There is not a lot that can be said about Iguazú Falls which isn’t conveyed ten times more effectively through photos. It is an unbelievably picturesque sight to behold, worthy of its place on many ‘world wonder’ and ‘bucket’ lists. We made sure to incorporate this national treasure on our journey through Argentina, even though it was quite a bit out of the way, and we weren’t disappointed.
To give some background, Iguazú (or “great waters”) was discovered in 1541 and established as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. The chain of awe-inspiring waterfalls extends for nearly 3 kilometers between Argentina and Brazil. Yes, it’s large enough to be split between two countries (we briefly considered visiting the Brazil side until realizing it required buying an expensive visa and nixed that idea). The falls are surrounded by rainforest flora and fauna, and we were excited to see mischievous monkeys, gigantic lizards, and mysterious beasts called coatis. I was unfamiliar with these adorable creatures, which resemble a cross between an anteater, a lemur, a raccoon, and a bear cub. We couldn’t take our eyes off the coatis that swarmed the grounds in packs of fur, fangs, cuteness, and terror. They were generally friendly, except in the outdoor food court, where they ransacked tables for leftover food scraps.
Our Couchsurfing host was a young Argentine woman named Adelita who works as a botanist, performing research on vines within Iguazú National Park. She kindly invited us into her home on last-minute notice, and we all took a nice hike together to a more remote waterfall within the park. After swimming under the relatively minor falls there, we trekked back to the main area known as “The Devil’s Throat” where the massive iconic falls could be seen from above and below. We explored the many paths and footbridges around the falls, admiring the astounding natural wonder from all angles. Most exciting of the possible vantage points is a trip on a small boat into the actual spray at the base of The Devil’s Throat! We braved the 12 minute journey into the unknown and ended up completely drenched and exhilarated after barreling into two separate waterfalls.
Besides visiting Iguazú park, we didn’t do much else in town except for a trip to a small hummingbird garden. This is basically someone’s backyard outfitted with plenty of hummingbird feeders and an innumerable swarm of tiny, colorful birds. After that experience we boarded the most comfortable bus ride of our lives (complementary Argentine wine, anyone?) and headed for the country’s crown jewel: Buenos Aires.
The Way and the Wayfarers 