As usual we had plenty to eat and drink. Even the local Champagne wasnt bad at all.
In the Iguazu National park. The ecological boat tour. This trip reminded me of Viet-Nam....
No, I've never been there. I mean the films.
David was very excited when he saw the fancy train that runs through the park. So I paid him a ride.
Spot the Croc: Most of the wilflife in the park is nocturnal, so that's about all we saw.
The main waterfalls, The "Garganta del Diablo" or Devil's throat..... on a hangover, so to speak. Seen from the bordwalk on the Argentinian edge.
The same falls from the Brasilian edge opposite.
The San Martin falls (the smaller ones) speedboats queuing for the shower Back to Argentina Main Page
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Poser!
David had had a rough night after the local Champagne...
"Mmmh. All this water makes me feel thirsty..."
"Got an Idea: I'll just fill my bottle over there and avoid the usual rip-offs"
After a few refeshments, David began to relax
All this jungle reminded him of his home before he was captured by a scientific expedition from Clongowes College years ago...
...of which John was a member!
John was hyperexcited. He really wanted to step over the edge to get a better view. I tried to restrain him but....
John fell over board!
He always loved his Agua "sin gas", but this was going too far!
John got wet....
...and sulky.
But the trip on the speedboat soon cheered him up.
The speed boat trip takes you to the edge of the devil's throat, and then right into the San Martin falls, so getting wet is part of the fun. Don't forget your shampoo.
And of course, it's agreat place for permanent rainbows.
And for the studs that we are, the national park is a great place for drying up topless in the sunshine. I personally got a few smiles from 20-something ladies passing by. Okay, it could have been cos I was so pale-skinned, or something like that.
About the indians
Unlike nearby Brasil, there are very few Africans or descendants of african slaves in Argentina. Nor do you find much traces of recent immigrants but there are indians, and these seem to take the places where we in our western world would see Africans, North Africans or immigrants from countries of similar poverty. Argentina strikes me as a country of mixed races (North and South Europeans, Arabs, Indians), where there is a certain degree of "melting pot". Maybe even more than in the US.
The slums appear to have nevertheless a high proportion of people with indigenous looks. And it stills seems that the whiter you are, the more likely you are affluent, educated and powerful you may be. Sure this is true even in Cuba, where the majority is descended from african slaves, and yet all the faces in the government are white!
There are several ethnic groups among the indigenous population, one of the main being the Mapuche, which are also in Chile.
But in Iguazu, the indians are the Guaranis. Quite discrete and easy going people.