At 6 o'clock, we get up. Although we arranged for breakfast at half past 6, Carolina shows up at the door by 6:10. The breakfast spread is neatly laid out with warm croissants, sandwiches, fresh juice, yogurt, fruit, and more. We enjoy our meal outside in the pleasant morning air.
At 7 o'clock, Marcelo, our private guide, comes to pick us up for the tour in Iguazú National Park. Since Jan no longer has a phone, I message him just to make sure we haven't missed any messages. Turns out, Marcelo forgot about us. He apologizes and says he's on his way. He has to come from Brazil, just on the other side of the river. We're a bit disappointed, but then he mentions in the car that he feels really bad about it and that he'll do the tour for free. That was unnecessary, but of course, we don't refuse.
He arrives at half past 7, and by 5 minutes to 8, we're at the park, which opens at 8 o'clock. It's not as hot as yesterday and less humid at the moment. Yesterday it was 32 degrees, and now it's 28. The forecast predicts rain today. We'll see how it goes.
He turns out to be a very pleasant guy, age-wise hard to guess. He looks around 35, but from his stories, he should be at least 10 years older. He knows a tremendous amount and notices the smallest details. He studied tourism, but nowadays, he spends a lot of time with naturalists—biologists, that is—and felt he needed to know more. So, he's currently studying biology. He practices this all day long because he seems to know something about every plant, bird, or insect we come across and effortlessly sprinkles Latin names, but not in an annoying way. His hobby is birdwatching, and he can identify birds from a great distance and knows all their calls. He points out insects and flowers—it just goes on.
It's a beautiful environment, very green. We're glad to have a guide because the park isn't as clearly signposted as North American parks. Plus, we don't have a map, which of course makes a difference.
We walk from one waterfall to another, and they become larger and more beautiful as we progress until we reach the real giants. This is incredibly beautiful. Marcelo tells us that there's always a kind of competition between Brazil and Argentina over who has the most beautiful waterfalls. According to him, Brazil has the best views, while Argentina also offers a beautiful piece of jungle. The weather is decent, but because it rained a lot yesterday, it's quite hazy, and the views aren't as sharp. It's not ideal for photos, but in terms of the experience here, it doesn't matter much.
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This one we have at home in a pot as a hanging plant
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| Plush Crested Jay |
I just realized how lucky we are with the weather when it starts raining at 11:45 am. At first, it's just a little, thankfully we have rain jackets with us, and then suddenly a tropical downpour. Right at the moment it really starts pouring, we are just sheltered for lunch. We are in a kind of cage there because before the pandemic it wasn't like this, and someone was bitten by a monkey or a coati every day, as they came to steal food.
Many people seem to have been caught off guard by the rain and are soaked. In the restrooms, people undress to their underwear and try to dry their hair and t-shirts under the hand dryer.
After lunch, we head to the train. It's dry again now, but occasional showers still occur. We have to wait for half an hour. This line actually doesn't go anywhere. I mean, we get off, look around in hopes of seeing mammals, but they've called it quits with this weather. So, we immediately head back. First, we walk a part of the Green Trail we did this morning, but then we turn off onto a different section.
There is a large stand of Natives, the Mbya Guarani, with handmade goods. Further ahead, we see birds building a nest. What a beautiful structure. Marcelo explains that when it's finished, it will have two rooms: a living room and a nursery.
Around 3 o'clock, we tell Marcelo that he can take us to the airport, which is nearby. In hindsight, it was a bit silly because I had wanted to look around the visitor center. In the car, we encounter another downpour. At least we're staying dry again. We say goodbye with a generous tip and head inside to reorganize our belongings. Marcelo mentioned that we might still spot a toucan, but it starts pouring again, and once more, we find ourselves indoors! Jan changes into a different shirt because his current one smells like an old bear after hibernation in this sticky weather.
Then we head to security, which goes smoothly. It's not crowded, and everyone is friendly. However, we still have to wait for an hour before boarding, but that's how it goes. The flight to Buenos Aires is scheduled for 5:45 PM. Jet Smart once again flies exactly on time. It's a quieter flight compared to yesterday. The taxi to the hotel was already arranged, but there's no meeting point in the app, so we send a message to the same driver we had yesterday. We get an immediate response. He's on his way and will pick us up at the Tostadas Bar in the hall. Ten minutes later, he arrives, and within an hour of getting off the plane, we're at the
NH Hotel 9 de Julio. We check in, retrieve the luggage they had kept for us, and then find out that we've been upgraded to a suite! Room 301. Not bad for €90. The beds keep getting bigger. We've never had such a huge bed before. It's like a football field.
After showering and changing, we head out to find something to eat. It needs to be simple because we don't have the energy for anything fancy. There's a McDonald's nearby, but we're not in the mood for that. From a distance, we spot a
Kentucky, which looks promising. We initially think it's a hamburger joint, but it turns out to be a pizza place. It's a bit complicated to figure out how things work here. It's similar to McDonald's: order here, pick up there. But what do you order? We opt for a combo of two slices of pizza and a drink. We add an extra beer, and for €9, we're satisfied. The place looks nice, and the food tastes good, despite it being a deep pan pizza, which we usually don't prefer. Then we walk back and crawl into the mega bed with our books.
