Another Amazing Experience

Sunday 25 February

Today we have had one of the most spectacular experiences during the whole of our adventure. But first the start of the day – we breakfasted in one of the large dining rooms – used for tour groups we suspect – on our own as none of the other tables were free or cleared. The food was fine – the usual scrambled egg but with bacon, cold cuts and cheese and a large selection of breads and cakes. Only the fruit was a bit naff – tinned pears, some sappy watermelon and papaya.

We had decided to take the small train from the nearby station – about half a kilometre from the hotel - out to the Devils Throat, as our first trip today. On our way along the paths, we met swathes of people coming in the opposite direction, obviously a train had recently arrived. When we got to the station we found we had to wait twenty minutes for the next train – although the queue was already nearly the length of the platform, several people wide. As we waited the number of people more than doubled and then the first train arrived – every seat taken – from Central Station, a couple of kilometres up the line. One train goes back and forth from Central, while the second goes back and forth to the Falls. Everyone got off and joined the back of our queue, now snaking back and forth the length of the platform three times! Five minutes later the second train arrived – it reminded me of a seaside train – perhaps the Dymchurch railway, but with an electric engine. There were lots of carriages, each divided into eight ‘compartments’ – no windows or doors, just rows of wooden slatted seats – which held four people on each side. It took about ten minutes to load everyone and then we were off, through the jungle, eventually traveling beside a wide brown river, meandering its ways to the Falls. We reached the end of the line in a little more than ten minutes and everyone decamped to the walkway stretching out over the river (Rio Igauzu Superior). The pathway, 1100 metres long, was a steel platform of mesh construction, about six feet above the river at the start, but gradually becoming ten and then twenty feet over the water. We made our way out, me marching ahead, and Colin doggedly walking behind, keeping his eyes ahead – he was determined to see the Falls as close as he could. He was very brave and after about fifteen minutes we reached the triangular platform right next to the Devils Throat, a massive cascade about 15 metres wide thundering in a white and brown foam over the lip of the cliffs, and down 50 metres to the rocks and river below. All around were other lesser waterfalls – some grouped together to look like one white curtain along the face of the cliff, while others were single streams. The spray rose in thick a white plume of mist high up into the sky (as we had see from our room) drenching all the spectators on the platform. Most people lined the rails in lines two and three deep, to capture the awesome sight. Colin got as far as the platform, but couldn’t stand at the rails where the sheer drop down was enormous – you couldn’t actually see the river below because of the rising spray. Several others were sitting away from the drop. I took lots of piccys on my camera – and used the video camera as well! – another first – doing my best to keep both dry (I couldn’t ruin another camera by letting the water in). I watched for a while and then retraced my way back with Colin – I think the return journey was a little easer for him. We caught the train back to the hotel stop, which also serves the high level walk.

As it was only just after 12.00 midday, we decided to follow this second track, that visited three other waterfalls – not so spectacular as the Devil’s Throat, but equally large drops to the river below. When leaving the train station and along the walkway we saw “coatis”, brown furry creatures from the raccoon family, with long pointy, slightly snub noses (useful for foraging amongst the leaves in the forest) and stripy tails. We had been told not to feed them, or eat in front of them, as they are known to be aggressive if they smell food. We saw the Bossetti, Adán and Eva waterfalls, the path following the cliff edge between each viewing platform. By the time we returned the sky, which had been blue and cloudless this morning, had clouded over to become dark grey and dull – although still very warm – so we decided to get some lunch at a nearby café before returning to the hotel to ready ourselves for our boat trip this afternoon – changing into swimwear and leaving behind everything except the small camera and our ponchos. We had only been back in our room a short while when there was a heavy shower, but all was dry again, by the time we went out again.

We had not been able to book on one of the afternoon’s regular hourly boat trips as they were all full, so we had been allocated to the 15.45 trip, riding on a huge overland truck (like the army use) through the forest first and then catching the boat traveling back up the river towards the Falls. We arrived at the pick-up station in plenty of time, and by 15.45 there were just six of us – the boats and trucks hold about 40 people. Our young lady guide told us about the jungle – a sub tropical rain forest with 30% of the trees being deciduous. This area does not have a wet and dry season like tropical rain forests, the rain is constant throughout the year, receiving about 200 mm in total. There is a winter season, when the daily temperature only reaches 10 – 12 degrees C, but at night there are about five times a year when the temperature plummets to 0 degrees C, and there is a frost on the ground. The trees here are not as tall as in the tropical jungles, and the canopies nowhere near as thick, so that there are lots of epiphytes growing where branches spread from the trunks, and smaller bushes and flowers growing at ground level. We were dropped off at the top of a series of steps, leading 200 metres down to the river, via a series of steps. Halfway down, we noticed a tree, grey and looking dead, with no leaves and very few branches, where a couple of toucans were perched. They really do have those large orange beaks and black eyes surrounded by a white face, and pearly black plumage. The two were joined by another two, and another and finally a last pair – so that in all eight were sitting on the bare branches, or fluttering backwards and forwards from the nearby trees. It was fascinating and we could have stayed watching for a long time, but the boat was waiting.

