Saved by a Toucan- Running Through the South American Jungle to Catch My Plane

My AirbBnb in Puerto Iguazu lies 14km away from Iguazu Falls, and the airport lies in the opposite direction. Adhering to my beloved motto of efficiency- using my time and resources to the best of my ability, I pack my bags and bring them with me to the park, renting a locker in an effort to avoid retracing my steps while I gaze at Devil's Throat.
Positively awed by what I've seen, I return in the afternoon and grab my bags without a care in the world, dare I say inspired. Inquiring about transport, I discover the buses only return back to town, none head to the airport. No worries, I'll take a taxi, I walk to the stand and inquire.
"$30??? I thought the airport was close."
"That's the price."
"How far is the airport from here?
"10km."
"So, there are like 6 of you sitting around here with no work, anyone ready to negotiate, cause that is a steep price."
"The price is fixed."
"But how can you charge like double what I would pay for the same ride in New York City??"
"Thank Macri," one of them answers me a little disgusted, referring to Argentina's current President.

So now I assess the situation. I can get taken to the cleaners, or maybe ... maybe I can save the money and have a little adventure. I'll try to hitch-hike there, and if worse comes to worse, I have enough time to jog to the airport and make it. Heck, it's only 6.2 miles.
I explain my decision to the taxi drivers, giving them one more chance to lower their prices. They merely chuckle, and wish me luck.
I start walking down the road away from the park, a civilian car headed towards me. I animatedly wave the couple down. They stop and I explain my plan, they offer to drive the mile-plus to where the road leading to the national-park intersects with the main road. I gleefully accept.
Driving uphill, I suddenly realize I hadn't included included that into my calculations, and while I'm grateful I'm getting a ride this far, wonder what I else I might not have factored in.
Stopping at the main intersection, actually, the only intersection for miles, the girl asks me if I'm sure this is where I want to be dropped off. Gauging her husband's grunt to the question, I realize the reason they pulled over was her kind heart, and I don't want to push my luck.
"Thank you, I'll be fine, I assure them."

I grab my two bags, and exit out onto the jungle road, waving them a grateful good-bye.
I stand there, alone, listening to the sound of insects humming and birds chirping. Minutes pass, and there hasn't been any movement on the road, in the bush. Nothing.
Now, it's been about 6 minutes, and there hasn't been a single car. I realize I'm on an unavoidable countdown towards missing my plane, towards being stuck in the jungle for the night as darkness will fall soon, towards getting eaten alive at dusk by dangerous jungle mosquitoes (zika, malaria, dengue), towards, and this is the worst part, being totally inefficient.

I briefly consider walking back and taking a taxi, but the idea of being robbed like that combined with backtracking, not to mention the smirks on all those smug faces add up to a non-starter.
I'd better start moving towards the airport. I sling my two bags over my shoulder and start jogging down the jungle road. A half-mile later the humidity of the rain forest, combined with 27 pounds of luggage is seriously slowing me down. My stride falls off into a walk, but survival instinct kicks me back into gear.
I hear the rumble of a car in the distance. I'm in luck, it's headed my way, and it will be the first one I've seen. I wave strongly and passionately, but they speed right on by.
Oh man, am I going to make my plane? It's going to be close at this weighed down pace.

Could you miss this traffic cone jumping up and down in the middle of the Iguazu Jungle?

I plod on, making sure to keep a decent pace. What would be easy without the extra weight flying back into my body with each stride becomes an exercise in grit.
Five minutes later, sweat pouring down my body, I hear an SUV coming my way. I'm doing everything I can to stop it. As it arrives within visual striking distance, me, the orange traffic cone featured above starts leaping up and down like a basketball player catching an alley-oop. I'm yelling, "Hey! Hey! Aqui! Aqui!"
I see him nod his head, as his newer model SUV slows and he comes to a stop. I feel elated, as he opens the passenger door. He's surprised by my brief story, but he seems kind, and tells me to get in, which I do instantly. He tells he can take me a couple miles, but then he's set to take another road back to Brazil.
No problem I tell him, knowing the odds of making my plane have increased dramatically. He chuckles as we drive along.

toucan- my favorite bird

I see movement in a tree, and point to the probably the world's most beautiful bird, the South American toucan. He slows down as elated as I am to spot this gorgeous animal.
"The toucan inspires me," he states, with me nodding my head in affirmation. We share the moment.
"Never mind," he says, "I'll take you all the way to airport."


