We had heard such amazing things from various people about Iguazu. One person, who has traveled around the world, told us that it was one of his top 10 favorite places in the world. So, we were very excited to finally be there. The park has a train that takes you to a walkway that is about a mile long and eventually ends at a lookout called “Devil’s Throat”. This was our first introduction to the falls. To be perfectly honest, this was pretty, but I was a little disappointed. I just kept thinking “I am not quite getting the “top 10 list” thrill here”!!

By the time we returned from Devil’s Throat, it was fairly late in the day and we didn’t have time to do any of the hikes. So, we visited the Nature Center and signed up for the “Cataratas del Iguazu a la Luz de la Luna Llena” (Iguazu Falls by the light of the Full Moon” tour. It started at 8:00 and again, it was the train ride to Devil’s Throat. David and I, along with 2 girls from Canada, were off the train and down the trail before the other passengers thought about getting off the train. It was so worth it as we were the first to be at the lookout point before the crowd arrived. The falls were really beautiful, especially with the full moon shining on them.

After the train ride back, we had dinner at the restaurant in the park. It tasted extremely good as we had eaten very little all day and were famished. In the middle of our meal, an oriental man came running up to our table and exclaimed “I remember where I saw you!!! You are from Lima and were on the tour in Lake Titicaca with me!!” Oh my gosh, he was right!! I had seen him earlier in the day at the park and thought he looked familiar, but figured it was just my imagination. He and his traveling companion had spotted us on the moonlight tour and were trying to remember where they had seen us. We had spent 2 days on the boat tour with them….small world, huh?

By the time we got back to our room and in bed, it was about 1:00 AM…a long day of flying and touring the falls. The next day, we got up and headed to breakfast around 9:15….breakfast was served until 10:00. It was confusing in the hotel as the restaurant was closed. When we inquired where they served breakfast, we were told that it was served from 6:00 until 10:00. Yes, we knew that, but where? Again, we were told the hours….finally, I asked what the time was….it was 10:55!!! The clock in our room lost time throughout the night and was running very late…I never looked at my watch!!!

So, rather than go to the park, where they only had sandwiches with meat and pizzas, we headed into the town of Iguazu first. What a cute place! I just loved the town. I don’t know exactly why, maybe it reminded me of towns and my time in the Dominican Republic so many years ago. We had a nice brunch. I had a cheese omelet, pineapple and cappuccino. David had cheese empanadas. After breakfast, we caught the bus to the park.

This time, we hiked all through the paths on the “Upper and Lower” circuit. The views of the falls were incredible and I could honestly say that I now understand the “10 ten list”. Not only did we enjoy amazing scenery, but we saw wild monkeys jumping from tree to tree. David also saw two toucans…I missed them, I think it was a bathroom break…darn it when nature calls!!!

Now, Iguazu is in the jungle. The temps on the second day were 100 degrees….it was hot, hot, hot. Fortunately, we signed up for a boat ride that took us under one of the falls…..talk about refreshing. We did this towards the end of the day and were cooled off in a grand way.

On the bus ride back into town, we decided to get a bottle of wine, cheese and crackers for a “picnic” in the room. Argentinian wine is soooo good and very inexpensive! We missed getting off at the first stop and got off on the second one….would you believe that our oriental friends were sitting at an outside cafe near the bus stop??? This time, we exchanged e-mails…we figured we must keep in touch. They are from Hong Kong and Singapore.

Just as we got in the store, the heavens opened up and it poured. We waited for it to slow down a little and walked around the town doing a couple of the gift shops before getting the bus back to the hotel. We met an interesting American who is living in Iguazu. Delmer is hoping to develop a tour company that would introduce craft making and waterfall repelling to baby-boomers…good luck, Delmer!

It was an early night as the next day, Christmas, we had a 10:00 AM flight to Buenos Aires.