The viewpoint was almost more crowded than the bridge but people were moving around and it wasn't hard to get a spot by the railing. We thought we'd seen big waterfalls before but noooooooo. The noise the cataract made was deafening. What is unique about Iguazu is that there is just about every type of waterfall-- the ones the come out of pools, the sheets of water that don't touch the cliff, the huge foamy sprays and, of course, the torrents. To see the torrent that is the Garganta del Diablo was worth sitting packed like sardines on the bus and slowly moving across the bridges because when you reach it you look at it and you think wow and then you look down and you think wow and then you keep looking down because it doesn't really seem to end, but just, eventually, disappears into a huge billowing cloud of spray and then wow just doesn't cover it, with the rainbows and bird's nests and desperate vegetation and swirling mists and wet rockface and the water.
Walking back between trains was better than when one had just arrived, and we saw a caiman on a rock. The trainride was also better then before, but we weren't really in the mood to appreciate it, having arrived at the point of a day walking around in the sun where what you really want is a glass of un-warm un-apple-flavored (an unfortunate misunderstanding at the grocery store)--or alternatively, coffee-flavored--water.
The only trail we hadn't done by then was the Sendero Superior, and that took us to more viewpoints of the falls. People were beginning to leave so we managed to get some brilliant views. At this point it was about 4.30 and we began to make our way back to the parking lot to get a taxi. On our way there was a place where we needed to cross a bridge across a small stream. This would be fine and simple if there weren't a herd of intimidating coaties moseying across. They took their own sweet time and, apart from getting out of their way, we stood still and watched them. If my parents were thinking the same thing as me, it was along the lines of 'wow that's a lot of coaties' and 'maybe they won't notice me if I stand very, very still'. Luckily they ignored us.
Back across the stretch of asphalt to the little museum they had there on whim of my mother. She went inside while my dad and I sat on a bench and, braindead, wondered why they had a map in braille and then covered it with glass until my mom walked out and showed us the hinges on the box lid.
We taxied back to Puerto Iguazu, enjoyed the cool showers, and gazed enviously at the neighboring non-budget hotel's pool placed agonizingly outside our window. The power went off inexplicably but came on soon after.
For dinner we walked a few blocks to a restohotel called Jasy that had good food and a nice outdoor deck place. On our way there we were followed by a kitten. I think strays like us.
In the morning we found a tiny spider in the bathroom in a tiny web that had caught a tiny scorpion that was nevertheess about a third the length of a non-thumb finger. While certainly glad it wasn't bigger, presumably baby scorpions means adult scorpions lurking around and I was exceedingly cautious in shaking out shows and packing articles of clothing.
Since we had visited the Argentinian side of the falls on Sunday we considered visiting the Brazilian side on Monday so my parents walked to the consulate to find out how much visas would cross. They must hold something against Americans because the price was prohibitively expensive. If they want to keep out backpackers, fine, if they want to keep out foreigners, fine, but Americans had to pay about 3 times as much as Australians. And Australians don't even get a nationals discount, so that would be the price that everybody else would pay. We didn't go to Brazil.
Instead we went back to the Argentinian side and had a more laid-back day. Since we had walked on everything the park had to offer we went back to the Sendero Inferior and walked to the docks where we took a boat that went under the waterfalls.
They first took you to take pictures of one waterfall, then around the cliffs to duck under a second. I tried to look up at the top of the waterfall while we were right under it, but it was physically impossible for me to open my eyes under the spray and I was instantly drenched. The second waterfall was even stronger, and on such a hot day the mist was delightful.
It took us an hour to get on a boat to go back to the island when 20 people went on each boat... I'm not up to the math. It was a couple hours after noon that we were there but there was still not much shade because of lack of trees. We ate lunch in a bit of hard-one coverage that was effective in blocking the sun but attracted spiders and huge ants.
Sat on the beach for some minutes and beachcombed until we started getting burned by the rocks, when we ran into the water for a few minutes and back to the tree line. We hiked back up to the San Martin viewpoint that overlooks the waterfall we originally thought must be the devil's mouth and we so glad we didn't miss it.
The island was closing then, so after admiring the falls we waited in line again for the boat to take us back. No herds of coatis blocked our passage this time, though we stopped to look at a group of monkeys.
We stopped again to get a big bottle of water on our way home and then hung out in the hotel lobby until it was time to lug our bags down to the bus station and head off to Concordia, which I will write about at some point tomorrow. Sorry if I have any repeat pictures.
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| Faux-Devil's Mouth |
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| Real Devil's Mouth (next one too) |
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