Rumble in the Iguazu Jungle

Hello from Argentina.

Time is passing quickly and it feels like we´ve done so much, yet it´s only day four of our trip (and our 1 week anniversary!).

(note - this is off the cuff so please excuse spelling and grammar errors)

Day 1 - we arrived in Buenos Aires at about 9:30am and reached our hotel, Gran Hotel Hispano, on Av. de Mayo. Within an hour of check-in we were off sight seeing. Allison and I both agreet that BA reminds us of Bucharest. Absolutely insane drivers (they have the highest percentage of fatalities in auto accidents in the world here), beautiful and unsightly buildings mingled together, and more litter than expected. Unlike Bucharest, they like to protest here. On our day of arrival we were caught up in a large protest/parade with most people wearing green and lots of drums and noise makers. We think it is related to transportation, but are not sure.

In the evening we meet up with David Ehrich and his daughter, whom he is visiting. After a cervesa at Cafe Tortoni, which is a few doors down from our hotel and where many if BA´s intellectual elite such as Borges were regulars, we head by taxi into an unknown neighborhood in search of a tango restaurant recommended to David. Unfortunately, after much asking with rudimentary Spanish, the place could not be found, so we chose a very nice little bistro with a soccer (aka futball) theme for beef on a stick, large salads, and wine. David and his daughter Ana treated us very well.

Day 2 - Fly to Puerto Iguazu. Arrive at Iguazu Jungle lodge where our balcony literally enters the jungle. We both revelled in the slow pace of the town. Here the temperature is hot, the air humid, and the population small. Our dinner at a well recommended seafood restaurant, La Rueda, did not disappoint.

Day 3 - Yesterday. The day we go to the Iguazu Falls National Park. The day we have to get up pre-dawn in order to bypass the protest. Yes, another protest. This one for the local schools which are in such a state of disrepair that classes have been canceled for the past month. In Argentina, protesters know how to get attention. Here, they blocked the road between the falls (and airport) and the town. We managed to drive through it at 7:15am; as we passed the protest there were many adults and children met with police and riot gear. The protesters attempted to block the road, but could not. Our driver wiped his brow with relief, but by 8am the road could no longer be driven.

It´s amazing the effect the protest had. Many events in the park were closed because employees could not get to work (I felt disappointment akin to when Space Mountain was closed at Disneyland when i was young) and the park was very sparsely populated by those who managed to get there early or come from the Brazilian side (the falls stradle the argentine-brazilian border).

We walked all over the park, through the jungle, around the falls, and back again in 97 degree and humid conditions. I was moist the entire time. In the park we saw: parrot-like exotic birds, lizards, coatis (looks like a mix between an anteater and a racoon), a million butterflies, a young Broad-snouted Caimen, large tropical fish, turtles, and more. We also saw a trantula mere feet from our hotel door, but that´s not in the park of course.

By three pm we were exhausted, thirsty, damp, and ready to hit the pool. However, the protest was still going on thereby trapping us at the park. For hours. We heard all sorts of conflicting stories - it will end at 5pm. No, it will end at 6pm. No, they will let cars through for 15 minutes once an hour. No, they will let cars in one direction through for half hour, then in the other direction for half hour. Whatever the case, all stories were consistent in that both sides had a traffic jam of cars many kilometers long that were going nowhere, most of them either tourists or in the tourist trade.

The driver of the bus that brought us to the park was in touch with those in the know, getting frequent updates of the conditions which we were watching on tv at the same time. There were burning tires, speaches, tears, yelling, and high emotions. Most of the locals we spoke with hoped the protest would work because they agree that the school conditions are indeed very poor. By about 4pm we heard that a politician was flying in and would arrive at the protest at 8pm to try to quiet things down.

Our driver was associated with our hotel and felt badly for us being trapped in the park (they took a fun speed boat home to avoid the road but weren´t allowed to take tourists with them) so he offered us a free room at the luxurious, though insanely ugly, Sheraton that is located in the park. However, all we wanted was to be in our own room with our clothes. We reached a compromise where the Iguazu Jungle Lodge paid for our dinner, return taxi, and arranged a shower for us so we could return well fed and unsmelly. They went above and beyond the call of duty.

Our taxi was to arrive at 9:30pm, though at that time the word at the Sheraton was that the protest was still going. Finally, at about 10pm a flood of cars and buses arrived. Hooray! The protest was finally letting cars through. One busload of travellers all missed their flight yesterday and spent the afternoon with their luggage in the hot weather mingling outside their bus watching the protest.

At 10:30 we called a taxi and were home in half an hour (after a 15 minute wait at the protest site).

Day 4 - Today: rest. Our first day of sleeping in since at least a week before the wedding. Also, rain. Thunder and tropical downpours. Allison and I spent the afternoon talking with the local hotel staff, playing ping-pong and pool and learning how to drink yerba mate like the locals (dramatically more bitter than what we get at home). We also learned that the protest worked and a deal was signed today, ending the road blockade, making me wipe my brow in relief knowing that getting to the airport tomorrow will not be a problem.

Tomorrow - the adventure tour on a 4X4 through the jungle and raft on rapids that takes us to the Devil´s Throat, which is the largest of the many falls, then a flight to Salta. This is what we wanted to do, but could not, yesterday due to the tour´s employees inability to reach the park.

Until our next meeting with the internet, adios!

Mark and Allison

PS: We have identified at least 10 different butterflies and 6-8 birds in our three days up in the jungle. The butterflies range from bright blue to turquoise and orange to large (~4-5" across) yellow & black swallowtail butterflies. There is even a black & white one with "88" on the side (called an "88 butterfly"). The birds range from plush crested Jays, flycatchers with bright yellow bellies and black bands across their eyes, to some sort of hummingbird (there are apparently 30 species in the area), to green ibis and black vultures. No Toucans yet but we are hoping maybe tomorrow!