Saturday, March 3, 2012

Iguzu Falls - Argentinian Side, Argentinian Spelling of the Name

This morning I got up very early,  5am,  in order to photograph the sunrise.  It was very painful getting out of bed,  but I managed to do it by thinking,  "this is why I'm at the fancy hotel"  over and over until I rolled out and onto the floor. 

The results you've already seen in the blog post right before this one,  and really,  those made it worth it.  And quite possibly,  those shots made the entire big expenditure of this fancy hotel worth it. 

After hiking back to the hotel I was all hot and sweaty,  but went to breakfast right away.  I've been getting occasional strange looks while traveling,  probably I'm doing something culturally weird,  or wrong,  and this morning,  sweat still dripping down my face in the fancy restaurant,  with me in wrinkled clothes got me a few more odd looks.   After breakfast I went back to bed for a bit.  :)

In the afternoon I explored the Argentinian side of the falls.  They say that you can see more panoramic views from the Brazil side,  and you get up close and personal with the falls on the Argentinian side,  but I think both have about the same to offer.  I've found better compositions on the Brazil side I think.  The Argentinian side is however much larger,  and takes a lot longer to explore.  The Argentinian side does however bring you right up to the edge of the Garganta del Diablo,  or Devil's Throat,  where the water plunges down into a huge U-shaped area,  and the mist is so great that you cannot see the bottom.

After returning to the hotel,  I had a very nice Brazilian bbq dinner and then an hour long massage.  I now am covered with nice smelling oil.  :)

Okay,  a few stories before some photos.

1) After traveling through South America for 5 weeks,  I finally entered a country that speaks Spanish!  So far it's been Dutch (Suriname),  French (French Guiana),  and Portuguese (Brazil).  Argentina for the win!  While in Argentina,  I met a family mostly from Columbia,  but with relatives in Argentina and Paraguay.  The mom asked me if I was traveling solo,  then inquired about my personal life,  was I married?  Did I have kids?  When I said no,  she stuck out her tongue a bit and gave me the thumbs down.  This made me crack up a bit,  and I told her it was easier to travel this way.  She nodded,  said she had a daughter who wasn't married,  and who traveled all over the place.  I took this as implicit approval for me,  although it seemed like she maybe preferred her daughter settle down and get married and start producing grand kids for her.  The entire conversation was translated via a teenager who was also part of the family,  who barely suppressed a giggle when the mom asked me if I was planning on meeting any girls along the way. 

2) Jacques met a fellow traveling stuffed animal today!  See below,  it was a small white dog named Muffy,  they were both from Australia.  We introduced Jacques and Muffy to each other,  and they got along great.  :)

3)  Oh man that massage was nice,  and so was the dinner,  and so is the hotel,  but I am not looking forward to seeing the bill tomorrow.  :)  On that note,  I fly out tomorrow to Montevideo, Uruguay,  so probably no post tomorrow night,  since I get in late.

4)  Okay,  technically I was in Paraguay yesterday,  which also speaks Spanish,  but no one spoke Spanish to me there. 

The pics!


The Argentina/Brazil border.  Jacques' (ahem) tail is in Argentina,  head in Brazil.


Random art shot from stairs on the exterior of a lighthouse.  Wait,  a lighthouse?  In the middle of a national forest?  Yep.  Not sure why.  To warn about the falls?  Seems possible.




Jacques and Muffy, hanging out at the ole' Parque Nacional Iguazu Argentina.  :)


Looking straight down into the Devil's throat. 



Sunset.  This and the next image were both taken on the Brazilian side after returning to my hotel.



This is my hotel.  It is pink.  Tomorrow back to the hostel,  sharing a room with 5 other guys.  (Sigh)  :)

2 comments:

  1. That rainbow shot is killer. Did you use ND on the falls?

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    1. Yes. I bought a 10 stop ND filter before leaving on the trip just for these falls. Any time you're seeing the silky smooth version of the falls, it was in use.

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