waterfall – Trouspinet travels

My itinerary next took me to the exact opposite end of the country – Foz Iguazu, on the border with Brazil and Paraguay. It was a long day’s travel to get there, with a change of airport at Buenos Aires. My airline had warned that many people wanted to travel that day and urged me to check in early. When I arrived, I realised that the reason for the warning had nothing to do with the volume of passengers and everything to do with…….el fútbol. All the passengers and many of the staff were watching Argentina beat Poland on a huge screen. As a result, check in was slow but good humoured.

The far north of Argentina was completely different to Patagonia, with lush green jungle and hot, humid weather. I set off to view the famous waterfalls. First I headed to the Brazilian side of the river, where there are the best panoramic views. Crossing the border was quick and easy and soon I was admiring an amazing spectacle. Foz Igauzu is not just one waterfall, but dozens or even hundreds of falls spread out over a few kilometres.

My first view of Foz Iguazu – from the Brazilian side

Visitors follow a path running along the river bank, giving a range of views. After a short walk I stopped for drink, and was met by a small friend (a coati) looking for food. I had none, which was just as well, since although coatis look cute, they can get aggressive in their search for something to eat.

She was probably hungry because she had to feed this lot……..

The path reached the main set of falls on the Brazilian side. There, a walkway led out into the middle of the river to the Garganta del Diablo – the Devil’s throat, probably the most spectacular fall of the lot. The cool spray of water (I was soon soaked), constant roar of water and amazing view into the heart of the falls made for a unique experience.

The Devil’s Throat – Foz Iguazu, Brazilian side

The view from the middle of the river, Foz Iguazu Brazilian side

The next day, I visited the falls from the Argentine side. I set off early to avoid the mid-morning crowds and had the pathway along the “lower circuit” almost entirely to myself. This side of the river offered a very different experience – you could approach the falls more closely along walkways running through pretty jungle.

I finished the “lower circuit” just as the first tour groups began to arrive and started the “upper circuit”. This had more amazing views, but at times was unpleasantly crowded. It was hard for someone small like me to get a view, and when I climbed up onto the railings to take photos, I worried about getting knocked off by tourists jostling to take selfies. The path back from the falls went through some interesting jungle, where I saw a baby crocodile…

Late morning – rush hour at the Argentine side

After the two classic circuits of the Argentine side, I tried a much less popular short trail through the jungle. The signs at the start promised of the possibility of seeing monkeys and toucans, and gave advice about what to do if I encountered a puma or a jaguar. This raised my expectations, but sadly I saw only some birds, huge butterflies and giant ants.

On one of the jungle trails at Foz Iguazu

The short hike took me about an hour, and it was now one o’clock. I had “done” everything and thought about going back to my hotel, but instead went back to try the upper circuit again. Maybe all those tour groups had a lunch break? I had guessed right – in the heat of the early afternoon, I had the upper circuit almost to myself and could now focus on taking pictures without being jostled.

An added bonus was that the early afternoon sun made rainbows at many of the waterfalls

The second visit to the upper circuit was a great way to end my visit to Foz Iguazu, which is one of the wonders of the world – a destination truly at the end of the rainbow.

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Today I made the long drive to the north coast of Iceland. I left early and drove back over the pretty mountain pass to Egilstadir, and then my route lead straight across Iceland’s interior. At first the road went through green rolling hills, like the countryside I had seen before – with the inevitable waterfalls.

Then the landscape turned grey and barren, and it looked like I had arrived on the moon or another planet.

The Lunar Landscape of Iceland’s interior

I drove for about two more hours along these straight, empty roads, before reaching my first destination for today – the waterfalls Selfoss and Dettifoss. These are not the highest waterfalls in Iceland but still impress through the power of the huge volume of water hurtling through the steep river canyon. I made the short walk to the smaller Selfoss first………

…..before standing in awe in front of mighty Dettifoss. It was a great stop for my lunch sandwiches, and when the sun periodically appeared, the waterfall’s spray made a pretty rainbow.

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Dettifoss was just one of things to see in the “Jokulsargljufur” area, a long canyon formed long ago by a volcanic eruption under the Vatnajokull glacier in the centre of Iceland (which I visited earlier on my trip in the South). The melted glacier water surged down the valley in a cataclysmic flood, and carved out the canyon in a matter of days. I followed the canyon by a new road leading along its west side, and stopped for another walk to explore further. I saw weird volcanic lava shapes that looked like sleeping monsters (Icelanders would call them trolls), a lave cave (formed when the outside of a lava river solidifies but the inside keeps flowing) and pretty mountain flowers, with purple heather.

Further down the road, I explored the last part of the canyon, a huge horseshoe-shaped ridge surrounding a lush forest covering the floor of the old, now dry, river bed.

It was now later in the day, and my remaining route took me through the town of Husavik (my destination for tomorrow) where I stocked up on food and took photos of the mountains lining the other side of fjord.

I finally found my rental cottage in the evening evening, and cooked myself Icelandic lamb for dinner. It had been a very long but very fulfilling day.

Tag: waterfall

Water, Water Everywhere – Foz Iguazu

The drive north – Waterfalls, Canyons and Lunar Landscapes