|
A flight to the Iguazu
Falls
then a tour of the Brazilian side
|
|
|
|
| |
|
| |
Things were looking
up. The strike, which had halted all flights yesterday,
was over and we were on our way to the Iguazu Falls! Aerolineas
Argentinas wasn't able to accommodate all of us, but Andes
Líneas Aéreas came to the rescue. We flew
on this McDonnell Douglas MD 83 aircraft, which carries
165 passengers. It was slightly cramped and every seat was
taken, but the staff were nice and we were just so grateful
to be on it! |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
It took under two
hours for the flight from Buenos Aires to the airport near the Iguazu
Falls. |
|
| |
Our beautiful plane
on the tarmac at Iguazu airport. |
|
| |
Because of the delays
and the need for speed, we all followed the request from
our tour leader Maxi to only bring hand luggage with us.
This meant that we could walk straight off the plane and
onto a coach and get on our way as quickly as possible.
Just before we reached the Argentinian border checkpoint
below, we had to board a Brazilian coach (with a Brazilian
guide) to complete the excursion. |
|
|
| |
Maxi collected all of
our passports and completed the border formalities on our
behalf. As we crossed the river forming the physical border
between Argentina and Brazil, we paused to see the point where
the river also forms the border with Paraguay. I had hoped
that we would get a little closer to where the three countries
meet, but this was a good as it was going to get. With our
delayed schedule, something had to give! |
|
|
| |
On the other side
of the river, there were Brazilian border checks.
Once again, we sat on the coach while Maxi and our Brazilian guide
took care of the formalities. |
|
| |
A short drive
from the border and we were in the national park.
We all had to disembark, so that we could present
our tickets in person... slightly weird that nobody
wanted to see us at the international border, but
at the national park they did! |
|
|
|
| |
From the visitor centre
(on the left of this map), we drove to the start of the
walking trail (where the blue bendy bus is) and disembarked. |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
From the lookout point
opposite the hotel (above), we got our first views of the
falls, but first, here is a photo of their full extent,
not taken by me unfortunately. We would be seeing most of
them in sections over the course of today and tomorrow. |
|
|
| |
This was our first
actual view, looking across to the Argentinian side. |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
The Melia Hotel, on
the Argentinian side. We were told that we would be dining
there tomorrow evening, before departing on a later flight
for Buenos Aires. (Revised travel plans were continuing
to evolve, it seemed). |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
It was difficult
to get good photos because we were looking into the sun, but we
tried! |
|
| |
|
| |
As we walked slowly along
the trail, more and more of these amazing falls were revealed. |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
We continued walking
towards the "Devil's Throat". |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
We were heading towards
the walkway that can be seen in this photo. |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
On the walkway, it
was wild, wet and exhilarating! |
|
| |
|
| |
The camera lens getting
kept getting wet, so not too many photos were taken on the walkway
itself. |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
Unbelievably beautiful! |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
| |
From the lower level,
we got the lift up to this point. |
|
|
| |
|
| |
Taken from the upper
level, where the coach was waiting for us. |
|
| |
It was time to go back
to Argentina and on to our hotel. The Brazilian border crossing
was quick, but we waited for about twenty minutes to enter
Argentina. It appears that we hit the rush hour! |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
The water feature
in the foyer was interesting. We wondered how many guests had fallen
into it! |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
After an excellent meal
in the hotel's private dining room, during which we got
to know a few more of our twenty two fellow travellers,
we crossed the two swing bridges linking the main part of
the hotel with our block of rooms. It didn't take long before
we were ready for bed and a good night's sleep. The delays
and the effort of getting here had all been worth it for
the wonderful sights we had seen today and we looked forward
to continuing the experience in the morning. |
|
| |
|
|
