Niagra Falls, for whatever it's worth, just can't compare with the vast falls that stretch between the frontera of Brasil and Argentina. The confluence of the Rio Parana and Rio Paraguay creates a spectacular display of gravity and a whole lot of water. To call it just a "waterfall" does it an incredible injustice.

We spent a total of three days staying in the border town of Puerto Iguazu on the Argentine side of the falls, visiting both sides before moving on into Brasil. The manner in which we explored the area allowed for a build up to the "main event" of visiting the larger part of the Foz do Iguazu, the "Garganta del Diablo": a fall that spills over thousands of hecatars of water per second.

Our first day spent in the park, on the Argentine side, not only provided an opportunity to see some of the smaller and somewhat more beautiful parts of the falls, but gave us quite a show of the local flora and fauna as well. The region, being more sub-tropical, contains hundreds of different species of birds, plants, instects, and animals. It was like our visit to the selva of Ecuador. The highlight of our exploration on the Argentine side had to have been the troupe of Monos (monkeys) that we were able to photo and watch for almost an hour. Their playful nature and cute mannerisms easily captivated the passing people. The beauty of it all was, for how close we were able to observe them, it was all in thier natural habitat in the safety of the National Park. Amongst the monos we were also able to observe colorful birds, coati (racoon like animal that is quite unafraid of humans) taking advantage of careless human habits, as well as countless lizards (even a couple huge ones about two feet long) and butterflies.

The following day was the visit to the Brasilian side which provided a more panoramic view of the entire falls walking along the paserelas for viewing the enormous falls. Although the wildlife was less apparent on the Brasilian side, a few coati roamed looking for a hand out or two. The trip to the Brasilian side completed our visit to Foz do Iguazu and the finale of viewing the "Garganta del Diable" (Devils throat), as much a cacophony as a spectacular show of the force of water. Walking 50m from parts of the falls viewpoint left us wet with spray as if we just stepped out of the shower with our clothes on.

While we were in the area there happened to be a protest going on by the local Argentine parents trying to improve school conditions. We ended up getting lucky in our visit, for we only got delayed coming back on the Argentine side by an hour or so the first day. The following day while visiting the Brasilian side no one was able to get through the strike lines on the Argentine side, making it nice for photos as it turned out no one could be seen from our vantage point.

It is quite interesting and amazing to see how we were able to travel from the "end of the earth", where all the trees are changing colors and the air is crisp, to the hot an humid city of Buenos Aires and then finally on to the sub-tropical environs of southern Brasil in just under a week and a half. The size and diversity of this continent hasn't let up on it's ability to leave one humbled and impressed with the beauty in this world.