Iguaçu Parte Dois

A mural in Puerto Iguazu

We were back at Iguaçu Falls yesterday to see them from the Brazilian side. The falls are shared by both countries, with most on the Argentina side of the border -- but that means some of the best views are to be had in Brazil, particularly of the Garganta del Diablo or "Devil's Throat," the curved wall at the top of the gorge where huge amounts of water spill into a semi-enclosed basin.

The guide dropped us at the top of a trail that runs along the river, similar to the Argentina side. But this one leads (after about a mile) to a platform that extends well out over the water, and it's crazy out there. I got almost as wet as I did on our boat trip the day before!

Of course, I have a video:

You'll see the Garganta del Diablo at the top of the gorge, as well as the viewing platform and a video selfie of me, just to show you how wet I got. (I look terrible because I haven't shaved in about a week -- hey, it's vacation -- and I am intently trying to hold onto my phone and not drop it in the river!) Dave elected not to walk out on the viewing platform. He'd had enough of getting soaked.

This little trip took all morning, since we had to cross borders and faff around with passports. But we were back at our hotel in Argentina around noon, long enough to dry out and have a brief nap.

I then decided to go see Tres Fronteras, the point at which the borders of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay meet at the confluence of the Iguaçu and Paraná rivers. Both Brazil and Argentina have little tourist attractions set up at this point, which is said to be very unusual in world geography.

Dave stayed back at the hotel, but I took a taxi into Puerto Iguazu and had lunch at a nice, open-air restaurant. I ordered a hamburguesa and the waitress asked if I wanted it completo. I said sure, thinking that meant lettuce, tomato and maybe onion -- but turns out it also means an egg and a slice of ham! So that was quite a burger. I had a fernet and Coke to drink, a popular Argentine beverage made of Italian bitters mixed with Coca-Cola. This was my second one and I like it. (I'm not sure they're often drunk at lunch, but again, hey, it's vacation.)

Then I walked to Tres Fronteras, where there was a special spot for taking photos (above)...

...before getting to the actual viewpoint itself. That's Paraguay on the left, Brazil on the right and Argentina in the foreground. I have no idea what that gigantic bridge between Brazil and Paraguay is called or whether it's open -- it looks brand-new and I couldn't see any traffic. There's also a big ferris wheel on the Brazilian side, just out of the frame on the right.

In terms of yesterday's bird life I saw a great kiskadee and a bananaquit, and with my Merlin bird app I made a recording of the remarkable, warbling song of the thrush-like wren (that's its actual name).

I didn't get video of the wren, so that's just my photo with my audio recording. To use Merlin here I had to download "bird packs" for Paraguay and Brazil, but it's very useful to figure out what I'm hearing out there in the jungle. All the birds sound like something from a Tarzan movie. Did I mention that Dave and I saw a toucan fly overhead on Friday? Crazy!

Finally, remember those pink trees I mentioned seeing out in the forest from the airplane?

Here they are. It's called a lapocha, or pink trumpet tree (Handroanthus impetiginosus). It's where ipê wood comes from, apparently. Excuse the stop sign. This was a quick photo out our bus window and I didn't have a chance to compose it very carefully.

Yesterday I did finally have a chance to answer some comments on recent posts, so if you asked me a question, an answer might be there by now. Today, off to Rio de Janeiro!