Iguazu Falls

After the Pantanal, I had intended on entering Bolivia. But because Bolivia requires visas for American citizens, I was forced to take a long detour. (More on the visa issues and going to Bolivia in a later blog post.) The upside of the detour is that I was able to visit Iguazu Falls on the Brazil/Argentina/Paraguay borders.

Iguazu Falls is the largest waterfall system in the world. The Iguazu River flows through southern Brazil until it reaches the falls, where it tumbles over a series of columnar basalt over a length of 2.7 km (1.7 mi) in a series of steps of 35 to 40 m (115 to 130 ft) in height. Numerous islands divide the falls into many separate waterfalls. Only about 900 m of the 2.7 km length does not have water flowing over it. The falls is in the shape of a reverse "J" with most of the falls on the Argentinian side. I saw the falls from the Brazilian side, which, in my opinion, gave the best view of the cascades. You approach the falls along trails in the canyon until you reach a wonderful walkway that extends out over part of the falls (with plenty of spray to get you wet). I went in the morning when the rising sun backlights the falls resulting in a beautiful rainbow. It truely is a spectacular site.

In the afternoon I visited a wonderful bird park near the falls, maybe the best I've seen. And quite dedicated to the conservation and protection of birds. Wonderful to get up close to such beautiful creatures.

I stayed at a nice campground/hostel near the entrance to the Iguazu National Park, where I met a nice couple from Alaska, Craig and Summer. They have been in South America for a year and a half, mostly spending time skiing in Chile and Argentina. They gave me some great information about skiing, ski areas, backcountry skiing, camping, and some contacts. I also visited the local Jeep dealer to see about some service warnings. They were so nice. They took off the wheel and cleaned the brakes, which took care of the problem, at least for a while. And charged me nothing!