DAY 6 April 1, 2012
Parque Nacional Iguazu ARGENTINA:
We
had an easier time commuting to the National Park in Argentina as we
didn't need exchange. Rain was pelting down as we left our hotel;
despite our poncho the wind was drenching us. We hopped on to the bus
that took us to the Brazilian border, got the passport stamped and
got into the Argentine bus.
This one bus took us all the way to the terminal—we have fond memories of the kind Argentinian driver as he was extra nice to us. When we got down at the border for stamping of our passports, we requested him to please wait for us in our broken Spanish..."por favor, esparar um minuto" He smiled and said cincu minuto. We dashed for our stamp, the driver even came down from the bus and helped us put our day packs through the luggage scanner. We climbed back into the bus and he dropped us all the way to the Puerto Iguazu bus terminal saving us time and money. He gave us a warm handshake and smile as he sped off!!
This one bus took us all the way to the terminal—we have fond memories of the kind Argentinian driver as he was extra nice to us. When we got down at the border for stamping of our passports, we requested him to please wait for us in our broken Spanish..."por favor, esparar um minuto" He smiled and said cincu minuto. We dashed for our stamp, the driver even came down from the bus and helped us put our day packs through the luggage scanner. We climbed back into the bus and he dropped us all the way to the Puerto Iguazu bus terminal saving us time and money. He gave us a warm handshake and smile as he sped off!!
We
reached the park. As the day began wet, raincoats sold like hot
cakes--just 7R$
At the souvenir shop here...
We
were on the train to the last station GARGANTA DEL DIABLO.
We had done the blue (circuito inferior) and red (circuito superior) trails as well as the yellow San Martin island trek the previous day...
we did the top orange one... Devil's Throat and the bottom left Sendero Macuco that day,,,
The name Iguassu originates from the Tupi or Guarani language, and means “big water”.
we did the top orange one... Devil's Throat and the bottom left Sendero Macuco that day,,,
The name Iguassu originates from the Tupi or Guarani language, and means “big water”.
There is a nice
legend associated with the falls.
The Legend of the Iguassu Falls:
The region where Iguassu
Falls is located today was called Valley of the Butterflies,
belonging to the territory known as Mba´e-vera-guassu (Golden
Brightness).
In the Valley of the Butterflies lived Naipi, the virgin daughter of Igobi, the chief of the tribe of the Guaranies (or maybe the Caigangues). She was so beautiful that the river waters stopped when she looked at herself in them.
In the Valley of the Butterflies lived Naipi, the virgin daughter of Igobi, the chief of the tribe of the Guaranies (or maybe the Caigangues). She was so beautiful that the river waters stopped when she looked at herself in them.
She was chosen to be
the bride of M´Boy, a God who often took the form of a snake as he
desired her. No human being could now even look at the promised girl;
however, Tarobá, a brave warrior, broke the taboo. He spoke to her
and she answered. They decided to run away together to escape the
marriage.
On the day of the wedding,
the Indians drank too much of the cauim (a native alcoholic beverage
made from fermented corn) and slept in a stupor. Tarobá and Naipi
wasted no time and escaped on the Iguassu river in a canoe.
But M´Boy noticed the
escape and thrashed around in anger. His thrashing opened a
gigantic crack in the earth causing the river to fall down the gorge
created
Tarobah and Naipi
disappeared in the tumultuous waters. The snake god lay in wait for
them to end up in his underground cave.
The Iguassu River was now
going down the new gorge as waterfalls and began its eternal fall
into the abyss formed by the earthquake. However, The lovers were not
caught by the snake awaiting them at the bottom cave...their love was
too great....
Tarobá was transformed
into a lonely palm tree on the edge of an abyss over the Devil's
Gorge, and Naipi into a big rock over which the raging water of the
river falls into the canyon... which can be seen to this day....
The vengeful snake God is still awaiting his victims in the underground cave wondering what's taking them so long!
When
the sun is in the right position, a rainbow can be seen touching the
tree and the rock; it is Naipi´s love veil eternally caressing her
lover, Tarobá
And
yes, we did see numerous lovely rainbows connecting the star crossed
eternal lovers! They were AWESOME!!
GARGANTA DEL DIABLO (Devil's throat):
The
tour to reach the lookout balcony of the majestic Devil’s Throat
allows us to approach a few meters from the most important and mighty
waterfall of the Iguazu Falls. The itinerary begins about 1,100
meters before the monumental fall, after getting off the Ecological
Jungle Train at Devil’s Throat Station.
The
gangway leading to the balcony that faces the waterfall is just over
a kilometer in length. The balcony, gives us a magical moment, staring at a huge wall of water over 80 meters high, located
on the border of Argentina and the sister Republic of Brazil.
The rain had mercifully stopped; there was a slight drizzle and along with the spray from the GARGANTA DEL DIABLO, we needed our ponchos.
There is awesome ambience--the volume of water is so huge, there is a permanent mist of 100ft. It was a challenge to use the camera without damaging it due to the spray.
