Iguazu Falls Day 1 Butterflies, Coatis and Water!

Thursday, April 23

We took a taxi to the Iguazu National Park in the morning and arranged for pick up later in the afternoon.  We were really impressed by the layout and infrastructure, with excellent access and signage.  The many park employees, identified by their uniforms, were also very  helpful.  The park is located in a subtopical rainforest.  The film Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull and The Mission were filmed here.

 We started at the visitor center museum, then took a small train (included in the entrance ticket price) to the central park center.

                      Cheesy Tourist Photo of Cheesy Visitors to Iguazu National Park

                                     Jaguars are Nocturnal.  The Only One We Saw

                                                              Taking the Train
  

                           

 

                                         

  From the central area, we took a second train up to the entrance to the largest falls in the park, the Garganta del Diablo or Devil's throat at the Upper Iguazu River. The higher falls at Iguazu are a third taller than Niagara, with the total number of waterfalls of all sizes ranging from 150 to 300 depending on the amount of water flowing.  Eleanor Roosevelt reportedly said, upon viewing Iguazu, "poor Niagara".  The Iguazu River forms the border between Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, with 80 percent of the falls in Argentina and 20 percent in Brazil.

 I had an interesting conversation on the train with a woman about our age.  She was traveling with her daughter and 3 grandkids.  With her limited English and my very limited Spanish, I learned that she has 9 grandchildren, lives in Buenos Aires, has a sister in Miami who summers in Carolina (she wasn't sure North or South), loved to travel to Bariloche with her husband (now deceased) and recommended we should visit Mendoza.  She gave me a prayer card when we parted.


 To reach the Garganta one walks about two-thirds of a mile over elevated walkways between the islands of the river.  At the falls water pours in from three directions.

                                                  The Walkway to Garganta

                                                         At the Devil's Throat

                                                           We Got a Bit Wet

The two forms of animal life extremely prolific in the park are coatis and butterflies.  Coatis are from the racoon family.  They travel in packs and are common  in the public areas of the park, especially where food is being served.  Signs warn visitors to not feed them and notify us that they bite, but it's difficult to avoid them.

The butterlies (mariposas) were incredibly profuse.  We first saw them while coming into the town from the airport, flying around the road.  There are about 500 species of butterflies in the park.  Because of the jungle dampness, they need salt, and congregate where salt may be present - human excretions and perspiration in particular.  Some of our butterfly photos:

                                         Butterflies Congregating at a Sewage Pipe

                                            Butterfly Pupae Feed on Milkweed Pods

                                                      On Top of Nick's Cap

                                                             On the Gravel

                                                          On the Walkway

                                                            On Nick's Hand
         

                                                          On Nick's Backpack

From the Garganta area, we took a half-hour raft trip through the quiet and peaceful shallows of the river and walked back to the central area to catch the train to the entrance and our ride back to town.