We flew from the Amazon (via Campinas where Q met up with his Brazilian companion) to Iguazu falls.
Our only regret was that we got there late and left early. This place is AMAZING!
Q and I splurged two nights on a posh Oriental Express hotel and it was worth every penny. We got free flip flops, luxurious robes, and our only real food of the trip. We got there at night and wondered why there weren't any curtains on the windows. When we woke up the next morning, we figured it out- the Hotel Cataras is the only structure set right on the edge of the falls and cut into the tropical rain forest. The rain forest is an impenetrable wall that clings right up to the hotel. In fact, there aren't any paths into the rain forest because it is so thick.
Our hotel is steps away from the falls so we hiked down to see them. Breathtaking. These make Niagara look like a trickle of tap water. This (above) is only the very beginning.
There were some rambunctious raccoon cubs on the falls trail.
By this time Q's Portuguese was in full force but these vicious little guys weren't listening.
There were also millions of butterflies of every size, shape, and color. They flew all over and landed on us the entire time we were at Iguazu. Man I look sweaty. It's HOT.
The further we went along the falls, the wetter we got. This is on the way to a walk-out bridge that is built over the falls (freaky).
NEXT:
We took a tour to the bottom of the falls where we hopped on a raft that took us up and into the falls as far as we could get.
The boat drove right under some of the falls and it was awesome.
Right before we hiked the trail to the boat, a 15 foot snake was sun tanning on it. I was SO depressed we missed it. Spotted lots of HUGE spiders though.
Say hello to Argentina!
Back at our hotel we relaxed and soaked up as much 5-star perfectness as possible before our early fight to Porto Alegre the next morning.
Oh that we could have delayed our flight to eat that continental breakfast again.
This is the one place we would go back to if visiting South America again. It was a good respite for our digestive systems before we headed into the ugness of the rest of the trip food.
When backpacking Brazil at 3 months prego- go 5-star... go 5-star.
Our only regret was that we got there late and left early. This place is AMAZING!
Q and I splurged two nights on a posh Oriental Express hotel and it was worth every penny. We got free flip flops, luxurious robes, and our only real food of the trip. We got there at night and wondered why there weren't any curtains on the windows. When we woke up the next morning, we figured it out- the Hotel Cataras is the only structure set right on the edge of the falls and cut into the tropical rain forest. The rain forest is an impenetrable wall that clings right up to the hotel. In fact, there aren't any paths into the rain forest because it is so thick.
Our hotel is steps away from the falls so we hiked down to see them. Breathtaking. These make Niagara look like a trickle of tap water. This (above) is only the very beginning.
There were some rambunctious raccoon cubs on the falls trail.
By this time Q's Portuguese was in full force but these vicious little guys weren't listening.
There were also millions of butterflies of every size, shape, and color. They flew all over and landed on us the entire time we were at Iguazu. Man I look sweaty. It's HOT.
The further we went along the falls, the wetter we got. This is on the way to a walk-out bridge that is built over the falls (freaky).
NEXT:
We took a tour to the bottom of the falls where we hopped on a raft that took us up and into the falls as far as we could get.
The boat drove right under some of the falls and it was awesome.
Right before we hiked the trail to the boat, a 15 foot snake was sun tanning on it. I was SO depressed we missed it. Spotted lots of HUGE spiders though.
Say hello to Argentina!
Back at our hotel we relaxed and soaked up as much 5-star perfectness as possible before our early fight to Porto Alegre the next morning.
Oh that we could have delayed our flight to eat that continental breakfast again.
This is the one place we would go back to if visiting South America again. It was a good respite for our digestive systems before we headed into the ugness of the rest of the trip food.
When backpacking Brazil at 3 months prego- go 5-star... go 5-star.
