Machu Picchu, Cruise around Cape Horn, and Iguassu Falls
Mike and Judy Henderson
January 31 to March 1, 2017
I'm going to leave the map at the beginning of each page to help you visualize where we are.
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2/25/2017 (Saturday) We departed the ship early this morning, to catch a plane to Iguazu Falls. Iguazu Falls is north of Buenos Aires about an hour and a half by air and is on the border between Argentina and Brazil. We will be on the Argentine side.
Here's our guide, Claudio, waiting for us at the bus.
We went straight to the International Airport outside of town to catch the flight to Iguazu. [Update: I'm fairly sure it was Ezeiza airport (EZE), but I didn't make a note at the time.]
While the airport has jet ways, the plane we were flying on was parked out on the tarmac and we bused to it. An Embraer 190, with two seats on each side of the aisle.
And we're off.
About an hour and a half later we arrived at Iguazu airport. It was pretty hot in Iguazu, close to 90 degrees.
We headed straight to the park.
And had lunch at a restaurant in the park.
After lunch we took the park train to an area of the falls.
We saw the first of many coati when we got to the station on the other end of the line.
We had to walk the last few hundred meters along a metal walkway.
We got our first look at the falls from the walkway. Click on the picture for a video of the falls.
As we got closer, we could see more of the falls. Click on the picture for a video.
In the river below were large Zodiacs taking tourists closer to the falls.
Here are a few shots of the falls. You can see a few videos of the falls next.
We walked down a lot of steps to reach the boats for our ride closer to the falls, and I got a few more pictures of a boat going into the falls.
And then it was our turn.
I don't have any pictures of us in the falls because my camera is not waterproof and I couldn't risk ruining it. The company was taking a video of the ride and selling it for $25. We didn't buy a copy but you can see someone else's ride that they posted to YouTube. It's essentially the same as what we experienced.
Here's a picture taken from the web that represents our ride. Yes, we were screaming "do it again" too.
And the results of our ride. Judy still looks beautiful even when soaking wet, and being wet helped cool us while climbing back up the steps.
And I look like a drowned rat.
Then it was time to go to the hotel - we were all looking forward to a shower. The hotel was the Loi Suites Hotel in Iguazu. It's really interesting because the hotel consists of a number of buildings built in the "jungle" connected mostly by elevated walkways.
The walkways are "suspension bridges" which bounce as you walk over them.
We had a lovely buffet meal, after which we hit the sack. We were all tired after our early wake-up and the exercise in the heat.
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2/26/2017 (Sunday) We returned to the park this morning to get a better view of the falls. It was hot again today.
We took the train to a different station where we could walk to the top of the falls.
And walked on the metal walkway to the falls.
Here's another look at the walkway.
Then we got close to the falls and could see the top.
Then more of the falls. This part is called "The Devil's Throat", for the volume of water and the intensity.
Judy at the falls.
And Claudio (our guide) and me. The strap around me is Judy's purse.
Just before we left this section of the falls, Judy and I had our picture taken. It was really hot and I was wet with sweat when this was taken.
On our walk back, we saw a Coati family in a tree. They're really tame.
The train station was very crowded and it was very hot. As it was a holiday weekend, just preceding Carnival, the place was packed.
The group was to take another walk to the falls along a different trail but I was dripping wet with sweat and opted to go to the hotel at the park. Judy went with the group and took some more pictures of the falls.
Look at how the mist rises from the falls in this next picture. That is from the Devil's Throat area.
You could see the falls from the hotel, and the mist rising from it.
The trip back to the Iguazu airport and then the flight to Buenos Aires was uneventful. We flew into the Buenos Aires domestic airport - which is in town - instead of the International airport, so we were able to get to the hotel fairly easily.
As we drove to the hotel, we spotted this vertical garden on the front of a building. I couldn't get a great picture from the bus but you can see what it is.
Hotel check-in was uneventful and we took a well needed shower before getting a snack in the bar and hitting the sack.
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2/27/2017 (Monday) There was a tour of Buenos Aires this morning, but since it was covering much of what we had already seen, we skipped it.
For breakfast, we walked the 9th of July Avenue and came upon a nice looking cafe. We had scrambled eggs and coffee.
Judy over coffee.
After breakfast we walked further down the Avenue and took a picture of the Buenos Aires topiary at the Plaza de la Republica.
I was also able to get a better picture of the Opera House.
Then back to the hotel to work on this blog. Later we went for lunch at a different cafe along one of the side streets of the 9th of July Avenue.
That evening Regent had scheduled a trip to a tango show. We left about 7:30pm and didn't get back until midnight. On the way, we passed the Obelisk lit up for the night.
Then we arrived at the show hall.
The bandoneon (squeeze box) that is traditional in tango.
The show room filled to capacity.
Judy enjoying a glass of wine.
And me.
We weren't supposed to take any pictures, but between us we were able to get a few with our iPhones.
This is a great shot, taken by Judy, capturing the dancer in mid air and also showing the orchestra, including the two guys playing the bandoneons.
And one more.
By 11:45, the show was over and we headed back to the hotel. It was a very short night, since we leave the hotel at 4am for transport to the airport.
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2/28/2017 (Tuesday) Happy Mardi Gras! We didn't sleep at all last night (to paraphrase an old Rock and Roll tune). We had to be down in the lobby before 4am for transport to the Buenos Aires International Airport and we had gotten back to the hotel a bit after midnight. After getting everything packed we didn't have more than an hour that we could have slept, so we just stayed up.
A bit before 4am, the bus arrived.
We made it to the airport in plenty of time, along with three other people who were on the cruise. We were able to use the LATAM Lounge which made the waiting a bit more comfortable.
The flight to Lima was uneventful - about three and a half hours - on a 767. We had a two hour layover in Lima and we were able to use the LATAM lounge there, also.
Finally, we were called for the flight home. The aircraft was a 787 with nice lie-flat seats.
After take off, they served lunch and then we went to sleep. Judy was able to sleep most of the way but I woke up and then watched a movie. It was a 9 hour flight. When we reached LAX, we were able to get through the customs quickly because we had Global Express. After we collected our bags, we met the limo driver and we headed out into LA rush hour traffic.
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3/1/2017 (Wednesday) Our trip stories aren't complete until we pick up Skipper. Here he is being picked up at the kennel.
And so ends another interesting adventure. Judy and I both agreed that this was one of the best trips we had ever taken.
Our next scheduled trip is later this year, a cruise in a very small ship (70 passengers) from London to hopscotch along the coast of France, Spain and Portugal, finishing just inside the Strait of Gibraltar.
You can see our other adventures here.