Argentina Travel

To Iguazu

May 27, 2003

We used a remise from La Plata to Aeroparque to catch our flight to Iguazu. We used Gladys' car service and we were driven by a man who has served Gladys for more than 10 years. The car was nice and comfy and the ride was smooth. He pointed out the area of landfill along the way that had been nicely covered by grass. He also noted some of the slums, shantytowns really, that we encountered as we made our way to Buenos Aires. The cost was 45 pesos plus the tolls, which added almost another 5 pesos.

Check-in was smooth and quick, but we were hungry so we caught a bite to eat at the food court at the airport. Meanwhile, Michaela found two young boys to play with and they all had a blast with Michaela chasing them around the tables. However, Margarita had ordered her food much after I did and it took much longer to prepare. By the time she received her food, it was time to leave, so she rushed and brought along her sandwich to security. Along the way, we noticed a children's play area in a store. Next time we'll make sure to arrive with more time so Michaela can play.

As usual, we boarded a bus at the gate to take us to the plane, where we boarded from the tarmac via a ramp. The flight lasted just over 1.5 hours. It was uneventful. Margarita had plenty of rest so she was awake for all of the flight, which made her a little bit more of a handful, but not much. As we approached Iguazu, I saw large plumes of smoke rising from fires on the ground and plenty of agricultural land. It was apparent that a lot of land that had been jungle was no longer. The approach to the airport was somewhat strange with what seemed like a sharp descent near the end. The airport was relatively new and we de-planed via a jetway. At the airport we were met by an omnibus to take us to the hotel (Orquiades Palace). As part of our travel arrangements, we had already paid for the hotel and transportation to and from the Iguazu airport.

On the way to the airport, I saw our first jungle wildlife. Unfortunately, it was roadkill on the side of the road and could not be identified. The first part of the road from the airport to the hotel was a relatively narrow two-lane road with fairly dense forest on either side. We arrived at the hotel, checked-in and dropped off our stuff in the room. It was a good hotel - nothing special, but dinner and breakfast were included and it had a game room and a pool.

Our first excursion was to town for milk since we were out and needed some soon for Michaela. We called for a taxi just to take us to a supermarket in Puerto Iguazu. The hotel was outside Puerto Iguazu, between the town and Iguazu Falls. At the supermarket, Margarita picked up cookies, sodas, and some alfajores while Michaela waved and smiled at a group of girls sitting on nearby stairs as she and I waited in the car with the driver. The driver returned us to the hotel for just 10 pesos.

Since it was still light out, but late enough that we didn't want to pay to go and get into Iguazu Falls National Park, we asked the hotel for recommendations and they suggested Güira Oga, a facility that cares for injured birds, which was a short walk from the hotel. So off we went with Michaela in the backpack to Güira Oga, the entrance to which was indeed very close to the hotel. The dirt road leading back to the entrance was about 750 meters and made for a very nice walk. Michaela fell asleep in the backpack along the way.

The entrance fee was a nominal 2 or 3 pesos per person. We spotted a wild monkey (barely) on the way in. We ended up joining a tour in progress just as they were headed for the area where eagles and falcons were recuperating. The eagles were kept in the open with a foot tethered to the ground via a stand, where each of them were perched. They were magnificent. From the crested eagles to the solitary eagles, they were all beautful birds. Unfortunately, there were some German tourists who just had to have some close-up pictures and despite the verbal warnings from the staff, they ventured too close and upset some of the birds. There were also a couple of peregrine falcons.

We met an Argentine guy of Japanese descent and his relatives visiting from Yokohama, Japan who were, of course, enchanted with Michaela, and especially her nickname, Mika, which means (if I remember correctly) beautiful in Japanese. There were lots and lots of other birds, most of which I don't recall, but most of which were very beautiful and interesting. Michaela showed great interest in those that moved or made noise. They also had a howler monkey, which was recuperating from a fight with another monkey that has made the area its home after its recovery at the facility. There was also another howler monkey outside the cage that appeared to be wild but we later learned had been rehabilitated at the facility. The parrots and macaws were Michaela's favorites, as they made lots and lots of noise and were very brightly colored.

As we ended the tour, a capuchin monkey appeared on the roof of the office, jumped to nearby sign and then to the ground before walking off, showing no fear of or interest in us. Michaela paid lots of attention to it. Before we started to leave, we bought a pin and made a donation of 20 pesos to support their work. As we left a young girl and boy showed up barefoot carrying a pot full of freshly-made facturas, so we bought a few at 25 cents each to enjoy as we walked back to the hotel.

Back at the hotel, we checked out the pool, which was plenty large but there were lots of bugs in it and it was kind of cold. When Michaela saw a nearby cat, she motioned at it and made loud noise indicating she wanted to get close to it, so I picked her up and off we went. Unfortunately, the cat wanted nothing to do with us and off it went.

We stopped by the game room to play a game of pool since we could leave Michaela crawling around in the enclosed and relatively empty room. Unfortunately, we couldn't find the light switch so we had go to the front desk. They sent one of their staff to a small closet, where he turned on the lights. Then we checked out the tables, neither of which were in excellent condition and decided to use the one nearest the door. We put in one peso and then found that two balls were missing. The staff again helped by grabbing one ball from the other table and a cue ball. The cue sticks were missing the soft parts that you chalk and hit the ball with so I knew that the game would be long as neither Marga nor I are good players, plus the table and sticks were bad. Oh well. Michaela had fun, especially when Mauro's mom brought Mauro by and they played together for a while. Michaela also had a blast chasing a moth around that kept low to the ground and kept landing on the floor.

While waiting for dinner, which began at 8pm, Michaela met Mauro again, a 15-month old little boy and they had a fabulous time together with lots of playing and Michaela beginning to walk more and more. Before we began this trip, I predicted Michaela would be walking by the end of it, and she has certainly progressed while we've been here. Dinner was a buffet with lots of things Michaela could eat herself, like bread, shredded carrots, etc. It was nothing special, but it was included with the hotel, which was good, since it would have been a pain to go somewhere else to eat. Before dinner was over, Michaela was crawling around on the floor following Mauro, who could walk. As usual, everybody was very understanding and the staff seemed to enjoy them.

Tomorrow - off to see the falls.

Posted by mike at June 1, 2003 08:24 PM