So there we were back on the bus again, this time though we had a front seat and a fab view. We watched out of the window as the scenery changed dramatically from dusty deserts to green jungles and rain forest. The temperature changed also and as we got off the bus at 7am it was really hot and humid.

We had arrived in Peurto Iguazu, a little town on the border of Argentina and Brazil and we were there for one reason only...the waterfalls!

The first day we spent wandering around the town, again mostly chemists and shoe shops but with the scrummy addition of ice cream parlours everywhere!!

The second day we took the 20 minute bus ride to the falls.

In my naive brain and not knowing much about the planet I presumed the best falls were Niagara in Canada, which I had seen with Ray and Si in 2004. They were really amazing but I remember being slightly disappointed with the commercialism going on there; casinos, hotels etc so touristy but none the less very impressive. So I was nt expecting anything more than that when we entered Iguazu National park.

It was bakingly hot and as we had got there early, the place was fairly empty of tourists too. We were given a map and directed to get on a quirky little steam train to the first part of the falls..."here we go", I thought.."Disneyland again"...poot poot!!!

As the train chugged around the park and into the jungle, I looked down to see that Ray had a massive and I mean Jurrassic sized butterfly which had landed on his hand...wow!! I thought we were so privileged that this beautiful creature had chosen us to sit with. What a rare occurance, how lucky were we??. As we got off the train though, at the first station, I realised that we were surrounded by them!! It was like an Alfred Hitchcock remake of the birds, except with butterflies of all shapes and sizes, millions of them everywhere. They landed on your face, on your head, in your hair, on your nose, legs, everywhere and then they started to lick the sweat and salt off your skin...it was actually a very bizarre but very nice sensation!!

We started the walk along the long bridge which was suspended over the Parana river and there was still no sign of it being commercial and touristy..it just got more and more beautiful. Banana and papya trees growing all around, with vibrant coloured tropical flowers and sweet smelling pine forests and wild herbs and the crowning glory were the birds of paradise flying through the trees and overhead. It was a sensory overload! My eyes and nose had never been so busy!! I had to keep stopping for a look and a sniff...just a stunning, stunning place.

We walked the path along the bridge for about 20 minutes as it wound its way over the quietly meandering river. Below we saw massive (again Jurassic sized) cat fish, otters (normal sized) and an array of birds of paradise and sea birds flying effortlessly over the river...I was in Attenborough heaven!!

Finally the river below started to get a bit busier and rougher and we could hear a fantastic roar of water as we appraoched the falls. The closer we got the more we could feel the mist of water droplets being thrown back up from the falls crashing below us. Then as we reached the end of the bridge and through the last bit of jungle foliage, there it was...... Iguazu Falls....just the most jaw dropping sight.

The river seperated into several waterfalls each nearly 300 foot high. We were standing at the very top of the falls at the Garganta do Diabo (the Devils Throat) but there were more cascades to see underneath this area, further into the jungle below. The noise here was deafening as each individual river crashed its way to the bottom of the falls. It was one of those situations where the sight was so awe inspiring and incredible that it mesmerised us and transfixed us to the spot and having taken a trillion photographs, we still could nt leave. Try as we might, the pictures we were taking just weren't capturing the magnificence of this wonderous natural beauty....we even tried to walk away back across the bridge at one point but we had to go back for another look and another photo session!

Finally we made our way back across the bridge, through the butterfly frenzy and headed back on the train to the next part of the falls. As we walked along the path we were greeted by wild coati's. Very cute little fellas with stripy tails and long wiggly noses. There were signs all around warning people that although they looked cute they'd have your hand off if you gave them food, so although tempted we steered clear.

Along the next path , the butterflies continued their flutteryness and every now and then we caught site of a little gecco sunning himself. Ray also snapped a shot of a jungle spider, but thankfully he was only a tiddler!

We followed the superior path which took you to the view of the middle of the falls . This was a fab photo opportunity as where ever you stood the sunlight and spray from the waterfall created the most beautiful rainbow across the river, jungle and falls.

Finally we followed a path which led to a point right underneath one of the waterfalls. Ray and I ran up to it like a couple of giddy children, took a quick photo and legged it out of there....we were soaked in seconds...hee hee what fun!

By the end of the day we were exhausted , having walked miles around this beautiful, un Disneyfied, un touristy and unspoilt park. We had taken fifty trillion photographs all of which had nt really captured the place but again, it is another wonder of this amazing world which I would return to in a heartbeat.......(please see photo section above )