Sunscreen, Bug Spray, Sweat, and River Water

Day 3, Monday, December 23, 1996

During reconnaissance early yesterday morning Ed had located the bus stop for the number 45 city bus to Aeroparque Jorge Newbery domestic airport. It's right around the corner. This is even better than the León airport tranfer buses. It's not only closer to our hotel, but at 60 cents also far cheaper. Since it was pretty obvious that ladened with backpacks we were going to the airport, a helpful passenger alerted the bus driver for us, and we got off at the right stop. Right across the street is the terminal for Aerolíneas Argentinas.

We didn't have time for breakfast. I popped half of a Snickers bar while waiting for our flight. I was actually looking forward to some airline food. Unfortunately, we were only served two rounds of drinks on the two-hour hop to Puerto Iguazú. I think I will save my comments on the attractiveness of stewardesses of the several airlines we flew on on this trip for later, but at the moment I couldn't resist the temptation of the Champagne being served. So at ten o'clock in the morning, I had half of a Snickers bar and Champagne for breakfast. The alcohol went through to my head right away and gave me a headache.

The airport at Puerto Iguazú is small, and covered in a thin layer of red earth. The airport is some distance to the town, but transfer buses await right outside and deliver passengers directly to the hotels in town. Except the main streets, most of the side streets in Puerto Iguazú are paved with brick-size broken stones. The surfaces are uneven. The ride in town was particularly bumpy. Ed picked Hotel St. George out of the LP guide. It turned out to be an excellent choice. This is one hotel on this trip that I am willing to recommend whole-heartedly without reservation. The doubles on the first floor, having somewhat more spartan bathrooms than the rooms on the second floor, cost only $35 a day, including breakfast. The hotel is conveniently located right across the street from the central bus terminal. It also has a manicured garden and the nicest pool, which we came to appreciate very much later on.

A little orientation of the area is in order here. The Argentinean town of Puerto Iguazú is situated near the confluence of two rivers, Río Paraná and Río Iguazú. Río Paraná flows from north to south. West of the river is Paraguay. Upstream is the world's largest dam, Itaipú Dam. Río Iguazú flows from east to west. The falls are some 20 kilometers upstream from the confluence. Immediatedly southeast of the confluence is Puerto Iguazú and northeast the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguaçu. We inquired at a travel agency near our hotel about visiting Itaipú, but found out that the dam would be closed to visitors tomorrow because of Christmas. However, they would not reduce the price they charge for a day trip that originally included the Brazilian side of the falls and the dam. We decided that package was not worth the money now, and that we would go to Brazil on our own tomorrow.

After a quick lunch from the tourist menu at the hotel restaurant, we took a bus to Parque Nacional Iguazú on the Argentine side. We were greeted by an English-speaking guide at the visitors center. He gave us a quick introduction of the falls from a topographic model of the area. He recommended a boat ride to see the falls. Ordinarily, a four-wheel drive would take us to a point downsteam, where a rubber launch would take us upstream to the falls. However, there had been heavy rain the day before, and the water volume was too large to go all the way to see the most impressive and largest set of falls at Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat). Instead, we would see some falls not so deep into Devil's Throat and go downstream. We agreed and were guided to the foot of the lower trail to the boat dock.

Ed had sensibly changed into beach shorts earlier at the hotel. I thought that we'd just be walking around in the jungle, so my kaikis would be better. I certainly didn't expect how close we would be to the falls and how wet we would get. There were other boats moving around in the river, but we were the only two people for our raft. The guide didn't speak English at all, so he couldn't tell us much, except pointing to a few falls and gave us the names, which was not very useful to us. The boat zipped towards the falls so close and the water whipped up by the falls rained on us so hard that I couldn't keep my eyes open. I wondered how the captain kept his open, and to my relief, observed that he had on a raincoat and a cap with a large brim. Many sections of the falls were largely obscured by the whipped up mist. After several turns in and out the falls, we went downstream. We were deposited at a site along the river bank and told to walk a hundred meters up. We waved goodbye.

Moments later, a four-wheel drive truck came to pick us up. It had several rows of seats fixed in the cargo bay in the back. The ride was a bit rough as the truck waded through mud and water pools, two feet deep at certain places. What seemed like minutes coming down by boat took forever to go back by truck. We wondered whether the $40 we each paid was worth it for so short an excursion. It probably wasn't ..., but only if I lived within 500 miles. It may be financial fallacy, but I couldn't deal with the thought that I had spent thousands to come this far only to stop short because of a few more dollars. As a rule, we were never skimpy on experiences. Room service, concierge, and taxis we can forego. Not this.

The falls extend some two miles in the shape of a horseshoe. At the bent of the horseshoe is the most impressive Devil's Throat. Most of the falls are on the Argentinean side of the horseshoe. To have a front view, it's best to be on the Brazilian side. However, on the Argentinean side, a series of catwalks jumps across the smaller falls at the end of the horseshoe. I was amazed at how close one can get to the falls. The catwalks are built right along the edge of the falls. Looking over the railing, I could see the water rushing by just a foot beneath and plunging into the rocks below. At places, we could reach out to feel the water. The lower trail leads one right to the foot of the falls. Amid the deafening noise, the gusty wind, and the splashing water, we ventured as close to the falls as we dared. It was impossible to walk to the end of the catwalks, perilously inside a cloud of mist, because of the unusually high water level from the rain in the previous days. I had already been soaked from the boat ride, so another shower didn't make things all that much worse.

We were pretty exhausted by the time we got back to the hotel. We decided to take a swim. I found the quiet garden and the well-maintained pool to be such an unusually pleasant treat.

The sun is going down, and the sky is still bright. The full moon is shining brightly. The Christmas lights wrapped around the palms trees are on. The people who sat around in the garden earlier are gone by now. The garden is quiet. Flowers are blooming. The air is cool, but the brick pavement around the pool is still warm from a day's baking. I take a swim in the pool; I float for a while; I lie down on the warm bricks; I dangle one arm in the pool stroking the cool water; I feel the warmth coming up through my spine and seeping through my muscles. All that fatigue from a full day's exertion seems to have gone in a flash. The garden is pretty. The pool is beautiful. The sheer enjoyment of a cool dip in the pool and the pure delight of a cute little garden after a day of sticky sunscreen, stinking bug spray, smelly sweet, and river water make the surroundings seem all the more charming.

Ed half said to himself and half asked me, "What else in the world can you want?"

"A wife," I replied without thinking, breaking the tranquility of his thoughts.

"Yeah, yeah. Besides a wife."

I detected a hint of irritation in his tone. The simple correct answer should've been "Nothing." Just as I was reconsidering the wisdom, or the lack thereof, of my first answer, yet unable to come up with a second one, Ed prompted me with a rather poor choice, "Money?"

"Yeah, why not? I want more money so that I can do more of this."

We had a sumptuous steak dinner at the nearby La Rueda, a nice parilla. It reminded me of last year's Yucatán trip very much. The days were hot and sightseeing tiring, but the evenings were cool. The combination of taking a dip in the pool, changing into clean comfortable clothes, and eating a fancier dinner in an open-air restaurant was heavenly.