After a lovely and unexpected 6 hours of wifi-less time at the BA domestic airport, we finally arrived in Iguazu. Our taxi was awaiting us and we were off into the jungle!
After about a 40 minute drive we arrived at our destination - the Sheraton Iguazu - the only hotel located inside the park. From what we were told this is a huge advantage and makes the not inexpensive price tag and the somewhat outdated facility worthwhile. Having no frame of reference, i'll agree that is was very convenient to be able to walk out of our hotel and into the jungle and all the tours. And, as an added bonus, thanks to our friend, T-Bone who has connections to Starwoods, we got upgraded to a falls view room - we could actually see and hear the falls crashing in the distance from our cozy bed.
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| Our view - devil's throat off in the distance... |
We arrived too late to do much, so i went for a swim while GG read. We then opted for the hotel's buffet dinner. We didn't really have much of a choice, let the record show. In fact, short of hiring a cab for the evening and driving into the town of Iguazu or ordering the same food via room service, we had no choice. Fortunately, the buffet was loaded with fresh fruits and vegetables - a welcome sight after our indulgent days in BA. We washed it down with a glass of malbec, got online in the lobby wifi (no internet in rooms), and then retired to the room to watch some Mad Men on the iPad. We got to sleep at a reasonable hour so we could take advantage of our one full day in Iguazu.
Well, we tried to get a good night's sleep, but the downpour thunder storm all night made that challenging. And it also threw a bit of a wrench in our plan for our day in Iguazu. I woke up to talk to the tour guy and he convinced me all was very safe, lightning in the open water would be no issue and he booked us on the 945am "Great Adventure" tour - a tour involving a 30 minute drive through the jungle and on to a boat where we then cruise upstream 6 km to the base of the falls. We were warned that with a gift-store bought poncho (more like a translucent garbage bag with cut outs for arms and a head), we would be about 50% protected. But since it was downpouring rain regardless, that whole staying dry thing didn't really have as much impact on us. I'd be happy if i was only 50% soaked on a day like today.
So we embarked and the rain and open bed truck ride through the jungle was, well, uncomfortable. But we did get to see real-life vines - like the protagonist in my Intellivison Pitfall video games swung on. So, i guess that was cool.
Then we arrived at the big show. We got on the boat and against GG's urging, i opted for the front row seat. Strangely enough there was a guide video taping all of us on a waterproof handy cam as we boarded and then for the rest of the trip. We started our journey and immediately hit some serious rapids and some more serious downpouring. Soon we turned a corner and went head on towards the first set of falls. But not as close as i hoped. Just a bit of a spray. Wusses. Next we went around the corner and did the same at the more imposing "Devil's Throat" falls. Same deal - close but not close enough.
Then i heard something interesting. The guide told us all to put our cameras away (we stowed our disposable in GG's jacket). That got my attention.
The boat made a quick 180 and went full throttle towards the first set of falls. And this time we were definitely close enough. As in pretty much under the pelting falls, soaking, with water squirting through every poorly (non) reinforced seam in my garbage bag poncho. We then did the same at the Devil's Throat.
The price of admission quickly became worth it. As did the DVD upsell where they promised an edited video of our journey delivered to our hotel room that night for $30. GG said no. I was the sucker on this decision. Hey - it's our honeymoon - it's all about the memories! So, we'll have to view that DVD when we get back home. Odds are it probably wasn't worth it.
We came back to the hotel, changed, relaxed, had lunch and then did the Devil's Throat walking trail where we saw it all from the top of the falls. It was overwhelming - the kind of visual where you want to quickly snap a photo to capture the awesome-ness of the moment, afraid that you'll miss it. And then you realize, there is no need to rush - this thing is not stopping any time soon! Was truly an amazing experience to see such a massive, powerful, natural event like that so intimately.
After that we headed back to the hotel and saw our first full fledged monkey! There was some other monkey-like animal that we saw at first and then we saw the curly-tailed brown monkeys playing on the roof of an abandoned old hotel. Check it out!
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| Monkey-like animal... |
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| Monkeys like i know |
After that, the sun came out for a bit and i went for a swim while GG read.
We had another buffet dinner fiesta at the Sheraton and i lost my camera's memory card out of my pocket at some point this evening. Fortunately, i transferred everything new on to my computer likely minutes before it fell out of my pocket somewhere here. I'm already coming to terms that it's lost and gone for good. Fortunately, it was the card from our back-up camera and we still have the good stuff with us. From now on, GG may have to be in charge of all things important that i'm likely to lose or misplace.
Signing off for now...on to Bariloche tomorrow!
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