We recently completed a three day visit to the Argentina side of Iguazu Falls.  The falls span an area of 1.7 miles wide, and sits on the border between Brazil and Argentina.  When First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt first saw the falls, she is reported to have said “Poor Niagra!”  There are actually approximately 275 waterfalls that combine to make Iguazu Falls (“approximate” because the exact number varies with how much water is flowing).

To get a little perspective on the size of the falls, look at the tiny boat heading into the rainbow above.  Well, not really that tiny — it seats 30 people plus a driver on a back platform.  Those people paid $50 each to go right under the falls.  They all look like drowned rats when they get off! 🙂

Though the forecast was for rain each day, we had beautiful weather, with only a few wispy clouds in the distance. The clear sky and huge volume of waterfall spray meant we saw several rainbows.

Coaties roamed all the eating areas, snatching backpacks and crawling over the tables in search of food.  I saw as many as 30 covering one restaurant deck, before the security guard came after them with a nightstick, at which point they all scattered into the neighboring forest — only to return 5 minutes later when the guard was gone.

Even more surprising was the sheer abundance of butterflies, and their aggressiveness. I have never seen that many in one place before — even in a butterfly farm, let alone outdoors.  They often landed on people and traveled with them for a distance. That middle-right image above is from one that landed on my hand, and stayed there for more than a mile before finally deciding to fly away.

Of course, Iguazu Falls is about the waterfalls.  Everywhere you turn, there is another set of waterfalls.  Getting anywhere near the spray leaves you overwhelmed by the amount of power being displayed. As I watched, I couldn’t help but wonder “where the heck can so much water come from??” 🙂