Thursday, December 4, 2014

Iguazú Falls, day one: Argentinian side


It is the morning of our second day here in Puerto Iguazú. Johann just walked over to the bus terminal to get the tickets for today's trip, the Brazilian side of the Iguazú falls, a 'must', supposedly, to get a complete impression of these mighty waterfalls. The bus leaves in an hour and a half, so I have some time to write for a while.



Yesterday, we boarded an early bus to visit the Argentinean side, a wise decision, as it turned out. Like at any major tourist attraction bus loads of people descend on the place every day, and it was nice to have a quiet start to get a feel for the place.




But how to describe such magnificence? It seems impossible in the face of wall after wall of water stretching far into the distance, the force of it making the ground tremble under my feet when I stand on one of the many bridges allowing so close an encounter that it takes but a minute to be drenched. Eternal mist from the spray rises from the bottom of the falls, enhancing the feeling that this is the gate into a mythical world – or the wall separating me from it.



Gazing at this one can almost forget the presence of so many other people vying for the best spot to take a photo or have their photo taken, but whenever we turn from a viewing platform to enter a walkway to another one the shoving begins again. The few restaurants and rest areas spaced strategically along the way draw the biggest crowds. Coatis, small, omnivorous animals with ringed tails, related to the raccoon, but diurnal,not nocturnal, have long figured out the best place to scavenge food, and are, of course, popular subjects for photographers. Signs warn of their aggressive behaviour, however: too familiar by now with humans they don't hesitate to use sharp teeth and claws to get what they want, and ugly injuries can result. We encounter a huge family group on one of the quieter paths through the forest: two adults and about ten cute youngsters root around in the leaf litter, the babies playing and rolling around while the parents look for food more seriously. It seems impossible that all these babies belong to one family, and now I just read that females and their offspring live together in family groups, during mating season sometimes joined by a male for a while. 

 It is now Thursday, December 4, and we'll be packing up for a new leg of the journey soon. We'll take a bus to Ciudad del Este, right across the border in Paraguay, and will find another bus to Asunçion, the capital, where we'll stay for the next couple of nights.

There is still a bit of time, however, so I will finish at least the report about the first day in Iguazú.


After walking the different trails – paved and well maintained – with the many bridges allowing different views of the many parts of the falls on the Argentinian side, we spent part of the afternoon walking a much less crowded path through the forest, with a small waterfall at its end. Here, I could enjoy the other aspect of this area: the verdant lushness of the rainforest. So many shades of green, so many different shapes and textures of leaves, so many degrees of light and shade!


 Far from the roar of the falls this is a quiet world where the incessant shrill of insect voices surpasses all other noise. Its beauty is not as immediately obvious, but there is a lot to see here, too.




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