Playing in the rainIt rained ALL day today. Not drizzly rain. POURING rain.
So we got to the park and walked around for about 20 mins. We came to a little café / gift shop and decided to buy ponchos like smart girls. They were essentially white garbage bags with hoods. White, pointy hoods. Yes. But hey – we were at least mostly dry.
The rain made it really hard to take pictures, because our cameras were getting soaked every time we took them out, so there aren’t nearly as many pictures from today as I wanted to take! I did manage to get a few of the scenery, but a photo could never capture the feeling of standing in front of such a huge and wonderful sight.
According to the tourism website: “Strung out along the rim of a crescent-shaped cliff about 2.5 miles long, some 275 individual cascades and waterfalls plummet up to 269 feet into the gorge below. The thunderous roaring can be heard from miles away. Smaller waterfalls litter the scenery of the hiking trails in Iguazú National Park.”
We hiked the other half of the lower trail first – it was the other half of the loop that we used to get back yesterday. However, today we had a MAP! And it was a wonderful thing. Hahaha We saw a lot of gorgeous waterfalls and also just nice jungle scenery. It was so nice to be warm in the rain!
At the bottom of the lower trail, there’s a landing dock – the same one we used to land our “Gran Aventura” boat yesterday – that has a ferry that goes across to this tiny little island. The trail on the island was steep and full of slick rock stairs... We were not enjoying it. But as we got closer to the top, we started hearing the white noise roar that meant huge waterfalls. We turned a corner and walked out onto a balcony in front of the most amazing waterfalls I have ever seen in my life.
The "worth it" viewOn the left was a short, wide waterfall that poured into foam and rapids at the bottom. The panorama continued with smaller to medium waterfalls, long and tall dropping into a canyon. It was, quite literally, awe-inspiring. That was what we called the “worth it” view.
Then we hiked back down the island trail, took the ferry across, hiked back up the lower trail and hiked the upper trail over to another activity center. On the way, we hiked past “La Garganta del Diablo” – I think it’s the most famous single waterfall in the park. It was a huge, roaring cascade that sent mountains of spray up into the air (think very hazy pictures). We also got to see the black swallows, the park’s signature bird – they live on the rocks behind the falls and come out to play in the spray! If you look VERY closely in my Garganta del Diablo picture called “GORGEOUS! (See the bird?)” there is a black swallow in the lower left-hand corner. There was a whole swarm of them flying around but I only got one in the picture.
Then we went to the activity center and did the “Paseo Ecologico” – Nature Ride. On another boat. The guide was really great... He saw all kinds of things that I never would have noticed! We also got within barely a few feet of a crocodile. That was kind of creepy. I was on the other side of the boat, so it was okay, but Jess and Mary probably could have put out their hand and touched it we were so close. We also got to see a few smaller crocodiles, frogs that looked like tree branches, lots of birds (including real toucans!) and of course, my favorite, bugs.
El cocodrilo!When we finished the boat ride, we took the Jungle Train (gas-powered and ecologically friendly) back to the information center. Of course we had to walk through the artisan fair on the way out! I found some really cool gifts though. They are all hand-made by Guaraní indians that live on government land near the falls.
Then we went back to the hostel. Mary and Allyson decided to go get massages at the Jungle Spa across the street, while Jess and I chose a two-hour cabalgata! It was the best cabalgata experience I’ve had thus far. Our guide was a half Guaraní half Paraguayan in his early twenties named Jorge. We went on a trail ride in the subtropical forest, with him pointing out vegetation and telling us more about the local culture. Then we stopped in a clearing and he demonstrated some Guaraní animal traps – and a rope swing! We played on that for a while, and then continued the trail. We ended up passing by a Guaraní village in the middle of the jungle.
Then the real adventure began. We were coming down a red mud trail when Jessica’s horse slipped and fell... So she skidded off face-first. However, everyone was fine. She just let it happen instead of jerking back on the reins, so her horse just slid onto his front knees and then got back up. She slid off and was a little dirty, but her horse was already on the ground when she fell so she didn’t hurt herself. Jorge knew one of the Guaraní families, so we stopped at their house and Jessica washed up. We both bought some jewelry and wanted to take two of the little girls home with us.
The Guaraní still live on government land near their ancestral home above the Iguazú Falls. It is forbidden for a Guaraní to marry someone who is not Guaraní. (Jorge’s mom is not considered to be Guaraní anymore by her tribe because she married a Paraguayan. And even though Jorge is half Guaraní they don’t consider him either.) Between the ages of 11 and 14, the girls of the tribe have the right to pick their husband. They go tell the chief (cachací) their decision, and the boy can’t say no. Within their first year of marriage, they are expected to have their first baby. A typical family has at least 9 children. They are a very closed culture, so not a lot is known about them. They have their own (beautiful) language – we learned how to say “hello” – but most of them also speak Spanish now. The culture is really interesting!
Anyway, then we finished the cabalgata and went back to the hostel for an asado. Yummy! They had some Brazilian folk dancers come and dance, and they taught us a few dances too. Then we all hung out by the pool and talked. Finally we took showers and went to bed.
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