Visit to Argentina: Iguazu National Park

This morning began with the thrill of crossing the border between Argentina and Brazil. There is a wall on a bridge which is is painted green and yellow on one side (Brazil) and light blue and white on the other (Argentina). As you can see, we had lots of fun posing in two countries at the same time!!

Our destination in Argentina was Iguazu National Park where the group experienced its first glance at the majestic Iguazu Falls. The name "Iguazu" means "Big Water" in Guarani, the language of the indigenous people of this area. It could not be a more perfect name! Also interesting is that Cabeza de Vaca was the first European explorer to see and document the falls (just as he was the first to document much of the USA including Florida and Texas).

Well, as the day progressed, we marveled more and more at the beauty and the power of the waterfalls. It was stunning!! Particularly impressive is the last part of the falls known as "The Devil's Throat". Today we hiked through two of the four trails on the Argentine side of the Falls - the trail to The Devil's Throat and the Inferior (lower) circuit. Even though Dr. Scott and I have been to Iguazu on several occasions, this was the first time that we have hiked through the Inferior Circuit. And I am so, so glad that we did because it was positively breathtaking!! In fact, we got to see some of the exact sites where the movie, The Mission, was filmed. Dr. Scott told us all about Robert DeNiro and this splendid film!

The Argentine side of the falls and the Brazilian side are quite different. Both are beautiful in unique ways. However, on the Argentine side, one has a variety of trails to choose from (at different elevations) and there is a little train that runs through the park which is helpful as it allows many visitors with disabilities access to be able to visit the falls. Also, on the Argentine side, the trail leading to the Devil's Throat goes over the Iguazu river which provides a completely different perspective from walking through a more forest-like area. Ms. Haley really liked walking over the fast-moving water (probably because she had on some really cool water shoes). We will surely report more details about the Brazil side tomorrow!! Here are a few of our favorite moments from today!