Iguazu Falls - the Argentina Side

Yesterday, I headed to the Angentinean side of the the Falls with Sandhya and Heather from Michigan. We breezed through customs and headed to our hostel.

After that we set off for the falls. Our taxi driver was some guy from the hostel and he flew down the highway to get us there quick as we were pressed for time to make the boat trip we reserved. We boarded a jeep to take us to the boat and it was kind of like going on a tour at Epcot Center. A guide pointed out various plants and talked about wildlife and what not. He had a voice that kinda put me to sleep.

We started to get a little concerned about our boat ride when we were given waterproof bags to put our shoes in. They told us everything was going to get wet and it did. The boat was like an inflatable raft with a motor on the back, like one of those little Coast Gaurd boats. The ride to the falls was pretty cool because they had to navigate some rough rapids. Water splashed in left and right. Then they took us up close to the falls to get some photos and drove us pretty close to get drenched by the mist.

We got off the boat and did some hiking around the falls. We went out on this ledge and got our photo taken but this other guy jumped in our photo.



Afterwards we grabbed some lunch at this little cafe in the park. The guy told me to watch out for the animals. I said ok, sat down, and watched as a bunch of rat-like animals, maybe related to racoons, were trying to get into a trash can. Everyone was watching them. Then, I heard a noise to my right and one of those rat-animals jumped up on the chair across from me and nabbed my sandwich. He took it so quickly I didn't really have time to react. Everyone at the lunch place got a good laugh but I wasn't laughing. I hate those things. I had to go back in and buy another sandwich, no discount by the way. We decided it was best to eat inside after that.

Then we walked around the Falls some more and took a lot of photos. I think I took over 100 which is way to much and they pretty much look the same. Having seen just about all we thought was available, we tried to find the excite. We walked around in circles for a good half an hour trying to find a way out. Finally we found this train which took us to the Garganta de Diablo (Devil's Throat). This took us right out into the middle of the falls which was pretty cool. We got drenched again. Once we got back on the train it took us to the exit of the place.

That night we went to a parrilla place to get grilled meats. It took us a while to order what we wanted with Sandhya taking the lead. They tried to give us blood pudding, cow guts and a bunch of other stuff. Sandhya told them "carne normal" which seemed to work. The television was playing while we were eating. That seems to be the norm for most of South America. They were playing this show that looked like Dancing with the Stars" but it turned out to be even better. There was a pole in the middle of the dance floor on stage. The couples when they danced appeared to be dancing like they were at a strip club. They took off their clothes all the way down to their underwear. This show was on national TV and on prime time. Gotta love Argentina.

We decided to go grab some drinks after dinner and asked our waitress where a place to drink beers is. She told us "Club Bar" in a very thick accent. At least, we think that's what she said. When asked where it was, she told us, "Just ask a boy who hands out papers on the street." We gave her a puzzled look and she walked away. Later, we had here point it out on a map we had. We walked to where it should have been but it wasn't there. Luckily there was another bar open near there so we had drinks there. It was a long but good day. A "gran adventura" as the boat ride promised.