The Big Trip with Scott & Bree...Starting at Iguazú Falls

The big moment came…we couldn’t believe it was already here. The trip with Scott & Bree was something we had most looked forward to since the beginning, but we also saw it as being the end of a great time down here in Argentina. We had been planning the trip for so long and we so excited that it was actually here. We only had about a week and a half to travel, and Argentina is such a large and diverse country, it was somewhat challenging to decide what we wanted to see and do in such a limited amount of time. We decided to start in Iguazú Falls, travel to the northwestern regions of Salta and Jujuy, rent a car, and spend a few days driving around that area, and then heading south to Mendoza and San Rafael for vineyards and snowboarding. We then would head back to BA for a couple of days in the city. Since we did so much, I'll divide the trip up into several blog posts, so you guys can read parts at a time!

About two hours after Scott & Bree arrived to BA, we dragged them onto another flight to Puerto Iguazú, which is in the northeast of Argentina. The highlight here is Iguazú Falls, one of the largest in the world stretching 1.6 miles along the border of Argentina and Brazil, surrounded by tropical forests. Well, the day and a half we were there, it was anything but tropical. All last week when we had looked at weather forecasts, the temperature for Igauzú was in the 80s and sunny. When we were there, it was about 50 and cloudy. But, we did not let the weather put a damper on our fun! We checked into Hostal Bambu, had a few cervezas at the bar, and went out for appetizers and dinner in town.
The first thing we did when we got to the park the next morning was the boat and truck tour. Gabriel, the guy that worked at the hostal, told us we had to do the combination tour because it was incredible and definitely worth the extra money. Turns out, it wasn’t, but we still had a good time. We got on a big truck that took us on a 5 minute ride through the jungle, as a guide talked about different species of trees and wildlife, which we didn’t see. One interesting thing that we did learn was that the palm trees that produce the delicious hearts of palm are becoming endangered, as it takes one whole tree to produce just one small can of hearts of palm. They love them in Argentina. While the truck ride was unexciting, the boat ride itself was a great time, minus the freezing temperature. It took us down the river and then for an up close and personal look at the falls. It felt like we were going right up to the falls, as we were completely drenched. When we saw other boats go up, we realized that we just barely got to the edge of the spray. The falls were incredible. Every view gets more and more beautiful and you feel like each picture you take is better than the last. We hiked the upper and lower circuits, getting to see the falls from below and above. The Garganta del Diablo is the highlight. It’s a horseshoe shaped fall that has more power than any of the other falls. It was amazing. Lunch at the park was an adventure because we were attacked by coatis, these annoying, raccoon-like animals that had no fear of humans and would do anything to get their paws on your sandwich, including jump on the table and grab it right out of your hands. Not much appetite after seeing that! After a full day at the park, we headed back to town, starving, for a nice dinner. Afterwards, we got on the first overnight bus of the trip and started out for Tucumán.