Daggys Diary
 Iguassu Falls After another early start from Salta we drove to Saenz Pena arriving about 6pm and dining at one of the few places open in town! It was just a stopover on our way to Asuncion in Paraguay. The border control was quicker than from Bolivia to Argentina thank goodness!! Our hotel for two nights was an ex-presidential residence which had been refurbished and was located in the central area of the city. We had all next day to walk around and see some of the sights although it wasn't the nicest city we had been to. There were a lot more expensive cars here as there is a large gap between the rich and the poor - quite a bit of corruption still here so the rich get richer and the poor still get nada!! It was interesting just sitting having lunch and a beer and people-watching...... Next day we headed to Foz do Iguazu in Brazil and the border crossing was relatively quick - only two hours I think! The hotel there was a Best Western and one of the more modern ones we have stayed at with awesome showers!! We went out to dinner and a show that night as a group - the buffet was good and the show OK but not the same standard as the one in Rio de Janiero we saw! However a good nights entertainment before our trip out to the falls next day. They were amazing!!! It was surprising how big they really are and the noise was incredible! Some of the group took a helicopter ride over them but we decided not to! We visited a bird park first which was actually really good and we were able to go inside the cage with some of them - mainly toucans. Lunch was spent trying to keep the coatis away from our table - there were a lot about looking for food scraps - there were signs saying not to feed the animals but of course humans being what they are just can't help themselves! There was also a LOT of people there so viewing from the platforms was rather crowded and you had to be patient waiting to get a good photo! It was also rather damp close to the falls as there is a constant spray from them as well as a wind so the plastic ponchos we had bought for the Inca Trail in case it was wet came in very handy. Had a nice buffet dinner just down from our hotel that night with waiters bringing different kinds of meat on skewers and slicing it at the table - very good value for money!! Had an 8.30am start next day as we had to cross the border into Argentina first to view the falls from that side. A couple more hours and we arrived at the park entrance where we had a guide to take us round the various trails of the falls. We saw the Devils Throat first that you couldn't see from the Brasilian side and it was spectacular! Again, there were a lot of people there so patience was needed! it didn't help that it was school holiday time as well so there were a lot of kids too. After a quick lunch we took an upper trail and then a lower trail to view the falls and most of us then took the boat ride which takes you right up to the falls and it gets VERY WET!! Again the plastic ponchos were a must but we still got quite wet! Brian was right up the front trying to get some video footage but it was quite difficult. I got hit by a heap of water at one stage but the other people in the boat thought it was great - bloody crazy Sth Americans!!! By the time we got back to the entrance we had dried out quite a lot. Drove to our hotel in Puerto Iguazu and had rather a big night as five of the group were leaving - Cell and Antomio back to London, Jess back to Australia and John and Jess were going to Rio de Janiero before heading back to Oz. We were leaving at 8.30am to drive to San Ignacio and we woke at 10 to 8! I was feeling less than 100 percent but Steve and Rena were worse than me I think so with our number down to eight it was a reasonably quiet 3 hour drive. After checking in to our hotel we had lunch and then went and saw the Jesuit ruins just down the road. The guides were on strike so we had to wander round the site with Marsha telling us what she could remember from previous visits and utilizing the story boards. Another early start (7am) to drive to Carlos Pelligrini tomorrow so an early night is called for so buenos noches amigos y amigas!!
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Diary Photos
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Devils Throat Iguasso Falls Argentinian side |
 Iguassu Falls Argentina |
 Coatis at the Train Station |
 Coatis at Train Station Iguasso Falls |
 Iguassu Falls Argentina |
 Iguassu Falls Argentina |
 Crazy Boat Ride! |
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