Today we visited the Argentinian side of the falls, which were beautiful but not as impressive as the Brazilian side. The walkway to get the best views went on forever and of course the heat and humidity was still very high.
Most everyone stayed after for an optional tour that went under the falls, but there were restrictions that Jon told us about so Allan and I opted out. I also didn’t want to get drenched and have wet clothes to deal with for the trip home.
We took a cab back to the hotel and had a light lunch and then napped for a bit. We had the farewell dinner which was empanadas and steak and then tomorrow we leave for our flight to Buenos Aires in the morning.
Activity Note: Today’s excursion involves hiking through jungle over uneven terrain. Some agility is required inorder to participate. Temperatures in Iguassu can be over 90 degrees with 90% humidity
This morning after breakfast, we rode in our bus to the Rio de la Plata basin’s verdant forest to visit a Guaraní community, where I hoped to learn about this native South American culture. We had to cover ourselves in insect spray since the mosquitos are abundant and we also had to be liberal with the suntan lotion.
According to our guide book… “The largest population of Guaraní people can be found in Paraguay, but they also live in Argentina, Brazil, and Bolivia. Today, you’ll discover their use of medicinal herbs, handmade crafts, and commonly grown crops, including corn and sweet potatoes.”
The Indigenous Guarani in Argentina fight to protect their ancestral lands from illegal logging and government neglect. They have electricity and cell phones and the children go to school. They are happy with the simple life that they lead. The community was similar to the one we saw in the Amazon, but the Amazon people did not have as much in the way of electricity, etc. as this tribe had.
Some of the people on our trip started with colds and coughs about a week ago and guess what…the past few days I’ve been battling bronchitis which I always seem to come down with. I have medication that has been keeping the cough at bay, but I haven’t had much of an appetite. Didn’t eat the fish last night and the eggs this morning weren’t very palatable.
So….While in the jungle, I really felt like I was going to pass out, so Jon was very attentive and spoke to the man who drove us into the jungle by truck. Jon insisted I ride up front with the driver and so the driver took me back to the Biocentro where everyone would be meeting for lunch. Jon stayed with the group, but he arranged for me to use the driver’s cell phone to call him if I needed more help. Poor Allan didn’t know I was not coming back, otherwise of course he would have gone with me. Things had happened so quickly… I was in the jeep before I knew it, so I couldn’t let him know. Jon told him what had transpired, so Allan felt a bit better although he was still worried. I tried texting him, but he didn’t get the text until we reunited for lunch.
I drank a lot of ice water at the restaurant and felt much better, and finally, everyone from the group returned and we had lunch. I had empanadas and some other foods that I didn’t know what they were, but they were very good. One of the empanadas was made from the same fish that we had last night, so I passed that over to Allan after tasting it. Too fishy!
We then walked through a tropical garden with gorgeous orchids blooming everywhere, and then we went into the butterfly garden with beautiful butterflies flitting all around.
In the afternoon, we all rode the bus back to the hotel because everything closes down in the heat of the afternoon.
Some folks went swimming in the hotel pool when we returned. I came back to our room and took a nap.
We walked to a place for dinner, stopping to take a picture of where the borders of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay meet. I still wasn’t overly hungry so I ordered a burger. It was HUGE and I could barely eat half of it. Allan ordered a Malbec and it came overly warm…almost hot, so that wasn’t enjoyable for him.
We get up very early tomorrow to be on the bus by 7:15.
Buenos noches.
In the tropical garden
Lunch. The square on top of the piece of cheese is sweetened tree bark.
Butterfly garden
Our jungle truck
The man from the Guaraní community who spoke with us about his culture.
This was offered at breakfast this morning which is a staple in the area.
The road we took in the jeep thru the jungle
Some more pics from yesterday. Birds enjoying the spray
This morning after breakfast, we boarded the bus for an hour and a 1/2 ride to hike in the national park. We were all dressed warmly as we embarked on the hike and it was a perfect day, beautifully sunny with no wind. The hike was about 2.5 miles on a narrow path with some steep inclines.
Our local guide said that you can only see the tops of the mountains maybe 25 days out of the year. We are so lucky that today…not a cloud was nearby and we could see the mountains in their entirety.
I told Jon… that’s because of Allan and me. When we were in Alaska, Denali became visible and the guide had said it never happens. In Africa, we saw Mt Kilimanjaro… Again, a rare occurrence. And once again in Japan…Mt Fugi was cloud free. I said to Jon… So we have brought the cloudless mountains to you. You’re welcome! 😂
The mountains are beautiful and the photos don’t do them justice. You feel so insignificant standing and gazing up at the snow covered peaks. At one point, Our guide Jon had us find a private spot and we had some moments of silence as we let the magnificence of the mountains surround us as well as our thoughts.
We learned that the Patagonian ice field is the largest mass of ice in the Southern Hemisphere outside Antarctica. The ice is locked up in the spine of the Andes, with glaciers flowing into Chile’s jagged fjords on its western side and into a network of gigantic lakes on its eastern Argentinian side.
We enjoyed a box lunch, sitting outside right by a lake. The lakes are different shades of blue and gray and so very peaceful.
We had a quick stop back at the hotel and then it was off for a three mile hike. Everything started out okay, as we tramped through foliage on a narrow path, but then we had to cross a sandy pebble beach. The wind was horrific although Jon our guide said, “Today was nothing! It can get much worse!” I’m not sure how, since the wind was kicking up the pebbles and giving me an exfoliant facial. Allan and I got about 3/4’s of the way across the sand to the island and I decided… enough is enough. We turned back and the wind was now right in our faces. Sometimes we could hardly keep walking the wind was so strong.
Some of the others in our group had turned around before they even started across the sand. Walking in sand is not easy and with the wind… It wasn’t fun.
We had dinner and then a few of us went for after-dinner drinks. It was a fun evening.
Tomorrow is another busy day.
Our hotel.
On the way to our morning hike.
Hiking along the narrow path
What a gorgeous day!!!
Made it to the end
Picnic lunch at the lake.
We crossed this sandy beach. The wind was whipping and it wasn’t great fun.
