Iguazu falls: page 2

(A link on any picture will take you to a bigger view in the Gallery. So go ahead and click on them all!)

The biggest waterfall in the world.
(This picture comes from a site that takes you on a virtual helicopter ride over the falls. Must be online) When we were there in January 1995, a helicopter ride took 7 minutes and cost around $50.

For once you couldn't hear my voice over the roar of the water!
Arno took this great picture at the Devil's Throat. It really is an indescribable feeling to stand close to so much sheer power.

How Iguazu compares to Canada's Niagara Falls? They are two totally different things. Iguazu is somehow "wild" and wonderful, while Niagara is commercialised and "people-friendly". At Iguazu we walked through narrow, winding little paths, surrounded by steaming forest. Niagara has neat, clean paths and "people movers" to take you to all the spots. At Iguazu every turn in the path shows you another unexpected view. Niagara has the tower from where you can get a good look, and the Spanish car to go right over the water. Both places have boats to take you closer to the falls.

(But don't take only my word, please! There is a whole site where you can read other comments. Click here, please, if you are online.)

The whole group together.
Diego (with the striped shirt) was our friend and guide at Iguazu. His wife, Alicia, and I were the only females on this trip. They took their son, Gaston (then 11 months old), along. They are from Buenos Aires, but a few months later, their little girl was born in South Africa while they were visiting there. The South Africans are Sakkie du Preez, Arno, André Swart and Kobus Greyling. The man with his back to the camera is an American tourist. Here we were all at the Devil's Throat.

On the Brazilian side of the falls.
The next day we went to Brazil to see the falls from that angle. (By the way, we absolutely loved the Brazilian food! Just spicy enough, while we found Argentine food a bit too bland.) This picture was taken after the day we swam in three countries (Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay). From the Falls we went across the border to the big city on the Paraguayan border, and also visited the biggest dam in the world, the Itaipu.

Iguazu page 1
Niagara Falls, Canada

KIBANA-SHAKUNAGE (Rhododendron aureum): One of the Alpine Rhododendrons. Its pale-yellow color is expressed in both the Japanese and the Latin name (image).