Impressive Iguazu - Argentina

In October 2012 we went on our first trip to South America, and so far our only one. Though not because it wasn't good... because it was good!

We had decided to fly into Argentina, and out of Chile. After booking our flights we sat down to decide what we wanted to see and do. Most people might plan a trip the other way 'round, but this method works for us!

On our way to the main falls

So what did we want to see? It came down to Buenos Aires (of course!), the area around Salta on the Argentinian side of the Andes, the area around San Pedro de Atacama on the Chilean side of the Andes and of course.....  the Iguazu falls!

Many birds near the falls, like this black vulture

The Iguazu falls are basically a big collection of waterfalls, and it is simply impossible to seen them all at the same time, unless you take a helicopter ride. The sheer size of it was like nothing I could of imagined.

We did spot a monkey!

Most impressive is the moment when you walk onto the viewing platform at the 'Devil's Throat'. Hearing the the roar of water while you are surrounded by the eternal mists is a moment to remember.  But not one that I could photograph. I suggest you use Google for better photos!

This is a tiny butterfly we spotted, but look at that pattern...

We spent a whole day in Iguazu National Park, as we wanted to get most out of our ticket of course! The walkways near the falls are where the most visitors are, and these can get busy at certain times. Though not nearly as busy as I expected them to be. You walk to the falls on walkways, that are either paved or boardwalk.  You get amazing views of the falls from any different angles, and you can see many birds. We saw different vultures and even a toucan!

Wild guinea pigs! I used to have a guinea pig as a pet

But it is possible to do some really nice, pretty secluded walks through the park. And while you seen mostly the omnipresent coatis at the main routes, you can see some pretty nice animal life if you wander a bit. One of the walks we did was from one entrance to the Devil's Throat. You can take a little train as transport, but walking is nice too!

And to give an impression of the Devil's Throat, this is a short video.

Timetravel

This is a bit of a different post than the usual, but for me a very special one! I have always known that my grandfather had sailed the world when he was younger. On of the reasons I know is that I was always in awe when he told little snippets about that time. And I simply could not believe the places he had been. Maybe the seed of my wanderlust has been planted by him? Or it could be the genes.

My grandfather is the lovely young sailor on the right

Anyway. A few weeks back I learned from a Facebook post that my grandfather had made some photo albums of  his sailing period, and that my aunt had those!  She was kind enough to let me borrow them, and I spent my afternoon looking through them. Really amazing. All he countries he has been to: Mexico, Cuba, India, China, Japan and the Philippines to name a few.

Shanghai. If you look closely you recognize the clocktower in the middel of both photos

Now... my grandfather was born in 1903, and he travelled in the 1920s and 1930s. A truely exiting time. In his albums are progress pictures of the Sidney Harbour bridge and of the Bund in Shanghai without skyscrapers.
But the photos of his life on board are fascinating as well. The interiors of some of the boats!

Both my grandfather and I started travelling outside Europe in our early twenties, but that is an eighty years time difference. I am just humbled and exited at the same time to see how many places we have both visited, but almost a century apart. I keep looking at his photos and than at mine. Finding the differences and similarities.

Nagasaki. Suwa shrine entrance

I loved seeing his photos from Japan: This was the country he talked about most with me, and I am sure my fascination for Japan came from those chats. I visited  Japan last year, and it turns out we have both visited quite a few the same places.  And then I saw the photo from Nagasaki, and it suddenly hit me: he visited before the A-bomb.

As it happens his only photo from Nagasaki was from the only shrine that has not be damaged during the war.

Sunrise over El Tatio

During our trip from Argentina to Chile we crossed the Andes mountain range: an experience in itself... But once on the Chilean side of the Andes we arrived in San Pedro de Atacama. 
San Pedro de Atacama is a little oasis town in the Atacama desert, and a good base from which to discover the surrounding area. One of the trips we made was to El Tatio.

Crossing the Andes

El Tatio it is a geyser field, and its name means the grandfather. El Tatio is 4320 meters above sea level and has over 80 active geysers. This makes El Tatio the second highest (in elevation) geyser fields in the world and the largest geyser field in the southern hemisphere.

El Tatio right before sunrise

We were told that El Tatios is at its best at sunrise, which ment leaving San Pedro at 4am... oh my! And, being at both high altitide and in the desert, it was COLD! So there we were, waiting in the middle of the night (4am is not morning!), in as many layers of clothing we could fit, in the dark, for our minivan.  That came about 45 min later :(

We were packed in the minivan with a few other tourist, and drove off to El Tatio. Some 90 minutes later, over mostly gravel roads, we arrived, about 15 minutes before sunrise.  The temperature at that point was about minus 10'C. The area looked like a misty moon landscape.
Various little ice pools were encircled by stones.

Sunrise

And then the sun rose.....
Some of the pools started bubbling, and the ice broke. Misty fumes rose all suround us. It was like magic.
As with most touristy places with natural hot water, our guides sed the thermal heat to cook us breakfast. Hot chocolate and hard boiled eggs. Or half raw eggs if you use the wrong puddle ;-)

As the sun rose we could warm ourselfs in the thermal pools.
I decided to just warm my feet though: the air temperature still was only around 10'C, not really my favourite temp to get undressed in!
So, as you might''ve guessed: it was a bit to chilly for me, but on the whole it was really worth it!

Even the birds looked cold