Iguazú Falls

Friday, Dec 15th, 2023

Wet is an understatement. In Norway, our boat touched the tip of the falls and we got soaked.  In Argentina, our Jungle Tour Company boat didn’t just touch the tip of the falls, it made sure each and everyone of us felt the full effects of the towering falls crashing on top of us in full deluge shower fashion.

It took 12 hours to fully dry out.

GoPro Video

Maybe the most interesting and sad fact about this UNSECO World Heritage Site is the color of the water.  Its brown.  Very brown.  According to the sign on the upper falls trail, just a mere forty years ago the water ran completely clear.  The change is due to deforestation and the silt that now makes its way into the river that previously was filtered by the surrounding rainforest.

The National Park has both an Argentinian side as well as a Brazil side.  Having just planned this day trip less than a week ago, I only had time to do the Argentinian side.

My flight landed around 10a local time, it took about 20 minutes from the airport to arrive at the park in my hired on the spot taxi (not a prearranged tour).

For the entrance fee of 20,000 Argentinian Pesos (about $20 USD) I was inside and purchasing the 2 hour boat tour that cost an additional $40,000 pesos.

Running low on cash, as I was planning to pay the entrance fee and boat tour via credit card as the websites had stated was acceptable, only to arrive to find out there was no communication services with the banks due to recent local flooding, I was happy I brought a little more cash than I was planning on.

The airplane ticket to and from Iguazu cost about $300 USD.  All in all, I spent about another $100 USD once I arrived to pay for the taxis, the entrance fee and the boat tour.  It has been some of the best money I’ve spent.

About twice the height of Niagara Falls and twelve times the length (according to website information) the power and beauty of the falls is vast.

There is an intricate trail network of steel and concrete pathways that traverse the surrounding jungles, outcroppings for fall viewing, as well as the upper trail that literally brings you feet from the edge where you get a close up view of the water careening over the edge.

The downfall of a mid-December entrance to the park was the weather.  Reminder, I am in the Southern Hemisphere so mid-December is the equivalent of mid June to us Northerners, and the temperature reached 100F am with a feels like reading if 110 due to the extreme humidity.

It was an extremely muggy day.

While waiting for the taxi at the airport, I was trying to figure out how to freshen up before boarding the plane.  Thankfully there was some paper towels in the restroom that I was able to wipe off with, and I kid you not, I made the decision to use bug spray as some “cologne”.  I mean, anything would have smelt better than I did.  Thankfully, I did also have a fresh shirt to put on.

Back at the airport around 5:30p for my 7p flight, I arrived back in Buenos Aires around 10p due to a tarmac delay.

I sincerely hope I wasn’t too rank for the couple flying back to Rome that sat next to me on the two hour flight back to BA.  I did the best I could.

After arriving back at EZE, another 30 minute Uber ride back to the Hilton Buenos Aires. Now up for 19 hours on three hours of sleep, I ate a small Neapolitano Pizza, showered and crashed until 9a on Saturday morning.

It was all worth it.

Cole from Colorado

Chasing waterfalls, one continent at a time