At the small pier, at the bottom of the steps, a large red speedboat (like an overgrown inflatable) awaited us and we clambered aboard, stripped off our tops and shoes and donned red boxy life jackets. The crew supplied each of us with large green rubber heavy duty bags to keep our belongings dry. We stowed our clothes but cameras would have to wait till we were a little closer to the Falls. We all took photos, looking completely un-beautiful in life jackets. The crew included a man in a black rubber anorak and trousers, who wielded a large black case containing a movie camera. He took a sweep of the boat, before we set off up the river at high speed, crashing through eddies and waves, weaving back and forth across the width of the river. We reached the first Fall and put away our cameras, before we traveled nearer to the side bank, so we were splashed. The driver then sped off further up the river to the main Falls area and took us in towards the three waterfalls we had visited earlier. The largest – Eva – was surging over the cliff and down towards us as we edged ever closer, under the flow. It surged in spurts and we hardly had time to open our eyes before the next wave crashed over us. We were completely drenched, but the view was magnificent – this huge torrent of tumbling water falling from the sky all over us – it gives a new meaning to “power showers”. We turned round leaning the boat to first one side and then the other, to venture down the channel near to the Devils Throat. We bumped as the bottom of the boat jumped over rocks, and skimmed the fast flowing water, going really close to yet more waterfalls, before we reached the zenith of the trip – we were under the misty spray of the huge waterfall, still about 20 metres from the cliff, but the rocky bottom of the river and the sheer force of the water prevented us getting any closer – but we showered yet again by the concentrated water droplets hanging in the air. The boat pitched from side to side as the driver held the boat under the cloud. After what seemed a considerable time - but in fact was probably only a minute or so - we sped off again, to two smaller waterfalls on the side cliff of San Martin Island which separates the two areas of the Falls, where once again the driver nosed the front of the boat into the cliff face. We had yet another drenching, but everyone was laughing and screaming as the water washed over them. The whole time the photographer had been videoing our reactions. We felt quite chilled as we returned to the shore where a long line of people were queuing up the side of the cliffs, waiting for their ride. The sky was still overcast, and although it had been warm under the waterfalls, the breeze felt cool and our bodies chilled, probably because we were so wet. Before we clambered ashore the photographer informed us we could purchase DVDs of our afternoon’s adventure. It had been such an exciting experience, so we had to have a memento. We removed our life jackets and put on shoes and tops before making our way up the cliff path, back to the hotel. We actually got lost on the way, as it wasn’t clearly signposted, but we eventually arrived back in our room just before 18.00 – just time to shower and dry out, before drinks and dinner – after last night’s fiasco, we had booked a table for 19.30. We felt really buoyant about our trip – it was definitely one of the highlights of our whole adventure – perhaps because we hadn’t been expecting it to be so exciting. Iguazu Falls has definitely lived up to all we had heard about it before we left home - it was just incredible, and we are looking forward to watching the DVD, which probably will not be till we get to Rio.

We arrived in the lounge and met Monica for a couple of drinks, before making our way downstairs to the restaurant, which seemed very full. The waiter could not find our reservation and proceeded to inform us that there wasn’t a table available at present. Colin was very annoyed as we had specifically made a reservation to avoid just that, and we asked to speak to the Manager, who we had spoken with earlier. A waitress came to help, but still insisted there was not table free, and they couldn’t find our reservation. We kept insisting that we speak to the Manager, who we could see helping to serve at tables. Finally, the young lady decided we could sit at a free table (they had previously told us it was reserved), and were immediately brought “pisco sours” while we chose our menu. I selected sirloin steak – third time lucky – with salad, while Colin chose the gigot and rack of lamb. We all shared Monica’s “papas frittes” – Colin has been having withdrawal symptoms for chips these past few days, so hopefully he will feel better now. We had a bottle of white wine, and the waiter brought the three of us glasses of champagne! Not sure why – perhaps they found our original booking. Monica didn’t want her’s so I ended up with two glasses of fizz! By the time we went to bed, I was feeling distinctly winey, which probably accounted for an excellent night’s sleep.