From Buenos Aires to Iguassu Falls

Saturday, March 18, 2017  Buenos Aires to Iguazu

This morning we walked from the hotel to the Lady of Pilar Church:

This church serves the adjacent World Heritage Site Ricoleta Cemetery, where 4800 mausoleums hold the remains of the rich and famous when they die.  It is amazing.  Most of the mausoleums serve an entire family, and have stairs going down to crypts underneath.  Here is a general view:

 We found the mausoleum of this family particularly interesting, where a life-sized female figure, under a giant cross, was pouring oil into a large menorah:

We sat in a small open area as our guide related Eva Peron’s life story, and then visited her resting place.  Her body was returned here from Italy after democracy was established—a long story.

  

It’s Saturday, and we visited a giant park in the middle of Buenos Aires which was full of people enjoying the beautiful weather.  There were lots of bikers, joggers, and people with their yoga mats working in groups together.  The park has an extensive rose garden: 

We passed a remarkable sculpture by the famous Argentinian architect Euardo Catalano.  The flower opens in the morning and closes at night:

 After lunch we went to the airport and flew into northern Argentina, right at the Brazilian border, to Iguazu Falls.  Or Iguasu Falls.  Or Iguassu Falls.  I guess Spanish is different from Portuguese which is different from English.  I’m not sure which is which.  But the flight was memorable as the pilot, as we approached the airport, banked the plane first to one side and then to the other and gave us a wonderful view of the falls from the air, twice in each direction to allow people on both sides of the plane to get a good view.  An amazing flyover in a 737!

There is only one hotel in the national park which contains the falls, and we are staying there with a view of the falls from our room:

  

Tomorrow we walk the falls, and in the afternoon there is an optional Zodiac excursion to the base of the falls.  There are 250 steps down a stair with no handrails, we’re warned, if we want to do this.  And, of course, 250 steps back up. Joyce is thinking no, I’m thinking yes.  More to come.