Iguazu Falls

We then flew to Iguazu, which is on the border between Argentina and Brazil. Our hotel, Hotel das Cataratas, was on the Brazil side. I don't really know if I can check off Brazil from my travel list though. I still feel the need to go to Rio. :)

 

 

We got there on Valentine's Day, so B and I had a pre-dinner drink Valentines date at the hotel bar.We then walked across the street (literally) to get a first view of the falls.

They are simply breathtaking. Half of the falls are on the Brazil side and half are on the Argentinian side because the Iguazu river is what divides the countries. Iguazu Falls is almost 2 miles long. It is longer than Victoria Falls in Africa. This is us looking at the Argentinian side of the falls. Since the hotel is located in a National Park and the park closes at 6:00 p.m., we mostly had the park to ourselves. Hotel guests have free reign.

Wow!

After, we headed to dinner. Had to try a Brazilian beer. I liked the Argentinian Quilmes better. What was difficult about Brazil is that they speak Portuguese! We just kept talking in Spanglish and hoped they understood.

 

The next day (the last day of the vacation) we had a full day of adventure! First, a hike through the forest/on top of the falls on the Argentinian side. It was a pain in the butt to have to go through border control so many times in 36 hours. It is not a short process.

 

We ran into these little creatures on the way. They are called Coatis. They are kind a mix between a house cat and a raccoon. They were odd little fellas.

Beautiful. It was pretty muggy there. But, I mean, we were in the rain forest.

 

So powerful!

We saw a good amount of wildlife this day.

There were so many butterflies everywhere. They flew to fast to get many pics, but we saw about every color of the rainbow. One landed on my sister's shirt!

 

We were prepared to get wet! At this one lookout point, the mist from the flowing water was so thick that it was basically like you were getting rained on. It looks like we were superimposed in this picture! It was so loud.

Half in Argentina, half in Brazil!

Next up, helicopter ride over the falls. We didn't have this planned, our guide just mentioned it and we jumped on it. From the time we got out of the car at the helicopter place to the time we were done and back in the car it was 20 minutes! Blake, Jud, my mom and I went. My sister and dad opted out. B and I had never been in a helicopter before so we were so excited/nervous!

 

So happy!

 

The views were phenomenal! This shows you how close our hotel was to the falls.

So amazing!

What a whirlwind! Next on the agenda was a speed boat ride down the river and under the falls! This is us in the jeep on the way to the river.

 

Awesome photo bomb by Pam!

 

We thought we were so smart with our rain gear. Uhhhh... didn't help one bit. By the end we were soaked to the bone.

 

So, they literally drive you right under the waterfall. It was seriously like an amusement park ride. Soooo fun! This was just before the deluge. We ended the day with a nice dinner and some wine. What a fantastic last day of the trip!

Mom and Dad - We cannot thank you enough for everything you did for this trip. It was seriously a trip of a lifetime and the memories will last forever! Thank you, thank you, thank you. Our family trips are always so much fun.