Iguazu

At the crossroads of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay lies Iguazu Falls and 3 tips for future travelers.

1. The first day we sat down to lunch and thought the many coatis (relatives of the raccoon) were really cute as they waited for scraps of food to fall. A quick hop onto our table via an empty chair to grab Adam’s empanadas, and we realized these are not cute, passive creatures. We spend the rest of lunch (after Adam bought more empanadas) watching them pull these same tricks on other people. When eating lunch, beware of coatis (we didn’t).
2. On our 2nd day in the park, we walked through a mosquito forest to reach a fairly remote waterfall. The real attraction was the birdlife along the way. In particular a toucan, the elusive mascot of the park, landed high above us in a tree posing in the sun for many minutes while we snapped pictures and fended of mozzies. When walking in the jungle, bring lots of insect repellent (we did).
3. There are more waterfalls at Iguazu than there are tour groups and there are a lot of tour groups. Fortunately, the roar of the falls overwhelms even the most long-winded tour guide. Also, the miles of walkways over and under the falls allow for many solitary viewing moments. You can get alarmingly close to the falls, to the point of getting drenched in a split second. Bring a bathing suit and a change of clothes (we didn’t).