Antarctic Trip Nov-Dec 2016 Part 1 Buenos Aires, Iguazu Falls and Ushuaia

Casa Rosada

We stored our RV at Susan and Windsor’s house, and Tom drove us to BWI. It was a two hour flight to Atlanta and 9 more hours on an overnight flight to Buenos Aires. Buenos Aires is the capital city of Argentina with over 14 million people in and around the city. We stayed near the Plaza de Mayo, the political and religious hub of the city. Eva Peron addressed her followers from the Casa Rosada. Pope Francis (as Archbishop) preached from the Metropolitan Cathedral.

Tegu Lizard

Iguazu Falls (internet photo)

Iguazu Falls

The next day we took a two hour flight to Iguazu Falls. Here the Iguazu River drops 269 feet from cliffs 8,858 feet long resulting in 275 waterfalls, making it the largest waterfall system in the world. We spent three days in the National Park and UNESCO site. There are several trails in the park, even a train, to help you access the various falls in the park.

Iguazu Bird

more Iguazu Falls

Coatimundi.

 There is some unusual wildlife in the park; the most important one to watch is the coati, a raccoon that excels at stealing food. They hang out around the picnic tables and wait for someone to sit down with their Subway lunch bag. In a blitz attack, they can tear open the bag and remove the sub before you have time to react. 

and more Iguazu Falls

Boat ride to the base of the falls

The other thrill is to ride a speed boat into the blast from the falls. Niagara has the Maid of the Mist, so this ride must be the Devil of the Deluge. We did get soaked, but when it’s 90 degrees out, who cares!

Tierra del Fuego

We left Iguazu Falls and returned to our hotel in Buenos Aires. Access was temporarily blocked by a Gay Rights and Women against Domestic Violence demonstrations at Plaza de Mayo. Back to the airport the next day for a two hour delay and a three hour flight to Ushuaia, Argentina – The Southernmost City in the World. Due to a cancelled tour, we had plenty of free time to explore the city. Of course, since it was Sunday, almost everything in town was closed. The next day we did have a tour, but while awaiting new arrivals at the airport, hurricane force winds made walking next to impossible. We did get to Tierra del Fuego National Park and the end of the Pan American Highway (which starts in Alaska). After the tour we headed to our ship to start our Antarctic adventure.