Iguazu falls--The Second Wonder of the World

December 12-16, 1999

Pit-vipers, capuchin monkeys, toucans, coatimundis, armadillos, tree anteaters, tapirs and jaguars.

Iguazu Falls has them all, and more, and we hoped we would see some--but not all of them-- when we got to our destination, a five-day visit to this great natural wonder, and we weren't disappointed!

Iguazu Falls is classified as the Second Wonder of the World in the World Heritage  list of the 100 top sites.  To get there, we flew from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, changed planes in Sao Paulo and landed in Iguazu by lunchtime.  By the time we got to the Sheraton International Iguazu Hotel, traveling, the heat (about 90 degrees Fahrenheit) and humidity had taken its toll.  We were exhausted!  But one look at our living quarters for the next five days and immediately we were renewed and ready to roll..  The Sheraton Hotel was beautiful, clean, spacious, AIR CONDITIONED, was within walking distance of the falls, and each room had a balcony with a spectacular view facing Devils' Throat.

We dumped our luggage and were on our way to the most incredible set of adventures viewing a natural wonder that I may ever be privileged to enjoy first-hand.

Iguazu Falls is located in a national park on the Brazilian-Argentine border, 19 kilometers upstream from the confluence of the Iguazu and the Alto Parana rivers.  Paraguay is just an international bridge away. The falls are the most overwhelming falls in South America, and perhaps in the world.  The main falls are 20 meters (look up how many feet that is) higher than Niagara and about half as wide again.  (I learned later that the name Rio Iguazu is Guarani for big and I is Guarani for water). The Rio Iguazu receives the waters of some 30 rivers as it crosses the Brazilian plateau.

Approaching Devil's Throat

The Gargantua del Diablo--  Devil's Throat,  the most spectacular of the falls, is located on the Argentinean side. This massive roaring mountain of cascading water was to be our first clear view of the falls. We were to have many other perspectives but nothing had prepared us for the massive bodies of cascading waters we would see everywhere we looked over the next several days.

The river contains many little islands, scattered over a width in some places of three miles. Rapids race over and around the jutting black rocks for about 3 miles, and suddenly tumble over a huge precipice  and down through a perpetual cloud of mist.  In a miracle of nature, when the sun
is out, it creates spectacularly  brilliant rainbows.  We saw many from our balcony and came upon others  from many other scenic vistas.

The falls plunge down in many separate cascades-- 275  in all. Viewing it from head on, you see multiple falls. They extend in a huge arc 1.8 miles across.  At the bottom of many of these falls, the waters tumble in a setting of begonias, orchids, fern and palms.  Many animals--toucans, flocks of parrots and cacique birds, are hidden in the trees, and  the ubiquitous swifts that dodge in and out of the cascades literally make their nests in the basalt rock behind the showers and mist of Iguazu.

We watched in fascination as hundreds of these small black birds careened through the mist and suddenly changed course to dart  without effort  through the waterfalls to settle safely in nests behind the falls. Many brilliantly hued butterflies-from  the more than 500 different species found in Iguazu--also hovered near the falls and within the national forest that we were to visit later.

The first European  to stumble upon this natural wonder was the Spaniard  Cabeza de Vaca in 1541. We could almost imagine his astonishment as he discovered these massive falls in his voyage westward. His wonder could not have exceeded ours.

Devil's Throat, the most massive of the falls,  would give us our first close dramatic view. To do this we  had to hop into small motorized boats for a choppy  ride to the middle of the river. As we bumped along toward the small landing on a tiny island almost hidden in the mist, I watched one of the boatmen steer while sipping mate --an ubiquitous drink in the region. He drank it by sucking on a long silver straw spoon punctured with holes. In my broken Spanish,  I asked if this was indeed mate, and he immediately offered me a taste.  After my inquiry, I couldn't refuse;  I took a swig --- it tasted bitter like a green tea without sugar.  Gallantly, I passed the cup around to the adventurous few  who wanted a taste. They weren't pleased with the taste either-but later on several people bought their own supply to take home. He explained (en Espanol) that mate could make you relaxed and
sleepy, but I didn't notice anyone dozing off.

Our water-world journey was just beginning.
     
We disembarked on a small grassy island and  began to tread carefully over a series of slippery metal catwalks.  Making our way far out into the river, we paused frequently to  pop out our cameras from  zip lock bags and snap photos quickly to protect them from the heavy mist.   These metal catwalks have been  damaged and sometimes partially washed away by floods. The last major flood occurred in 1986, and we were to se the results of these disastrous floods several times over the next few days.