There seems to be a headless guy in the left...ha, ha..
The
folding system of gangways was designed to preserve them from being
damaged due to an increase in the flow of Iguazu River. In normal
circumstances, when the river is low, the railings are raised and the
gangways allow the people get to the Balcony of the Devil's Throat.
When the river increases its flow, railings are folded to allow the
flow to pass through, by reducing the resistance. And if the river
level is very high, the flow velocity increases, the gangways are
detached, to avoid compromising the concrete structure. Once the flow
is down again, all the structure is reset. There is no access to
Devil's throat in those times, but the Iguazu National Park never
closes its doors, and those who are visiting can enjoy the other
falls/view points.
These are shots from the official site...nothing does justice to these AWESOME FALLS
These are shots from the official site...nothing does justice to these AWESOME FALLS
After
seeing the high point of the park...Garganata del diablo, we took the Sendero (trail) Macuco .
Macuco Trail and Arrechea Waterfall:
• Length: 7,000 meters
there and back (7,655 yards) • Accessibility: wild path, without
transports. • Difficulty: low in the first 3,200 meters (3,499
yards), high in the following 200 meters (218 yards), and medium in
the final 100 meters (109 yards). • Final destination:
Arrechea Stream waterfall and pool.
• Estimated time of visit: 3 hours • Restrooms and bar: only at the beginning, at the Rainforest Ecological Train Central Station.
• Estimated time of visit: 3 hours • Restrooms and bar: only at the beginning, at the Rainforest Ecological Train Central Station.
This trail has the name of
a bird of the South American partridge family, a brown bird bigger
than a chicken. The access to the Macuco Trail is allowed from
8:00 AM to 3:00 PM, and it should be completed during daylight. We started at 2 PM, the trail is closed at 3 and the park closes at 6. It was a race to finish the trek and not to get locked in the forest.
Caí monkeys can be spotted as this is their natural habitat. They live on trees, are restless and very curious. They move in groups of no more than 20 individuals. They eat fruits, and the forest has everything they need. It is advised that visitors should not approach them or feed them, and simple watch their natural behavior without interfering.
Caí monkeys can be spotted as this is their natural habitat. They live on trees, are restless and very curious. They move in groups of no more than 20 individuals. They eat fruits, and the forest has everything they need. It is advised that visitors should not approach them or feed them, and simple watch their natural behavior without interfering.
The Macuco Trail ends
at the edge of the Iguazú canyon. Thousands of years ago, the Falls
were located at this point, and gradually moved backwards to their
current location. Nowadays, their old location has been taken up by
many streams that flow into the Iguazú River, such as the Arrechea
Stream, which has a 20 meters high (65.62 ft)
cascade before the end. Here the stream gushes under the wooden bridge...
Happy after completing 31/2 km and reaching the end of a long trail. It was a 7km trek both ways to reach this falls Arrechea.
Million
year old forests surrounding the sendero macuco reaching
Arrechea falls here...
ARRECHEA FALLS after descending the final steps here...
On
the way back: saw some unique new things --cactus flowers here.
Had
the forest to ourselves, a little scary feeling...there are pumas, jaguars and a recent report talks about meeting a puma while on foot. Trick is not to make eye contact but back off slowly!!
Closeup of twisted barks...
Saw
eagles returning to nests, other colorful birds flitting by, a batch
of coatis scampering away and a naughty baby monkey shaking trees.
Nice
oranges from the trees laden with the fruit...we picked those on the ground
brought these home to Houston...quite sweet.
brought these home to Houston...quite sweet.
The
notice board gave fair warning; very happy to have finished the trek.
The only knock was by the nut that landed on the head --probably thrown by the baby monkey.
Triumphant after the trek--did it in 3 hours... the gate closed here as it was almost 5pm.
The only knock was by the nut that landed on the head --probably thrown by the baby monkey.
Triumphant after the trek--did it in 3 hours... the gate closed here as it was almost 5pm.
My stupid shoes were killing me. Son stumbled and the sole of his new shoe got damaged. His big toe was bleeding and I almost burst into tears at the sight of the blood! Guess the lack of adequate sleep and the long hikes in stupid shoes were catching up! But it had been such a huge privilege visiting such BEAUTIFUL places!
I sat at the train station trying to compose myself and son went to the nearby center. They washed and bandaged the toe with their Firstaid kit and he was alright. Really very nice people all round!!
We regrouped, caught the train and reached the entrance.
Caught the bus back as usual and got off at the Brazil border after the routine of stamping passport. Did not want to repeat previous day's mistake of going all the way to the town center.
I sat at the train station trying to compose myself and son went to the nearby center. They washed and bandaged the toe with their Firstaid kit and he was alright. Really very nice people all round!!
We regrouped, caught the train and reached the entrance.
Caught the bus back as usual and got off at the Brazil border after the routine of stamping passport. Did not want to repeat previous day's mistake of going all the way to the town center.
Our next day is posted here:
http://adventuretrav.blogspot.com/2017/02/brazilargentina-trip-report-day-8.html
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