I find it one of the most decadent pleasures in the world to be able to sit in water for hours on end. Our overnighter in Salto delivered hot springs – termas – in loads of different pools around the area. I could just imagine a pool fence inspector back home having a heart attack. To be fair, there were no drownings during our stay.
Hot springs are immeasurably enjoyable when the outside temperature is chilly…it’s a different story when it’s already high 20’s to 30’s with a dose of high humidity for good measure. Finding the coolest of the termas we all settled in to soak. And it was gooooooood.
Rhianna and I took the horseriding option the following day with gaucho Mario. We meandered through his property, along trails through woods, beside the river and occasionally leading the horses to water…but do you think we could make them drink? We rarely made it above a walk or trot for the hour before getting some speed up at the end in open space. We walked through town, saw Mario’s aquaculture operation and finished up next door to the spas…so guess where we spent the rest of the afternoon…nothing like it for tired muscles.
Mario leading the charge 
Salto traffic is only 1hp 
Rhianna, Mario and me
Crossing the border in a convoy of taxis we went back to Argentina…can’t keep me out of the place! We took the delayed-by-90mins night bus from Concordia to Foz do Iguacu – thank goodness for sleeping pills, that 14hrs was just a warm up for what was to come later. Tomás showed us how to sleep on buses…a regular sleeping beauty making it look easy…I still have to learn how to do it easily.
We hit the Brazilian side of Iguazu Falls for the afternoon with local connection, Antonio. I took the option of a helicopter ride for my first glimpse of a natural wonder that has held my imagination and every picture filled me with awe for many, many years. I lucked out getting the front seat and as we quickly rose above the trees the deep green of forest stretching beyond the curvature of the earth was the first memory I banked. The brilliant blue sky, monstrous sun and fluffy white clouds are abruptly sliced by the lumpy horizon of millions of trees…and a plume of misty white, waving its wispy tendrils high in the sky, the only landmark for miles, the river snaked in and away forever before and after the falls, the volume of water is staggering as it barrels down the falls to the lower river bed.
Front row seat 
First glimpse of Iguazu Falls from the helicopter 
Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay crowned by Iguazu Falls 
Looking down the Devil’s Throat of Iguazu Falls 
Iguazu Falls from above 
I find it hard to describe how I felt, I was hooked, mesmerised, hypnotised as the falls unfurled below us. I actually sobbed. I’ve only felt like this once before, when I got my first, immeasurably beautiful look in the Grand Canyon at Desert View on the South Rim. Nature is my religion, and these are the epiphanies that keep me believing there is beauty in this world.
We continued onto the falls themselves, capturing image after image, every lookout delivered a new face, a new profile, another facet to the falls. And as is becoming the tradition of the group, the boys got their kit off three times in all, delighting the many other tourists not lucky enough to be traveling with our group. The saying goes that the Brazilian side is the audience and the Argentinian side is the stage. Scaling walkways along the side we also saw lizards, millipedes and pirate birds before coming to a walkway that extends over the second tier and plants you right on top of the water, facing a wall of roaring water above and over a tumbling tower below. And you get wet…and the boys get naked, like I said, tour tradition 😉
Looking left and right from the walkway 
Watching boats approach 
One very happy traveller 
Embracing the humidity 
Roaring water creates permanent mist and spray 
Catwalking over the falls 
Probably shouldn’t look down 
The weather is sweltering, nudging 40 degree Celcius and humidity is through the roof. I’d love to avoid further sunburn, if only I could get the sunscreen to stay on my skin. This place is more effective than a steam room at a day spa…and it’s free. It’s also perfectly acceptable to walk around in a bikini top and the shortest shorts you can possibly paint on if the local dress code is an indication. Not sure I’ve ever felt more overdressed wearing shorts, shirt and thongs.
I am most impressed with the infrastructure that allows so much access to viewpoints and lets you get in amongst the falls on both sides. Far from being a one fall wonder, there’s over 150 separate falls plummeting down…and I believe nature used all her artistic and creative skills when she made each and every one. Stunning.