At the end of the catwalk, suddenly a chasm of falling water appeared before us. It was Devil's Throat, and I have never seen such a huge volume of roaring water. It was late afternoon, when the light is best, and we marveled at the massive cascading falls.

Through the mist we watched  as swifts dove through the air, sometimes straight down, and sometimes heading directly toward the basalt face of the rock behind the falls.  "They were just going home," according to our guide Gabriel.  He told us a romantic Guarani legend of the falls-a tale of an Indian maiden and her unrequited love where two lovers reunite forever at each end of the rainbow that appears each time the sun shines on this spot. You can almost hear the roar of the Devil's Throat, like a devil singing, according to the Guarani legend.

It was hard to tear ourselves away from this  panoramic view of the falls, but we knew even more spectacular vistas were awaiting us the next day.
On Tuesday we got an early start for hard day's trek down to the bottom of the trail; this event was described, rather accurately by World Cruise literature as our Lower Circuit Zodiac "Great Adventure Tour." Our guide Gabriel led us out the back door of the hotel,  down a  forest trail, and we were on our walk into the gorge. Soon, the path became a series of slippery metal and wooden steps with bridges and lookout points jutting out over myriad waterfalls.  The  brilliant sun was obscured on and off by cool mists as the trail descended deeper and deeper.  Around each bend, we
might encounter yet another short bridge, another set of steep steps , or another dramatic vista of water tumbling over huge rocks on the way hundreds of feet down into the gorge.

Here and there, monkeys, lizards, and coatimundi appeared and disappeared;  birds of the tropics could be heard high up in the trees, and brilliantly colored butterflies flitted in and out and through the dense growth and up into the dense canopy of green overhead.

In my journal I wrote, "This is perhaps the most perfect day I could imagine."

Finally, the precipitous steps of the trail ended at the river's edge where zodiac boats were tied to a small dock.. We  pulled out raingear we had stuffed into backpacks, in  anticipation of the watery ride ahead, and guides placed about 12 people in each zodiac. Fortunately, I had run back into the hotel to take off  hiking sandals in favor of trekking sneakers after I heard one of my women colleagues  suddenly screech when she saw ants climbing all over her legs as she stood alongside the trail. I didn't want my shoes to get wet.

What a  roller coaster ride we had!  We sped through the waves into and under the falls, back and forth several times. Droplets of water filled the air and  sprayed all over, drenching us as  the zodiacs raced through the falls, darting in and out and returning to soak us again. When we were thoroughly drenched, we headed into the rapids and down the wide river, which at some points was 250 feet deep. Several miles down river we  reached our destination, a steep stair step climb back up to the top of the canyon. Steps and more steps; somebody counted 240. One woman felt she was having a heart attack because of the heat and the climb; we worried how we might have to get her out of this isolated place  as we kept climbing.  Luckily, she recovered enough to make it on her own after awhile.  At the top we saw two four wheel drives with open air benches-- what I would call safari trucks.  They were waiting  to haul us through the nature preserve, the next leg of the trip, and back to civilization.  I can't say we were happy to leave. It was some kind of paradise-if you had on plenty of Off or Cutters.

That night we went to a Brazilian restaurant to have dinner and dance to  throbbing Latin American rhythms-- tangos, meringues, rhumbas  and Jingle Bells in samba time!  It was summer  in Brazil, and Christmas music interspersed with the Peruvian, Brazilian, Argentinean marimbas, drums, and flutes didn't seem real.  We ate and danced far into the night. And so did the seventh grade graduating class  sitting near us and celebrating the end of the school year.

The Guarani Indian village

What a change!  We rode into a Guarani Indian village to learn more about their culture.  Since childhood I had wanted to do this.  Requesting that we observe silence in order to listen to the sounds of the forest, a Guarani guide and  a Spanish speaking translator accompanied us in groups of 10 as we walked quietly along a narrow  trail through the tropical forest. We stopped periodically to learn about armadillo, wild boar and anteater traps of the Guarani.  The highlight of the morning came when a dozen Guarani children, all about six years old, appeared in a clearing.  They sang songs of their culture, accompanied by the thumping of six- inch wide sticks of bamboo that they beat in time to their songs.

Appearing much the same as they did in the movie, "The Mission" that I had seen on the ship only days before, they wanted no money and wished only to share their cultural heritage.  

The next day the trip to Iguazu Falls ended. To get back to the ship, we got up at 3 a.m. for breakfast, boarded a plane at 4:30 a.m. and after a stop in Sao Paulo, and rejoined Ocean Explorer I, in Buenos Aires.

This had to be one of the most special experiences of my life,  one I will never forget.  I hope that someday I can return to Iguazu Falls to share this magnificent natural wonder with my family.