The Lower Trail offered the most spectacular views of the falls, in my opinion. At one point on the trail you can stand so close to a fall that you’re practically underneath it.
Looking up at the falls.
Rainbows were everywhere. I was fortunate to get a picture of a double rainbow.
One of the many beautiful rainbows we saw that day.
Throughout the day I kept imagining myself as a great explorer instead of a soft, pampered North American walking on asphalt trails. I wanted to fully immerse myself in the experience of what it must have been like to stumble across the falls for the first time. To push through the foliage to see the falls expanding across the landscape in the muggy semi-tropical conditions filled with the sounds of animals and the soft fluttering of butterflies.
Run off from one of the hundreds of falls.
After traipsing along the Lower Trails we headed down to the raft for our ride under the fall. It was pretty amazing. I wish I had brought my swim goggles so that I could’ve kept my eyes open. When the ride ended I was the last person to get off the boat. As I stepped onto the dock I looked up and spied two toucans in the trees. Score! Animal number two on the wish list. They’re incredible looking birds. Black bodied with brilliantly colored beaks in that distinctive toucan shape. Fortunately my fellow traveller was around so she was able to see them too. It was also fortunate I was slow getting off the boat because most of the passengers were gone so we were able to watch the toucans in peace. Similar to the monkeys, they were too far away and too obscured by trees to photograph.
And finally, one last butterfly who landed on a fellow traveller.
The hitchhiker getting a free lunch of human sweat and sunscreen.
Stay tuned for the last stop in Iguassu Falls: The Morning Bird Walk.