Off to the waterfalls

Morning flight to Iguazu Falls. Met up with our guide, Cesar, and made it just in time to meet up with the other participants in the Iguazu Jungle Forest adventure. We traveled by open-air jeep in to the military base located near the National Park. We learned about the Yerba Mate tree and other flora and fauna, until we reached our first stop -- the zip-line course above the jungle canopy. We got strapped into our harnesses, scaled the ladder up to the tree top (where there was a beautiful yellow orchid growing) and launched. The zip-line ran in 3 segments. We had a big laugh when Joan braked so well in the 2nd segment that she came to a COMPLETE stop, a hundred feet above the forest floor - yikes!

Soon enough, with a swishing sound coming from behind, one of the guides wrapped his legs around Joan's waist, gave several good bounces to the cable (oh my) and propelled us to the stop ahead. Whew.

Then, off again in the jeep to a nearby waterfall and a chance to rappel down to a swimming hole at the bottom. Boy, it was fun, especially getting caught in the spray.

Back in the jeep and on to our hotel, Iguazu Jungle Lodge, located near the town of Puerto Iguazu. The lodge was 5-6 small buildings nestled into the edge of the forest. Our well-appointed room had a complete kitchen, stocked with all sorts of wine and snacks, and we decided to order an "asado" BBQ brought to our room for dinner. We had such a nice time sitting on our private deck, dining on grilled cuts of beef, sipping Argentinian Malbec red wine, and listening to the jungle night sounds. The temperature was perfect, and a perfect end to a great day.