Water, Water Everywhere

We flew from Rio on an internal Brazilian flight to Foz de Iguaçu, close to the border with Paraguay and Argentina.  The objective of the visit was to see Iguazu Falls, one of the natural wonders of the world.  The Falls are the widest set of waterfalls in the world and has one of the longest drops.  Í haven't been to Niagara but apparenty Iguazu makes it look like a leaking roof.

Our hotel was on the Argentinian side but having landed on the Brazilian side on a beautiful day we took a spur of the moment decision to visit the Brazilian national park that afternoon - a great decision because at the same time the next day there was a massive downpour.  The panoramic views get better and better as you go around and it is possible to get very close to one of the biggest falls on a precarious loking walkway, although you get pretty wet in the process.  It was a truly memorable afternoon.

We joined the same tour group again this morning and visited the Argentinian side.  Predictably the rivalry over who has the best national park is a bit like that between the national football teams.  We called it a draw - Argentina has 80% of the falls area but Brazil has the best views.  The things that Argentina does best is the walkways which take you right out under and over the main falls and the boat ride which we did in the afternoon. 

The ride is called "the Great Adventure" and we went out on a motor launch with around 30 other people towards the face of the two main falls.  They give you an opportunity to take photos from the boat really close to the water before they warn you to put your cameras away before they go closer.  And they get really close.  We had been warned that we would get wet and from our place near the back it was clear that those at the front would get really soaked as the launch approached the wall of falling water.  However just to make sure that we all benefitted from the experience the captain kindly turned the boat around and reversed into the waterfall.  It was a great experience and absolutely hilarious being in the spray of a huge waterfall only a few feet from where the water was falling - trying to admire this majestic sight from close up while water comes at you as if out of a fire hose.

It is a long way to go to get here but really worth it.  It has also been nice to get over the border and be able to hold a conversation with the locals, for now we are in Spanish-speaking Argentina, home of the gauchos, the best beef in the world, tango and of course the legendary Diego Maradona.