UNREAL Iguazú Falls

When Pepperdine students come to Buenos Aires, a trip to Iguazú Falls is an absolute MUST. The national park for Iguazú (i-gwah-zoo) Falls is at the northeastern tip of Argentina and also crosses over to Brazil and Paraguay. It's less than a 2-hour flight to the falls from Buenos Aires, so some friends and I decided to make the trip over a weekend. Lauren, Halee, David and I hopped on our plane bright and early with backpacks, cameras, and a change of clothes at hand!

Originally, there was rain in the forecast for our entire day at Iguazú but by some miracle, we had blue skies and SUN! I couldn't believe it. We had absolutely gorgeous weather with just a few clouds. The park around the falls is pretty large, but it's definitely doable in one day. We didn't waste any time and started by touring the upper circuit. We saw some critters almost immediately on our walking path through the trees. The first ones are called coaties. They look very similar to raccoons but have longer snouts, and boy are they AGGRESSIVE. If you're not careful, the coaties will come steal food right out of your hands. The second critters, to my surprise, were MONKEYS!! I was not expecting to see them in the park at all, so when they crossed the paths in front of us and swung from tree to tree I actually felt like I was in the middle of the jungle (which we were).

We came around the bend of the first path and BAM. There it was. I felt like I had stepped into Wonderland mixed with Jurassic Park mixed with the Land of Oz. As if the falls themselves weren't breathtaking enough, we had a rainbow to top it off. It was unlike anything I've ever seen in my life. The upper circuit gave us a view different view points of the falls from where they stared in the river. JUST LOOK AT THIS PICTURE. IT'S UNREAL.

Our next stop in the park was La Garganta del Diablo, which means Devil's Throat in English. It's pretty much the "main attraction" of the park. It is a semicircle of waterfalls that are so powerful that you can't even see where they land at the bottom. There is a walkway that peers out the slightest bit over the falls, and it basically feels like you're going to get sucked into the Devil's Throat (hence the name). The mist and splashing from the falls is so strong that you get soaked just standing on the bridge. It's remarkable and frightening at the same time.

The last part of the park we had to left to see was the lower circuit. This trail ran closer to the base of the falls. There was a walkway by one of them that extended out so you could stand right next to the water mid-fall. Again, you get soaked. The best part about the lower circuit is that it is where we boarded the boat for our excursion under the falls! It was only 12 minutes but it was one of the most amazing and fun things I've ever done. At a few points during the ride, I couldn't even open my eyes because the water was spraying so hard. This is where the extra change of clothes came in - we were absolutely drenched. More drenched than when you take a shower. It was about the same as jumping fully clothed into a swimming pool, and it was totally worth it. Sadly I wasn't able to take any photos or videos on my own cameras during the boat ride, but I am hoping some GoPro pictures will turn up shortly.

Does it sound like this trip went a little too smoothly? You're right. It did. I was thinking the exact same thing right before I got pounced on by one of the wild monkeys. Only after it attacked me did I feel like the trip was complete.

All jokes aside, we truly had a perfect day in the park. We saw everything we wanted to see and did everything we wanted to do, with even the sun and some rainbows joining us. After all, Iguazú Falls is named on of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World, and boy was it wonderFALL.

Next stop... Uruguay!!

Palm trees are prettier next to waterfalls,

Danielle