Yesterday we purchased tickets for a 9:15 am jungle & boat ride on the lower Iguazu River. At 8:30 we meet Linda & Gordon in the lobby and walk over to the train center where we board the jungle vehicle and head out to the lower river.
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From the main, and only road of the Park, we turn off into the dense jungle hoping to spot a bit of wildlife. The ride to the riverside is only .3 miles from the main road, but because it's a preserve, we are required to travel slowly. Good idea, neither of us wanted those jungle vines to whip us in the face, even traveling at 25 mph.
At the end of the trail, we unload and decent 300 feet down a series of stairs to the dock where we're handed lifejackets and dry bags for our belongings. What have we gotten ourselves into? Prior to boarding the boat our lifejacket are given a final tug and checked for proper closure. Up the lower Iguazu river we head. The water is turbulent, but the jet boats are so powerful it feels as if we're skidding over the water surface.
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| Descending the stairs to the jet boat |
The boat first takes to Tres Mosqueteros Falls, three small falls between the Devel's Throat and San Martin, the two main falls of the river. From there we head a bit back down the river and turn into the little bay at the bottom of the San Martin waterfall. Here the boat idles while we're all allowed to take photos.
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| Strapped in and ready to go |
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Rough water, but a fairly smooth ride.
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San Martin Waterfall
Betty's shoes are in the dry bag and will remain dry!
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We then return to the bottom of the Tres Mosqueteros Falls. But we don't stop. Instead, the driver takes us under the falls to feel the power of the waterfalls! Our tour guide refers to this as our "baptism shower"! All I know is that the falling water feels hard as rocks as it hits our faces. Moving out of the waterfalls, we return down river and turn back toward the San Martin Falls to experience another "baptism show". This one is even more powerful than the first. The cascading water soaks us to the bone. Fortunately my shoes were tucked away in the dry bag. Tony's shoes, not so much! We are soaked from head to toe, and laughing hysterically. What an experience!
Tres Mosqueteros Falls
San Martin Falls
Finally the driver turns his boat full of very wet, but smiling passengers back to the river and we head back to the dock.
Back up the stairs, we wait for the next Jungle Bus, return to the Train station, and walk back to the hotel. Still soaked to the bone, we need to change our clothes before we head out to walk the the upper circuit of the Falls. By noon the four of us are heading down the trail from the hotel where we pick up the 1/2 mile pathway that views the falls from the top. Every turn in the trail reveals another beautiful vista and one is left speechless viewing God's beautiful creation. I think the photos will give you an idea of the beauty I'm trying to convey.
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| The edge of the Falls! |
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| The walk above the Falls. So beautiful and so many waterways converging. |
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| The Iguazu river waters building up speed as it heads to the edge! |
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| The lower Falls. You can see a boat from the tour we were on earlier this morning. |
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| Our first view of the Falls. |
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| Every corner we turn unveils another beautiful Vista |
We complete the circuit and head back to the hotel where we stop at the bar for a cold beer and a bite to eat. As we settle in Pat and Dean also return from a tour and join us. So glad these couples entered our lives. We enjoy their company, and it's going to be a great trip.
Exhausted, we retire early with plans to be up early. We still haven't done the lower circuit. Since our plane doesn't leave until 4:40 pm we'll have plenty of time to do it before we head to the airport.
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