Wet but happy in Iguazu, Argentina

Today nothing was quite as it appeared.  We woke up to a sparkling blue sky.  The sun was warm and the air was fresh.  I was disappointed that we had gone to Iguazu Falls yesterday, not today.  But happily we didn’t.   Let me start from the beginning.

Devil's Throat from the Argentina side of Iguazu

Last night (28 February) we had a delicious dinner at La Rueda.  Mark ordered a beef brochette while I opted for a local river fish.  Soon after we got back to the hotel, my stomach started acting up.  The cramps were intense.  I fell asleep but was jarringly awoken by the cramps and diarrhea.  But the most bizarre was yet to come.  This morning when I brushed my teeth, I discovered that my tongue was coated BLACK!!

After we returned from Iguazu Falls yesterday, we went to book a minivan to take us to the airport today.  The clerk at the tourist information center checked our flight and told us that it had been cancelled.  When we returned to the hotel, we checked our flight information and everything looked fine. However, this morning while I was finishing breakfast, Mark received a cell phone call from LAN.  Unfortunately, the caller spoke Spanish, and Mark doesn’t understand Spanish.  Afterwards, I asked the young woman at the hotel desk if she would call LAN to check on our flight.  The flight was rescheduled for one hour later.  No worries---we had three hours between our connection from Buenos Aires to Santiago. 

In fact, rather than undertaking another activity in Iguazu, Mark and I decided to spend our day catching up on email, paying bills and working on our itinerary.  That was fortuitous since around 2:15, a violent storm hit the area. 

Red clay mud flooding the street

Downed tree blocking the road

The wind howled while rain came down in sheets.  I seriously wondered if the windows would not shatter.  Within minutes there was a red clay river coursing down the street.  The intensity of the storm reminded me of a hurricane.  I was thankful we were safe in the hotel.  

Our taxi to the airport was understandably delayed.  We were soaked walking from the hotel door into the minivan.  Once in the van, we encountered downed branches, and across one road, an entire tree! Eventually we made it to the airport.  We wondered if the plane would depart.  Then, as we waited to check-in, the airport lost power. 

We did eventually get on our flight.  Mark and I were the last two people seated.  Our pre-assigned seats were voided since the passengers were checked-in manually.  Hopefully we will make the next leg of our journey.  Today has certainly been a day of surprises!

Jesuit church in Buenos Aires

San Domingo Church in Buenos Aires

So, let me now return to our trip to Iguazu.  It has been an adventure from the start.  Upon the completion of our cruise in Buenos Aires, we had about 9 hours to fill before we would hop on our 16-hour bus ride to Iguazu.  Once we managed to secure lockers for our backpacks at the Buenos Aires bus terminal, we were off to explore the city.  I wanted to visit the San Telmo street market.  

San Telmo Sunday antique market

The market resembles a flea market with local crafts.  We stopped for lunch at a rather unexciting Indian restaurant.  We also visited the museum in the oldest building in Buenos Aires and the city museum that had an exhibition of antique doors. 

Our home for 20 hours

We boarded the bus on schedule and settled in to the first two seats on the top floor of the bus.  The trip was relatively uneventful save an unexpected dinner stop at a local gas station/restaurant, and an hour-long delay the following morning due to construction.  We met a nice young couple, Tom and Cat who shared some travel suggestions with us. 

One of the many views of Iguazu

Finally, we arrived in Iguazu, 20 hours after our departure from Buenos Aires.  Blessedly Mark booked us a lovely hotel Jardin de Iguazu and we enjoyed a delicious Argentinian asada dinner (the Malbec wine was superb) where we met a lovely Argentinian couple.

Poem describing the "undescribable" Iguazu

As the poem says, Iguazu cannot be described in words—its majesty in absolutely awesome.  The photos don’t do it justice.  It is truly an amazing natural wonder.  And did I mention the animals?

I'm watching you

One of many amazingly beautiful butterfly

Stilt type bird

Gorgeous blue-colored iguana

Coatis, cute but they bite!

Taking a break

It is good, but like Mark, "I prefer Diet Coke."

Boat on the way to the falls

Boat in the falls

I am so glad we took the river ride.  Our guide had us laughing as the falls exploded all around us.  We shot the rapids and felt the power of the falls.  We were drenched and loved it! We will never forget the day.

It doesn't get better than this!!

Before the deluge!