Iguazu Falls.

I'm sitting here on a table made out of a tree stump, sipping a beer as roosters and chickens peck the ground near my feet, trying to comprehend what I've seen the last few days.  I questioned whether it was worth the time and money to venture to Iquazu Falls, just to see some water fall off a rock.  Indeed, it was worth every penny and every minute.  With 220 waterfalls, Iguazu falls spans continously for miles, making Niagra look like it's got a prostate problem at best.  It is a place, like many other wonders of the world, that is impossible to describe.  Pictures won't do it justice, you must see it up close and personal to grasp the magnitude of something so large.  I tried to stop myself from taking pictures knowing that they would only mean something to Christina and myself.  But, when you see something of such beauty, something so impressive, your urge is to document it as much as possible.

The land of butterflies, waterfalls and rainbows does exist and it's not an episode from My Little Pony, though at times it did seem like it.  The falls lie on the border of Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina.  We flew in yesterday and visited the Brazil side, finally arriving at our destination after nearly two hours on the wrong bus.  We got to the falls eventually but were a bit on edge after (actually, it was probably just me).  In my defense, it was election day in Brazil and the visitors center was packed with throngs of people voting on a holiday weekend.  After five days of trying to make my way around with make-shift Porteuguse (which now consists of five words), I was ready to see the falls and get to Argentina where I can speak in my broken Spanglish.  The Brazil side offers panoramic views of the falls, but the experience is not nearly as intimate as Argentina. We spent about four hours on the Brazil side before calling it quits and attempting to hail a taxi to take us through the border to Argentina.  Little did we know, crossing the border would be the easy part.  We grew concerned about finding our hotel after the taxi driver stopped to ask directions and eventually took us down a red dirt road with no street signs but instead lots of roosters and stray dogs.  We finally arived to our hotel, which turned out to be a little piece of heaven away from town.  We were exhausted so we took down a few beers at sunset and played fetch with Santo, the hotel dog who was enormous, slightly ferel, had huge balls and for some reason, was always wearing a t-shirt. After a quck shower we grabbed some dinner before calling it an early night at 1 a.m.

Street where our lodging was located.  Off the beaten path, but we loved it.  Orange trees, chickens and dogs everywhere.

One of the panoramic views from the Brazilian side.

     

In Argentina, you spend your time walking trails in the ranforest surrounded by wildlife of all sorts.  There is a South American racoon that we became quite familiar with.  It will steal food from your plate, it will bite you if you get too close, and it's damn cute.  We had to scare these little guys off multiple times while munching on the Argentinian interpretation of a ham sandwhich.  I will post a picture below.  But again, there is no shortage of wildlife: we saw giant monitor lizards every few feet, butterflies by the thousands, beautiful birds (including a Tucan) and more.  Argentina, unlike Brazil, puts you up close and personal with the falls.  In fact, we took a boat directly underneath them which was cold, wet and exhilirating.  The falls are nearly two miles long and are in consideration for being added as one of the "Seven Wonders of the World", which unbenounced to me, apparently rotates.  Christina thought it was better than the Victoria Falls in Africa which is actually one of the Seven Wonders. Regardless, it is a wonder to me that these things even exist.  Ranibows are abound in all sorts of shapes and sizes; single ranibows, double rainbows and rainbows that form a complete circle.  If you think a double rainbow is impressive, wait until you see a circular rainbow.  Yes ladies and gents, all of this exists and without the aid of psychadelic drugs.  Come here, you won't regret it. 

Something beautiful lies beyond this ugly mug.  Click to watch!



Multiply this times a thousand and you'll have a better understanding on how massive this place is.



Argentinian side, up close and personal.



We took the boat below underneath two falls.  You get wet, very wet.




Picture number 101 of the day and counting.




Last picture after a long day.  Ready for some wine and beef!

Meant to have this up last night, but again ran into some connection problems.  Arrived safely in Buenos Aires this afternoon and looking forward to $3 bottles of amazing wine and $10 grass fed, spit fired steaks.  Hope everyone is well back home.  Please become a follower and chime in with your thoughts.  It will be nice to hear from people over the next two months.  Thanks for following our adventure.

Clay and Christina