Return to Iguazu

  Since two full days of waterfalls were not enough, we headed back to the Argentinean side of the park on Friday.  To get to the park, we were planning on taking the bus.  However, a taxi driver pulled up and asked if 4 of us wanted to go to the park for the same rate/person as the bus.  Another We took him up on it with another Argentinean couple.  We ended up getting to the park about 30 minutes early, and found ourselves in the same situations as the day before when we were on the Brazilian side of the park... on the first Train in!!!

  We took the train to Karen's favorite spot in the park: Devil's Throat.  It's also located the furthest from the entrance, so it takes a good hour or so for people who go on foot to arrive.  Our train included LOTS of large organized tour groups with guides.  I guess this is the professional strategy to enjoying the park. 

  Many people don't recommend going to Devil's Throat in the early am since the sun is rising overhead and adds a lot of glare to the view.  We had already been in the afternoon and were more interested in seeing the falls with less people around.  (It does feel a bit like Disneyland or a concert when you walk around in the afternoon... and we're not even here during peak season!)  Looking at the falls without sunglasses for more than a minute was definitely a strain on the eyes, but with sunglasses on it was no problem.  Despite the glare, the falls were *beautiful*.

Devil's Throat by Morning

On the train ride back to the other trail heads in the park, we saw a pack of about 7 Coatíes aggressively searching/begging for food among the tourists.  They are pretty cute.

Coatíes can climb trees :0

  Next up, we headed to the only trail in the park that does not include a view of the waterfalls.  Why!?  For good wildlife viewing!  The Macuco Trail is a 3.5km walk through a less developed section of the park.  On a good day, you're supposed to be able to catch a glimpse of monkeys.  On the way out, we walked *really slowly* and really quietly to see what we could.  Unfortunately, we didn't see monkeys, but we did see dozens of neat birds, insects, including GIANT ants and a grasshopper-ish critter that looked like a leaf, and even some small mammals, including a mouse-sized possum and carpincho.  

Note we didn't take any of these animal photos (we were too busy looking)... they're all from the internet.

The Acari Toucan

A Carpincho- these were particularly loud when walking through the forest.  We picked the photo with the foot to show its size.  Too big to be a guinea pig and too small to be a capybara.  It was a bit sad that when a helicopter tour passed overhead, the sound really freaked out the one we were watching.  The helicopter tours pass every half hour :/

We also saw this small (mouse-sized) species of opossum. They have semi-prehensile tails and the one we saw was gathering a bunch of small sticks and holding them in its tail.

  Overall, we spent a good two hours making our way through the trail one way.  The trail ends with a little waterfall and a watering hole, where many people swim even though it is prohibited.  Right around then thunder, lightening, and rain started to come down pretty strong.  Many people did not get out of the watering hole!?  We made a beeline back along the trail to seek cover out of the forest.  It took us a solid hour and we got soaked.  Since it's so hot out, the rain was actually refreshing.  Unfortunately, no time for nature-watching on this leg.

  Given the success of yesterday's buffet, and our exhaustion, we did the easiest thing for lunch which was the buffet on the Argentinean side of the park.  It featured a tasty parrillada of assorted meats and a bar of other dishes.  Definitely not as good as the Brazilian buffet, but it hit the spot.

  We wrapped up the day with the Lower Circuit loop, which gives you a good panorama view of the falls.  It was fun to watch the boats approach the falls from this vantage point.

The boat in front of San Martin island, between the two main sides of the falls.

Approaching the falls.

In the falls!  (Squint into the mist.)

  We definitely enjoyed the Lower Circuit- it gave us a good look at lots of the smaller waterfalls which are densely packed along the Argentinean side of the park.  We hadn't appreciated how many there were before this, since many are hidden from the other trails in the park.

  Overall, today was our longest walking day!  Approx. 14km or 9 miles in total.  Whew!  Back in town we treated ourselves to Dulce de Leche ice cream, and perused an upscale wine store before passing out.