Up Close in Iguazu Falls

Day 7: Buenos Aires to Iguazu Falls

We had a noon flight which entailed me having to wake up Taylor early. Waking Tay up in the morning is akin to awakening a bear in hybernation. You do it slowly and gently, being ready to retreat if he lashes out. I do not converse with Taylor in the morning. This is is a complete challenge for me as I am one of those cheery, talkative morning people. On the other hand, Taylor is a night owl, slow to wake up but then raring to go until the wee hours of the morning, while I am pretty much asleep at 10 p.m.

The only time our internal clocks ever synchronized was when Taylor worked nights. He would come home at 6 a.m., which after a night of working to him was just very late. Having just woken up after a full night's sleep, it was very early to me. So we were both in a good mood while I fixed him breakfast.

This morning, we caught a cab to the domestic airport, a quick 15 minute ride. We walked up to the Lan counter where the agent looked only at our passports before giving us boarding passes. Waiting to board, we ate breakfast at an airport cafe (mediuluna for me and hamon y questo tostitos for Taylor). I noticed that the rule about leisurely service in Argentina is apparently suspended for airports. They brought the check with the meal.

At the gate, we were boarded into a bus which literally drove us 50 feet before disembarking us in front of the plane. The last flight I took on Lan, two years ago from Cuzco to Lima, the monitor had a hidden camera show involving people dressed in gorilla suits. This flight, I watched another hidden camera show involving people in gorilla suits. In fact, if I EVER encounter a real gorilla in South America, I will probably be killed looking for the hidden camera.

On the one hour flight, passengers were provided with two drink services and a box of snacks with three items. As it was still the middle of the night to Taylor, he slept the entire flight. When we landed, I saw that official signs showed the taxi prices to various hotels. We walked to the taxi stand and ordered the 70 peso trip to the Sheraton. A guy standing beside the table walked us outside to his car, and we were off.

The Sheraton, about 20 minutes away, is the only hotel inside the park on the Argentine side. (Americans need a visa for the Brazilian side.) I was not too impressed because it looked like a 1960s motel. (For this I was paying $275 a night?) We walked inside and saw of wall of windows overlooking the falls. Okay, for THIS I was paying $275 a night. Our room had a view of both sets of falls (the Argentine and Brazilian sides) as promised, but only if you stood in the corner of the balcony. The rest of the window had a view of a large tree. I had paid extra for a room with a view, and I didn't count the view of the tree. I marched down to the front desk and got a room with an unobstructed view.

In the lobby I booked Tay and I on the last boat tour of the day. The agent gave us a brochure marked with the meeting place and told us, "You will get wet."

But first, Tay and I walked over to the trail along the upper falls. The upper falls trail went along the top of the falls, offering really breathtaking views. Actually this park had plenty of amazing falls. There were breathtaking views from everywhere. (And me with no camera!) Along the way, Tay and I watched as a bunch of animals crossed the path in front of us. They looked liked anteaters to me, but we later learned they were some kind of local raccoon.

After our scenic hike, we walked over to the meeting point. There we were loaded into a huge open air-truck with bench seat for the first portion of our trip, the nature jaunt through the forrest. This truck was so noisy that any wildlife could hear us coming from miles away. We finally arrived at the embarkation point, and we walked down to the river. On the way down, we passed a group of young Americans who were taking a break from their whitewater rafting trip. As our obviously tourist group filed past them, I couldn't help thinking, "I'm in the wrong group. I'm supposed to be with the adventurous people, not the tourists!"

At the river, the tour guide loaded us up in a large inflatable boat. We all donned life jackets and put the rest of our belongings in waterproof bag. Some of the other tourists put on rain ponchos they'd brought.
I was excited to see a lot of great rapids ahead of us, but the boat driver took great pains to drive us AROUND the rapids. I almost groaned. Rapids are the fun part. People pay a lot of money of money to go through rapids. Here they were in front of us, and we were driving around them?

After about a ten minute boat ride with minimal rapid contact, we arrived at the base of one of the falls. I had thought the top of the falls were an amazing vantage point, but the bottom of the falls were even better.

We had been told that we would get wet. I'm not afraid of a little water. I've taken the log ride at Six Flags. I've seen the front rows splashed by Shamu at SeaWorld. But I was totally unprepared when the boat took us directly under the raging water fall. Taylor and I were instantly soaked as if someone had poured barrels and barrels of water directly on top of us. As the boat pulled back from the falls, Tay and I were shouting with laughter at the shock. Every part of me, from my hair to the underwear under my clothes, was wringing wet. I was still wiping the water out of my eyes, when the boat driver took us back under the falls for another round.

After that, they drove us to another falls where we had another bracing shower. I was beginning to feel like a wet rat someone was trying to drown. Finally, we disembarked. In the watery confusion, Taylor and I got separated from the group. It was about a 20 minute walk back up to the Sheraton, and I went "squish, squish, squish" every step of the way. My neck and shoulders were beginning to ache from involuntarily trying to wretch away from the downpour.

Back at the hotel, I took a hot shower and wrang the water out of my still-dripping clothes. I collapsed on my bed, under the covers. I refused to leave the room so Tay ordered room service for dinner and we ended up watching reruns of Monk that night, trying to recuperate.

Iguazu Falls is lovely, but I don't recommend it at such close range.