We drive past his turn, and a few miles later he drops me off at Iguazu Airport. I thank him greatly, he smiles and nods back, and I literally skip into the terminal with an hour to spare, and go order a treat from the cafe as a reward. Mr. Taxi-Drivers, I win!

Want to travel with me? Efficiency and adventure. Who could resist?

One of Planet Earth's WOW's- Iguazu Falls

first sighting of Iguazu Falls from afar

Look, there are just places in the world that are so stupendously beautiful, breath and thought gets taken away. One such place is Iguazu Falls which are located on the Brazilian/ Argentinian border, though 80% of the water flows over cliffs on the Argentinian side.

islands amidst the river

The 2.7km wide river is broken by small islands into many separate waterfalls (varying between 200 to 270 feet tall!) though the flow is heaviest and most spectacular over a narrow chasm called Devil's Throat, the roar of the falling water audible from far far away. To stand there, witnessing the raw power would inspire awe in the most cynical of people, and is a reminder of how small our perceived problems are in the face of such a vast energy flowing over the cliffs.
From the Gran Aventura, where a power boat approaches as closely as it can to the falls, the massive spray and water vapor drenching everyone inside, to the rascally coatimundis (South American raccoons) searching for easy food, to the rare and elusive jaguar roaming the national park, this area is one of the world's MUST SEES.
I stood there for hours staring at the falls, utterly amazed, positively spellbound by nature's sheer power. All my thoughts of lack were washed away as my focus was on the immense raw beauty surrounding me.
I will merely just share my photos and videos and hope they might provide 10% of the experience of actually being there, standing, mouth agape, looking at this gem of the natural world.

the breadth of the falls from a side angle

If this butterfly were a Pro athelete-

what sport and position would he play?

a view of the water as it pours over the cliff

the South American raccoon- the coatimundi

a girl gazes at Devil's Throat, Iguazu

just a tiny part of the falls

water falling down into the mist. I am literally standing right atop the edge

video: from the top of Iguazu

this area is over like 2 miles wide- a giant river flowing to create the falls

the "Gran Aventura" boat ride

nosey coatimundi

best shot of toucan I got- what BEAUTIFUl birds

a view from the top, 300 feet to the bottom

a jungle view of the width and breadth of Iguazu

the Iguazu jungle- a few km from the falls

sheer power, size, width- Iguazu is a woman's dream

the Devil's Falls roundabout

absolutely spellbinding, is it not? check out Devil's Throat- where the torrents of waterfall drop!

Shaken Down by the Corrupt Mayor in Iguazu

A small airport in the middle of a jungle on the Brazilian/Argentinian border. I jump on a mini-bus with other tourists to bring me to the town of Puerto Iguazu. Just outside of the city a roadblock is set-up. We come to a halt, and a young, semi-attractive woman hops into the van and demands a 20 peso ($1.50) "tax" be collected to "improve the roads."

There is a grumbling on the bus, I think all of us intuitively knew we were merely being shaken down. I briefly consider refusing, but the idea of standing up for what was right versus the small amount of money saved, was outweighed by the strategically placed police officers lounging around outside. Drawing the ire of "law enforcement" in rural areas of the world just isn't a recipe for a fun travel experience. 

But there is no way this is legal, right? Certainly they made the amount per person small for strategic reasons, it's easier merely to go along with it. For sure if it had been $20 there would be far many more objections, me amongst them. 

I arrive at my AirBnb in this humid, tropical town and relate the events to my host, who merely laughs, assuring me that it was a recent invention by the mayor, completely illegal in the eyes of Argentinian law, and that almost all the money collected ends in the mayor's pockets, although some does trickle down; to his mistresses. 

The surest way to get wealthy in Argentina (and all of South America) get a political post with influence. The roads won't be any better next time I visit. 

