January 23 was a bit of a lost day. Most of our group set off on a (very) early morning excursion to see the hot spring on top of some 17,000ft mountain. They set off at 5am but had to return because the road had been washed out due to the heavy rains a couple of nights before. Frustrated, they opted for a tour of the Moon Valley nearby.
The next day we were to depart Atacama to go to Iguacu. It was an early morning departure for the 2 hour drive back to Calama to catch our jet. When we arrived at the airport there was nobody there to meet us. With a mountain of luggage piled up on the pavement outside, we went off to find someone who could help. Carol finally tracked down the right person and we were escorted through the usual immigration, security, passport control we had become used to along the way. On this flight we were treated to some more spectacular scenery along the way.
Iguacu falls, by any measure, is one of the great waterfall sights of the World. It’s a must-see on any South America tour. The falls themselves form the boundary between Argentina and Brazil to it’s a toss-up which country you choose to view them from. For a variety of reasons, we chose both. We landed on the Argentinian side late in the morning. After the usual formalities we were taken to a local Marriott hotel for lunch. From there we spent the afternoon viewing the falls. On the Argenina side, there’s more trails and walks to view the falls. There’s even a small railway that transports tourist to the very edge of the falls, known as the “Devil’s Throat”.
Thanks whoever took this photo and shared it.
While spectacular, it was crowded tourist hell and we quickly burned out on barging through the throngs of tourists with selfie sticks trying to get a good view while being soaked by the spray from the falls. Our guide found some quieter trails from which we could get a better view.
Per , Carol and I had had enough so we made it back to the Marriot for a beer while we waited for the rest of the group to finish their walk.
Next, we needed to cross the border to Brasil. Seemed simple enough and, in fact, was quite easy. Once in Brasil we drove to our final hotel - the Hotel das Cataratas. This was a luxurious resort with great views of the falls, from the Brazillian side.
Nice dinner by the pool.