Iguazu: the park, the town, the place where no one can decide on a consonant
Had an interesting time at breakfast with the buffet when faced with a large fruit we could not identify. Looked kind of like a melon, but shaped and sized like a mango and with three stripes. The waitstaff knew what it was, but only in spanish and none of the books were helping, so we tried it. The waiter also came by with juice of the fruit. Cutting into it caused sort of a small explosion of strong juice and unusual filling. We think it's some sort of passionfruit relative. Neither of us were brave enough to try to celery and parsley juice. "A selection of local fruits and cheese mousse" we had with dinner this evening did not include the breakfast exploding fruit, but did include what had previously been explained to me as jellied papaya and candied pumpkin. A book on Argentinean cooking helped explain a few of the things from the night before. Still can't figure out that the tentacle tree is. The fruit tree that seems to be sprouting what Dad described as furry hand grenades is another mystery. Taking pictures in the hopes of finding names later. Oh, and i think one of the breads in the basket did indeed contain suprise meat and that one of the crackers we were eating in buenos aires may have been made with suet, supporting Dad's theory that everything here involves meat in some way. Or dulce de leche. Or both.
Took the upper trail after breakfast (easiest one to make sure Dad could do without a problem) to the falls today and got some pictures of water, rainbows over the falls, spectacular views, coati (more on them in a minute). Was crowded, we think due to weekend and summer (well, winter here, but still out of school). Took book on local wildlife flora and fauna that follwed the trail, but quickly gave up trying to follow the numbers as plants were not nearly as interesting as some views and was trying to avoid having nose in book. One of the butterflies we aren't supposed to touch landed on my nose and stayed long enough for Dad to take a picture. A complete stranger tourist also took pictures of butterfly on my nose. Iguazu has an insane number of species of butterflies and some are quite beautiful. Did not get very wet by spray since this is the upper trail, above the falls. The lower trail is a bit longer, I'm not sure how it compares to the brazilian side, where we will be tomorrow. Saw a few lizards sunning themselves on rocks by the falls (Tropidurus?) and more noisy low-flying birds (nature book picture most like it is a plush-crested jay). Then came the coati! These raccoon-like creatures also sometimes called coatimundi are frequently found in the park, often trying to get food from visitors by begging, looking cute nearby, or actively climbing into purses and wrestling snacks away. There were a whole bunch of them, several of which looked like they might be younger, rolling around, climbing in and out of trees, throwing each other off branches, crossing the paths, and especially paying attention to anyone who looked like they might have food. This youtube video shows why it's a bad idea to feed wild animals in parks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_5NvgaHB7Y&feature=related
But aren't they cute!?!
ok, moving on . . .
Took the park train the wrong way and ended up at the trailhead to the falls at "Devil's Throat," where I'm told we absolutely must go for the best, most spectacular view of all. Unfortunately, Dad wasn't really up for it then, hoping to get to it tomorrow. Or the lower trail. Please. So we got back on the train and headed back down. Some walking, some waiting, got on a public bus to the town of Iguazu, which isn't much to speak of, especially on Sunday when most places are closed there. Whoops. Walked around for a bit and took a bus back. Still no monkeys. Apparently capybaras are made into leather products here. Odd. More cavies this evening in park.
Tomorrow: going to Brazil by taxi. I am told that it isn't very safe over there, so not sure if can bring much of anything besides passport, but hoping camera is ok. View is supposed to be very good and can see more of the falls at once. It sounds like we will also be closer to the massive spray and will likely get wet. Hoping to do some shopping for gifts at some point on the Argentina side and would love to get to Devil's Throat, but we will see, yes?
Took the upper trail after breakfast (easiest one to make sure Dad could do without a problem) to the falls today and got some pictures of water, rainbows over the falls, spectacular views, coati (more on them in a minute). Was crowded, we think due to weekend and summer (well, winter here, but still out of school). Took book on local wildlife flora and fauna that follwed the trail, but quickly gave up trying to follow the numbers as plants were not nearly as interesting as some views and was trying to avoid having nose in book. One of the butterflies we aren't supposed to touch landed on my nose and stayed long enough for Dad to take a picture. A complete stranger tourist also took pictures of butterfly on my nose. Iguazu has an insane number of species of butterflies and some are quite beautiful. Did not get very wet by spray since this is the upper trail, above the falls. The lower trail is a bit longer, I'm not sure how it compares to the brazilian side, where we will be tomorrow. Saw a few lizards sunning themselves on rocks by the falls (Tropidurus?) and more noisy low-flying birds (nature book picture most like it is a plush-crested jay). Then came the coati! These raccoon-like creatures also sometimes called coatimundi are frequently found in the park, often trying to get food from visitors by begging, looking cute nearby, or actively climbing into purses and wrestling snacks away. There were a whole bunch of them, several of which looked like they might be younger, rolling around, climbing in and out of trees, throwing each other off branches, crossing the paths, and especially paying attention to anyone who looked like they might have food. This youtube video shows why it's a bad idea to feed wild animals in parks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_5NvgaHB7Y&feature=related
But aren't they cute!?!
ok, moving on . . .
Took the park train the wrong way and ended up at the trailhead to the falls at "Devil's Throat," where I'm told we absolutely must go for the best, most spectacular view of all. Unfortunately, Dad wasn't really up for it then, hoping to get to it tomorrow. Or the lower trail. Please. So we got back on the train and headed back down. Some walking, some waiting, got on a public bus to the town of Iguazu, which isn't much to speak of, especially on Sunday when most places are closed there. Whoops. Walked around for a bit and took a bus back. Still no monkeys. Apparently capybaras are made into leather products here. Odd. More cavies this evening in park.
Tomorrow: going to Brazil by taxi. I am told that it isn't very safe over there, so not sure if can bring much of anything besides passport, but hoping camera is ok. View is supposed to be very good and can see more of the falls at once. It sounds like we will also be closer to the massive spray and will likely get wet. Hoping to do some shopping for gifts at some point on the Argentina side and would love to get to Devil's Throat, but we will see, yes?