Mission accomplished Iguazú (Argentinian) Falls | Antarctic Mission Log 17
That soundtrack, there
After yesterday's rain it was nice to see the morning sun. Parque Nacional Iguazu, the Argentinian side of the falls, involves much more walking and a full day outdoors.
After a repeat of yesterdays shuttle, coach transfer (with an underwhelming 'gift store' stop along the way) to the park we got on a small train. It transfers you from the visitor hub (bottom of the picture below) to the Devils Throat access walkway (top left).
From the train long metal walkways led to the falls.
The calm before the falls
One benefit of mucking around taking photos, is getting left behind the crowd.
The Falls
Garganta del Diablo - Devil's Throat - is as impressive from the top as yesterday's view from the base.
The volume of water is astonishing, and then there are the other 150-300 (river level dependent) cascades to consider.
They are 64-82m high (Niagara 51, Victoria 108), the typical flow is ~1,750 m³/s (Niagara 2,400, Victoria 1,100) but the highest flow measured is a staggering 45,000 m³/s (Niagara 6,800, Victoria 12,800) | figures courtesy Wiki
In this chaos of torrential water and spray, tiny Great dusky swifts fly into the curtain of water to feed and nest safely behind the flow.
A short video captures some of the atmosphere.
You do have to 'work the crowd' but there was plenty of time to take it all in.
Falls life
We had most of the day, and a much longer walk, to see more variety of wildlife than yesterday. All of these photos were from the walkways, no special effort to see, but I suspect many did not take the time to notice.
Basking catfish & dragonfly... one waiting for the other?
At home perched on the water side of the walkway rail. They were resting between flitting around catching airborne insects.
Swifts cling to the falls rock face.
H'mmm, maybe later...
Falls Mission accomplished, Vale Ennio
The second soundtrack related objective of this adventure, listening to Ennio Morricone's 'The Mission' theme at the falls, was achieved looking at this view. I stopped for a few minutes to enjoy his sublime music, the rush of water and jungle noises adding 3D surround, watching the birds soaring, warm sun, unforgettable.
It was a real shock to press publish, visit my blog and Twitter (to check had gone live) and see the news of his death. Although sad, he will live forever through his music and in my memory. Vale Ennio.
In addition to the rush of water, and occasional burst of earbud music, these fellows added to the soundtrack.
Despite waiting, I never quite saw the face of an armadillo, but I did see its bum...
Cayman basking, waiting for errant tourists?
Mum and baby Coati, right beside the path to the café area.
This was one of several babies who, literally, zoomed past my feet dashing from one garden area to another.
I liked how the humans were caged, into restaurants, and the Coati can roam. It helps reduce, if not eliminate, their scavenging as they are not shy and can be aggressive.
The DO NOT FEED warning signs, as much for your protection as theirs, feature some grim images of wounds. In addition to biting they have claws made to turn over rocks or rip open logs in search of their natural prey...
That was just half a day at the Falls, it was going to get rather more active after lunch!
Robin Capper
