Iguazu Falls

December 11-17, 2025 -- final Part 3

In this last week of our 3-week southern South America trip, we boarded seven different flights, were in three different countries and stayed in three different locations, leaving Patagonia after spending nine days hiking in the southern Andes Mountain Range.

Dec. 11 - After taking the bus from El chalten to El Calafate, we boarded the plane to Beunos Aires 19:25-22:25. We wittnessed a spectacular light show as we flew above and very close to a massive thunderstorm! Bright half domes of light would constantly burst out in the night sky, in five neighbouring locations. Thick bolts of lightening kept flashing off & on, one after the other.

We weren't too impressed after our first of two nights in this hotel. The loud booms from the banquet hall downstairs penetrated through our walls till 2:00am. We got a different room on the third floor the following night.

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Dec. 12 - Toured Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina.

In the morning we had a 4-hour driving tour. First we stopped at the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo square. Mothers began demonstrating here in 1977 to publicize the disappearance of their children (mostly young adults) and have them returned alive. During the military dictatorship, from 1976-1983, many of these mothers were murdered, often being thrown our of planes that flew above the ocean.

The Metropolitan Cathedral. Construction first started in 1570.

A visit to the Italian immigrant town of La Boca Caminito. The conventillos were crowded, multi-family tenements. The buildings are so colorful because the immigrants used the left-over paint from a nearby shipyard. Life size statues decorate the balconies and windows.

A lot of street art.

The Bridge of Women.

This huge metal blossom automatically opens when the sun comes out.

Florales Generalis Cockspur Coraltree

Florales Generalis rose gardens.

This former theater was turned into the El Ateneo Grand Splendid Bookstore.

I've never seen such humongous ficus trees.

This one had iron pillars supporting the lower branches and three security guards.

The Recoleta Cemetery contains the graves of notable people, including Eva Perón, presidents of Argentina, Nobel Prize winners, the founder of the Argentine Navy and military commanders such as Julio Argentino Roca.

We had an excellent tour guide who was a very gifted story teller.

The story goes of this otherwise healthy 19-year-old woman that one day they found her dead on the kitchen floor. They buried her two days later. After the funeral the caretaker thought he heard something. So they opened the coffin and she was indeed dead, but there were human scratch marks on the inside lid of the coffin. Hence the figure of the girl with her hand on the doorknob.

Eva Peron's tomb where her body was laid to rest amongst her family.

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Dec. 13 - Iguazu Upper Falls from the Brazilian side.

We had to get up very early at 1:30am to catch the 5:30am flight to the IGU airport which is close to the border of Brazil. Flybondi had changed the flight time both ways, setting it 2 hours back. After checking into our hotel for the next 3 nights, a tour bus drove us across the border into Brazil.

There are 270 waterfalls.

The van made a brief stop at the three corners, where Paraguay, Argentina & Brasil meet.

The borders of the three countries are in the river.

Oleander Hibiscus

At 5:15 the van picked us up for the 7-course dinner / Tango show. It was an evening well spent!

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Dec. 14 - The Argentinian lower side of the falls.

Eww.

Ready for another day at the falls.

A boardwalk led us to the Devil's Throat. The waters were so calm and tranquille and then at the end of the boardwalk was what looked like a giant sink hole that's ready to suck you in.

Then we took the train bac about 2/3 of the way where we got off to walk along the falls.

A family of Coaties.

Iguana.

Anticipating our soon to be had boat ride into the falls...

A highly poisonous caterpillar.

Jay bird

Here we go...

Wow wee!!! This speed boat drove us right into a 10-story high waterfall! Thankfully I was able to hang onto my phone!

Yacare Caiman crocodiles

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Dec. 15 was a day of 3 flights. 6:00am - 10:00am from IGU to Eze in Buenos Aires. Then 12:25pm-14:30pm to Santiago, Chile (all flights in Chile must first go to Santiago). Then 4:40-6:10pm to CPO. But when we landed on the outskirts of the Atacama Desert, we soon discovered why we were almost the only females on the airplane. We were in the wrong airport! Not only was this quite stressfull, after a long day of travelling, but it was costly and disappointing. The 10-hour tour we were so looking forward to, was not going to happen. And we would not get our money back for it or the hotel. It was frustrating, trying to communicate with people at the small airport. We really could've used Cindy's ability to speak almost-fluent Spanish but we'd parted ways in Beunos Airies. By the time we got a taxi, it was 9:00pm and we were exhausted. Then it was another hour drive into Capiapo where we were told not to leave the Tikay Suite Hotel compound because it was way too dangerous, especially at night. Sheri managed to get a driver for the next day.

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Dec. 16 - As I was falling asleep in the night, I felt my bed shaking. The next morning I asked Emelia & Sheri if they'd felt it too or was I just dreaming? It was in fact a 4.9 earthquake only 2 km from our hotel! So our plans to go visit the nearby national park were not possible. The only other option was to head for the coast and then drive north to a national park there.

Sand-dunes close to the large Candelaria copper mine.

English Bay by Caldera.

The beach was deserted at 9:30am but when we drove past it later at 5:00pm, it was swarming with people. When we drove through the nearby Caldera town that morning, the streets were filled with locals checking out goods at the market.

A roadside stop.

New World Vultures.

Tours to this island were also closed for the day because of strong winds.

This info center by the junction to the Pan de Azucar National Park was deserted. Once we talked to someone at the park entrance, we turned around. The hike would've taken too long and the secenry wouldn't have been any better than what we got from our vehicle while driving.

Some fishermen were busy fixing a boat. Seagulls, vultures and a sea lion were waiting for handouts.

At first I thought this was horse dung but when I saw more & more of them, I realized they're Copiapaas Cinerascens Cacti.

Nolana acuminata

When Sheri & I were checking out this cute cemetery along the road, it took us about 5-minutes to realize that this cemetery was not for humans, but for dogs!

A stop by Caldera.

Oyster Catcher birds.

Karla, our driver thought we'd like to sample the oysters here. Sheri took her first bite and loved them!

This man had just caught them. A bit of salt & lemon juice and voila! At first Sheri could not get herself to bite into a creature that was still moving but after the first taste she had quite a few more.

Back at our hotel.

Back in Santiago, we had a nap in Emelia's airport hotel. She flew to Australia to stay with her daughter while Sheri & I flew home, just in time for Christmas.