Views from here are spectacular – there is that word again! There are viewing platforms seemingly built out into thin air!

There is an elevator that takes you back to the top – where there are more viewing platforms and a restaurant. We again indulged in a great buffet lunch – which served as our main meal of the day. From here, we took a park bus back to where Ricardo’s car was parked at the hotel – the one inside the Park on the Brazilian side.

The last stop of the day was the BEST – the Macuco Safari by Boat. The trip starts with a ride through the jungle in a “wagon” type vehicle with seating for about 20 being pulled by a jeep. After a while, you switch to the back of a truck fitted with seats. Finally, you reach the river. On a floating dock, you take off your shoes and socks, put on a life preserver, and board the Zodiac with outboard motor. Off WE GO! The Zodiac flies down the river – what a great way to cool off. After a while, the Falls come into view – and the Devil’s Throat – what a sight from the floor of the canyon from the river! After waiting our turn, the Zodiac raced up the river toward the main part of the Falls. Along the side of the canyon there were three large falls. The “captain” swung around and we approached the water – suddenly we were really close to where the water hit the river. Drenched! Did I say “Drenched?” I mean soaked, drenched, water-logged!! No wonder we were told to take off our shoes and socks.

The unsuspecting Tourist about to be drenched!!

In our group of “boaters” were 5 “grandmas” from St. Louis having the times of their lives! Whooping and hollering like teenagers. What fun…and it sure cooled us off! We bought a DVD of our trip. Think I will look at it during the next heat wave in San Diego!!!

Back to the Pousada after another fabulous day at Iguazu Falls!

The Day of the Pickpocket and Our first day Iguacu Falls!

I better get busy before I forget the details. There is a lot to catch up on. Before I go into our trip to Iguacu Falls on the border of Brazil and Argentina, I should fill you in on our grand adventure last Sunday, March 8. We went to mass at the Cathedral on the Plaza Mayo (See picture above - Was it a preview of things to come?). We walked around the square. The Casa Rosada – Argentina’s White House – is on the Plaza. We stopped at an ATM for some cash. From here we decided to walk to Puerto Madero to meet our friends Paul and Marilyn Whisenand for lunch. We decided to stroll around the back of the Casa Rosada to take pictures.

Suddenly, I felt and smelled that a bird had landed a “present” on me. I then broke all my rules. I let a “helpful” woman give me tissues and she started to help me clean off the mess. Next thing I knew Elisabeth had been “hit” by a bird too and the woman’s “friend” started helping Elisabeth clean up. Suddenly it HIT me. This was a scam. By the time we woke up, the two left and jumped in a taxi. You have it – pick pockets. They got some lose bills in my pocket but they unzipped Elisabeth’s purse she had around her neck and only took the large bills. Of course, we had just been to the ATM. The good side is that they took no credit cards and we do NOT carry our passports with us – only copies.

Back of Casa Rosada - Scene of the Crime!

I have foiled pick pockets in Paris by having a wallet that attaches to my belt and is carried inside my pants. We have warded off gypsy scam artists in Rome and Florence, etc. Why we went brain dead is what upsets us. After traveling together for 37 years, we know better. Never let anyone touch you for any reason! Carry large amounts of money after going to an ATM in a concealed wallet that attaches to you. It was a tough lesson – but one that will make us safer. If I had been thinking, I would have known that the bird had to be a Giant Condor considering the mess that was left! What is interesting is how the brain takes over and all you want to do is clean up and you forget to really THINK!

Our friend Marilyn Whisenand told us she never even carries a purse – she sees it as a target. She just carries a lipstick and a small amount of cash in a pocket. Not a bad idea. We later learned that the same bird scam was used on the previous renter of our apartment. However, he lost an entire wallet with credit cards, money, and passport. He spent a lot of his time in BA getting a new passport and dealing with credit card companies. NEVER carry your passport – unless it is a travel day. Just take a copy. We also have sent a PDF file of our passports to our son who has stored these on his computer so he can email them to us if necessary.

Now for the fun stuff – our trip to Iguacu Falls!!

One of our first view of Iguacu Falls - one of the 275 Falls in 2.5 kilometers!!!

We flew from the domestic airport in Buenos Aires to the airport on the Argentina side of the falls on LAN airlines. As an aside, LAN is a wonderful airline. It is part of the One World Alliance with American – so you can earn miles with them. Since I just hit the million mile club with American, I get bonus miles on all my travels.

Our “on time” domestic flights were an hour fifty minutes each way. No baggage fees, free food and drinks – even beer – wider seats, and more legroom than US airlines. American, United, Delta - are you listening? The service was excellent and the plane was spotless. While waiting for the return flight on Thursday, I noticed two full cleaning crews get on the plane after it landed and before we boarded. When was the last time you saw REAL cleaning crews get on a plane in the States?

When we landed our guide was waiting with a sign for us. Ricardo was born in Santiago but has lived in Brazil most of his adult life. He is married to a Brazilian. His English was excellent. I strongly urge a private guide in Iguacu. The price was not that much and a guide can arrange things so you see a lot more than if you did this on your own. We wanted to see as much as possible with only two nights – one full day and two half days of sightseeing. We packed a lot into the time.

Iguacu is fabulous! Both countries have National Parks around the falls – Brazil for 70 years and Argentina for 74. As a result, it is not commercialized. There is one hotel in each Park and a few concessions. It is nothing like the Disneyland atmosphere of Niagara. We have also been to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and we rate Iguacu higher. There is not as much water at Iguacu but the falls stretch over 2.5 kilometers. They say there are actually 275 falls – but Ricardo said that during a flood, there is only one! We also suggest that you go to both sides. Most of the falls are on the Argentina side so the viewing is best from Brazil. The main cataract is the Devil’s Throat and it is split between the two countries.

Our visit started with a walk through the semi-tropical jungle with views of butterflies, fish, birds, a caiman, and giant spiders. We took the upper circuit which takes you to several observation points – spectacular! We did not take the lower circuit on advice of the Whisenands and our guide. There are many slippery steps.

Next was a ride on a small tourist train (all covered in the admission to the Park) out to the starting point for a walk to the Devil's Throat (Above). What a sight!!! The platform is perched right over the major cataract of the Falls! Getting drenched is not an option – it just happens! It was an incredible experience. We ate lunch at a concession at the Park entrance – a fabulous buffet of all kinds of salads, entrees, and barbecued meat. We made this our main meal at about 3pm.

Next we crossed the border into Brazil on our way to our lodging. Our guide handled the formalities which was nice. To go into Brazil, you need a visa issued at one of their consulates. Fortunately, we had five year visas issued in 2006 for our trip up the Amazon.
Several South American countries have adopted so-called reciprocity fees for citizens from countries that charge their citizens for visas. In Brazil it is a visa and in Chile it is an entry fee paid at the airport. The price is the same their citizens pay for a US visa – right now about $130. The Chilean fee is good for the life of the passport. Argentina has adopted the same thing but it has not yet been implemented.

After crossing the border, we went to the town of Foz de Iguazu, Brazil – a town of about 300,000 that grew up with the building of the giant Itaipu Binacional Dam on the Parana River. We stayed at the Pousada El Shaddai – a sort of bed and breakfast. Our room was very basic – just two beds, one bench, but an air conditioner and TV. It was clean – if basic. The price was right - $56 for two with a great breakfast!

Our first day at Iguacu (or Iguazu in Portuguese) was over, we were tired, and we had lots of memories! We had seen the Falls from Argentina but now we were on the Brazil side. How would day 2 of the trip be? Stay tuned….