The Iguazu Falls are taller than the Niagara Falls and twice as wide with 275 cascades spread in a horseshoe shape over nearly two miles of the Iguazu River, a tributary of the Parana River. During the rainy season (November thru March) the rate of flow of water going over the falls may reach 450,000 cubic feet per second!
These statistics do not faithfully describe the grandeur of the falls. This is one of Mother Nature super extravaganzas and it is something that you have to see to believe. If you do, you might come to the same conclusion of Eleanor Roosevelt when she saw it and exclaimed in awe: “Poor Niagara”.
We visited the site in March 2007, on our way from Rio de Janeiro to Buenos Aires. Iguazu Falls, called Foz do Iguaçu in Portuguese, and Cataratas de Iguazú in Spanish, lie on the Argentina-Brazil border and are a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site.
We were welcomed at the airport by our young guide Fabio da Silva. He took us first to the Itaupu dam, the largest hydroelectric operation of this kind in the world. (Not for long, because the dam that they are finishing right now in China is going to be double the size.) This electric plant consists of 18 turbines that are 21 feet in diameter. It has a production capacity of 12,000 Mega Watts, enough to supply 25% of Paraguay’s electric need and 78% of Brazil’s. The plant was finished in 1991 and now competes with the falls as a major tourist attraction. The immensity of the project can be explained better by comparisons. For example, the iron and steel used in Itaupu would be enough to build 380 Eiffel Towers; the total volume of concrete could be used to construct 210 Maracaná stadiums.
A bus picked us at night and took us to a nice restaurant-theater, the Raffain, where we had a wonderful steak dinner (of course) and enjoyed a fantastic samba show.
On Wednesday, after our succulent breakfast at our Five-Star hotel, the Recanto, Fabio took us on a whole day excursion to the falls. The largest one, called the Devil’s Throat is located in Argentina and we visited it first. There is a one-mile long path over the river that takes you very close to the thunderous fall, which is 210 feet tall. Then we walked through other paths to see different falls, each one different and every one amazing. Hundreds of colorful butterflies were flying along the paths and we also saw crocodiles and turtles.
Most of these falls are seen from behind or from the top. It is said that the Argentine side is the stage and the Brazilian side is the audience. When we went to the Brazilian side of the falls we could see the difference, as you can admire all the falls now from the front and the view is awe inspiring. We stood there for a long time, absorbing the full splendor of this wonder of the world.
On the way back, we stopped at the Bird Garden, a jungle with many paths that take you to quite a few large cages full of birds. There were pheasants, ibises, flamingos, eagles, condors, partridges and many other colorful birds, and dozens of loud parrots and macaws. We could even pet the toucans.
Isn't this a great place?
No comments:
Post a Comment