January 13, 2023
SOUTH AMERICA HERE WE COME!
Having dropped Princess Sophie off with friends (30 days with her boyfriend, Rusty – woohoo!), we finished our packing and headed to the Pendrak’s official Park ‘n Ride for Jodock World Travels. We nearly missed the connecting flight from Miami to Buenos Aires (kudos to American Airlines baggage handlers who got our bags from one gate to the next in less than 20 minutes), but it was an otherwise uneventful journey.
Our first day in country was all about getting settled in. Our guide met our group of 14 at the airport, got us checked into our hotel and walked us to a delicious Argentine steakhouse for lunch. These guys take their lunch seriously – empanadas and sausages as starters, huge servings of steak, chicken or pasta with multiple family-style side dishes, wine, desert; we were stuffed! – and when our guide told us restaurants wouldn’t even be open for dinner before 8:00 we understood why! Argentinians eat lunch around 1:30, and dinner between 8:30 – 10:00 p.m. Clubs stay open until 8:00 a.m., and clubbing is often followed by an “After.” Not for the faint of heart!
We were on our own for dinner. The 5:30 a.m. departure the following morning led most of us to feast on sleep.
January 14, 2023
Iguazu Falls (Argentina Side)
A domestic flight took us from Buenos Aires to the city of Iguazu (pronounced Eewahzoo). We headed straight from the airport to the Iguazu Falls National Park.
The Iguazu Falls were born millions of years ago, likely the result of a volcanic eruption and from the slow but steady shift of tectonic plates. It creates the border between Argentina and Brazil. While the majority of the water that feeds the falls comes from Brazil, the majority of the falls are actually in Argentina. Together, they make up the largest waterfall system in the world. The Falls consist of more than 275 individual falls, which flow over the largest basalt shelf in the world and are divided into the upper and lower falls. Iguazu Falls National Park is home to more than 1,000 different kinds of birds (including Toucans), 350+ species of butterflies (they are everywhere), and 86 varieties of orchids. Its wildlife inhabitants include monkeys, jaguars, pumas, cougars, ocelots, caimans (cousins of our Florida gators), tapers…just to name a few. The park itself was established in 1939 and consists of approximately 300,000 acres, ninety percent of which is closed to the public.
How do the Iguazu Falls compare to other famous waterfalls? Well, our own Niagara Falls are one third shorter than Iguazu, but Iguazu actually has less annual flow than Niagara. Niagara has the fifth highest average flow of the world’s largest falls; Iguazu is sixth. Iguazu is wider than Victoria Falls in South Africa, but Victoria claims the largest curtain of water.
We spent our morning hiking the upper falls, then stopped for a delicious lunch. The forecast had called for rain, but we’d had beautiful weather. We were preparing to head to the lower falls for the afternoon portion of our tour when someone looked out the window. Oh! My! Goodness! Clear blue skies had given way to a torrential downpour! Such is life in a sub-tropical rainforest, our guide shrugged.
Ken braved the rain while Pam opted to stay behind and keep her skivvies dry – this was only day 2, after all. Ken was rewarded not only with more beautiful views, but a visit from this little guy.
Our accommodations were inside the park, on the Brazilian side of the falls. This required us to exit the park, go through the Border Patrol in Argentina and in Brazil before re-entering the park to get to our hotel. We stayed at the absolutely beautiful Hotel Das Catarata’s, built in 1958 to reflect the architectural style of 1930s Brazil, with an amazing view of the falls from its front yard. The interior woodworking was incredible – from the ceiling beams to the fireplace mantels to the staircases to the doors to our rooms.
We enjoyed over-the-top lunches and dinners here, in a beautiful restaurant that looks out over the pool.
JodockWorldTravel 
Looks gorgeous
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