Devil's Throat @ Iguazu- what everyone comes to see

Ascending the Mountain To the Lost City in the Colombian Jungle (Part II)

Click here for Part I of the trek

the jungle surrounds the river below

thick forests upon the hills

The river remains our constant companion, murmuring below, as we trudge the hills surrounding. While the emerald green vistas of the rainforest are awe-inspiring, the one thing thicker than the forest are the swarms of mosquitoes. Stop for more than a few seconds and you'll be besieged, and these miscreants move like Russian Mig fighter jets, somehow eluding the barrage of heat-seeking missiles I continually fire in their direction, signified by a thunderous mid-air clap ... of my hands.

hiking the dark jungle path

The less I stop the safer I am; yellow fever, dengue, and malaria all exist in this region. I do my best to take in the beauty around me, for no more than a few seconds at time. 

We cross rivers of waste-deep water in bare-feet, the rocky bottoms and strong currents adding greatly to the level of difficulty. Considering my cell phone, which I brought to use as a torch at night, is in my backpack, I tread very very carefully. 

banana flower

the cacoa fruit (where chocolate is derived from)

We arrive at Camp 2 before nightfall. My group hangs shirts, pants, and filthy, soaked socks over a clothes line that had to be a placed there as a practical joke- nothing dries in the jungle.
Here there are bunks with mattresses encircled by mosquito nets. After a strenuous all day hike, you'd imagine we'd all fall right to sleep, but one whiff of the strong mildew and mold is enough to send one's senses reeling.

I move to the hammocks, where the nausea inducing smell of decay is far less. Unfortunately, my neighbor snores thunderously through the night, which, in fairness, does scare off all predatory animals.
Driven away by the sputtering and angry snores, I rise, shining my torch upon the ground, scanning for scorpions and poisonous snakes, mindful of avoiding the fate of a hiker last year who was bit on his way to the bathroom; he barely survived. I wander back to the bunk-beds testing whether I can cope with the mildew- no dice.

rickety old bridge

path through the forest

Sunrise doesn't arrive quickly enough on this tortured evening. We wolf down some food, and begin our final assault on the Lost City. The sun slowly spreads its morning light over the hills, just in time, as it enables our guide to catch glimpse of a venomous serpent on the trail. The expedition comes to a momentary halt as the snake slithers back into the bush.
Today I'm using a walking stick, and while it helps me maintain balance on the steep and slippery terrain, each time I intentionally strike the ground with force, as snakes can sense vibrations of the earth. Call me Dr. Doolittle, it's my way of letting them know I'm coming so we're less likely to have a quarrel.

green, jungle waterfall- beautiful, me

one of our Indian guides

steps up to the Lost City- steeper than they look

the start of the Lost City

After hiking several hours in the crisp morning air we arrive at an ancient jungle stair case, the now moss covered irregular stones placed there by Indians centuries ago. And there are 1200 of them to climb to the top the mountain, to the Lost City. 

One step at a time (as with any goal) we literally inch closer, finally reaching the base of La Ciudada Perdida.
Honestly, it's not terribly impressive. There are no ancient dwellings, and the stones have been reset to mirror the structures of ancient times. 

Our guides theorize in Spanish as to the significance of various circles of stone, while I literally dance to their words, the area being especially mosquito intensive.  

the Lost City

We hike around the Lost City, taking photos, relaxing, eventually departing down the staircase and beginning the laborious, overnight hike back to the starting point of our trek. 

As in life, the ultimate destination pales to the journey, and while every one of us is bitten up, grimy, wet, and likely sleepless, I don't think a single one of us regrets taking this trip. 

You can see photos below, as well as a highlight video at the bottom of the post.

me with my snake stick climbing

atop the Lost City- its in the background behind me 

looking up to the Lost City steps, surrounded by jungle

you can see the large waterfall far away- must be huge (that's what she said)

highlights of the Los City Trek

Click here for Part I of the trek

If you are interested in buying a tour while in the town of Santa Marta to The Lost City, Minca, or Tayrona National Park, I highly recommend my tour operator Mega Sierra. Their service and dedication to intrepid explorers is amazing. 

Mega Sierra Tour
Calle 19 No. 3-74 Centro
Santa Marta Colombia 47001
+57 318 8910741
+57 5 4307729